Animation Mentor Reveals Demo Reel Tips & Job Trends
AnimationMentor.com, the online animation school, knows something about getting jobs in animation, since the school was founded by coveted animators from top companies like Tippett Studios, Pixar, and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). The founders’ incredible portfolios include film projects such as Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, Cars, The Incredibles, Transformers, and War of the Worlds.
One of the most important things for aspiring animators to have is a polished demo reel. What's on your demo reel can make you stand out in a crowd of other applicants, and here are the top three things to keep in mind:
- Do NOT try to make a one-size-fits-all demo reel. It is important to make your demo reel specific for the position and studio to which you are applying.
- You should NOT include everything you've worked on throughout the years. Keep it short, under a minute if you can, because the reviewers don't have a lot of time.
- Make the reel original on the inside, NOT on the outside. Bells and whistles can be distracting, so keep the creativity on the inside.
You should definitely have a compelling demo reel, but you also need to be aware of new trends in the industry. Animation Mentor recently conducted a survey of professional animators to better understand current trends. The report, titled Behind the Characters: Professional Animators, is available online at www.AnimationMentor.com/report. The report uncovered three current trends in animation that have the potential to change the character animation job market:
- Motion capture is a trend that is changing the traditional work focus of animators. One professional animator observed: "I work in games and very soon things like hands, fingers, and feet will no longer need to be hand-animated because of the advances in motion capture." This will leave the animators free to spend their time on the things that actually matter, like pushing the performance and expressions of the characters.
- Outsourcing and cost-cutting reflects increasing globalization in the animation industry. Studios are expanding into locations where they can do more for less money. Now studios are operating state-of-the-art facilities in cities such as London, Sydney and Wellington, New Zealand, and they are outsourcing pieces of animation projects to low-cost vendors in India and Singapore. This means there are likely to be more opportunities for animators living abroad, and for those animators in the U.S. willing to move abroad.
- Offsetting some of the effects of outsourcing, rapid advances in technology are allowing more and more professional animators to freelance and work from home.
Professional animator Dana Boadway's career reflects some of these changes. She has worked on Internet-based remote animation teams on projects such as Halo 3 ODST. Boadway said that she's invested a lot in her equipment, but notes that building a home studio is becoming more affordable. She said, "That's good for freelancers, and it's great for studios who would like to save money on rent and gear." That being said, she also believes in the availability in-house work in big studios for the "…hungry young folks coming up in the ranks…" So whether you are looking for that big break working for one of the top studios, or the flexibility of freelancing from your own home, there is room for you in the world of character animation.
Let's see what ya got! To get started, go to the Web site and create a profile. Next, upload your demo reel in the ProductionHUB Video Center to display your work. Then, come back periodically to check out the Job Center to find that job you've always dreamed about. Who knew finding the perfect job could be that easy?
Animation Mentor is the only animation school built by professional animators specifically for people who want to become animators. The program teaches students the skills needed to succeed as a professional animator in the studio environment. By graduation, every student has worked in a production-style environment where mentors, who are working studio animators, stand in for directors, and assignments stand in for film or game shots. Students learn how to accept guidance and criticism, to meet deadlines and to budget and schedule their time to succeed in the working world. At the end of the 18-month program, students leave with a professional demo reel they can use as their résumé to land jobs. Upon graduation, Animation Mentor coaches graduates and connects them to job opportunities with major recruiters, video game companies, and film studios.
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