Inspiration for animation fans, students and professionals
Phil Willis
Phil Willis is an Animation Mentor alumni, graduating in March 2010.
Homepage: http://www.philwillis.com.au
Posts by Phil Willis
6 Reasons to work for free
May 13th
Let me say at the outset that you should never offer your services for free. But at certain points in your animation career, you may come across interesting opportunities with little or no payment attached.
Usually the offer is presented as a way to be considered for future work, or to build your profile as an artist, or as a favor for a friend.
But you still have bills to pay, right? And no-one wants to feel like they’re being exploited.
So. When should you work for free and when should politely and firmly say no?
Here are six circumstances you might consider animating for free.
1. If you’ve never been paid for work in the past.
If you’re still a student and have yet to crack into the animation industry, doing limited, small jobs for free is a legitimate way to improve your skill level and increase your employability.
Technically speaking, submitting assignments is working for free, and if you’re at school you’re already doing those.
You can do the same sort of things with interships and animation competitions. If you haven’t already, check out my post on the 5 reasons to enter animation competitions.
2. If it’s work for friends.
The tough part about working with friends is that you’ll almost never get a return and it’s very hard to say no without somehow affecting the relationship.
The cool part is: they’re your friends!
And if you help them with their website, or short film there is a good chance they might be able to help you out with something later down the track.
Even if no money changes hands, this can be a great way to learn new skills, strengthen your relationships and be an active part of your cartoon community.
3. If you need extra work for your showreel.
In the beginning of your journey as an artist, you need a portfolio of work to show in order to get paying jobs. Identify what is still missing from your show reel and see if there is a way to fill the gap with some volunteer on another project.
As an example: I wanted to experiment with flash animation, so I volunteered for a project to make an animated remake of the classic 1968 George Romero zombie film.
The project was called Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated and it enabled me to meet some other artists and be involved in a feature-length animated film that I felt passionately about.
4. If it leads to future work.
This is a tough one, because of the all-too-common line: “We can’t afford to pay you now, but I’m sure it will lead to paid work in the future.”
It’s such a cliche, that entire spoof films have been made about the promises clients will make to artists in order to get creative work done for small amounts of money.
It could turn out well for you, but just be careful. If a large company is asking for a freebie, you should be very wary. The big guys not only have plenty of cash, but also know what your time is worth.
5. If it gets you exposure to the right kind of people.
Freelance 3D artist, Paul Caggegi and host of The Process Diary podcast, points to one example in his showreel:
I created a 3D set which has overlays of comics on it. It was done for free for Jason Badower. It was then seen on the NBC website, and even published in the hard-copy of the Heroes web comic series. Jason directs people to my site when they ask about it; I have been asked about that particular clip by artists, and it has indirectly led to more work which pays.
6. If you love it.
I have a funny feeling this is going to be the one where I get a lot of controversial comments. But let me be clear.
If you find a project you love, you must find a way to work on it … even if you don’t get paid.
Animators are in a funny industry. It’s so labor intensive and so time consuming and requires so much emotional commitment that even if your career was to last 50 years (and I hope it does), you only have a limited number of projects you can work on in your lifetime.
Think about it.
Even the greatest animators may only have 20 movies they can add to their list of credits. What are YOU passionate about having your name attached to as an artist?
So whether you’re thinking about internships, competitions or getting together with friends to make your own personal projects, volunteering your artistic talent is not always a bad thing.
Related posts
3D or not 3D
May 10th
You can pretty much guarantee that these days, every animated feature film and special effects extravaganza is going to be released in theatres in glorious 3D.
Well I’m sorry, but I’m not a fan.
I’ve seen a number of recent films, both in 2D and in 3D and my vote goes to 2D as my preferred viewing experience. Here’s why.
3D movies are more expensive.
In Australia, regular movie tickets are $12 to $15, while 3D box office prices are $20 and more.
With the prevalence of 3D movies now becoming the norm, some cinemas are offering $1 off the ticket price if you remember to bring your old 3D glasses with you – but that still makes for a $19 movie.
You have to wear those silly glasses
I don’t normally wear glasses day-to-day, so putting on cheap plastic glasses for two hours is uncomfortable.
Plus if you DO wear prescription glasses, what are you supposed to do? Put the 3D glasses on over the top of your other ones?
Problems with color
For a film as beautifully and colorfully designed as Avatar, it seems a crime to put a dark lens between your eyes and the screen.
I’d much rather just watch the film in 2D and get a great quality color picture.
Problems with smearing and strobing
Given how much time and energy goes into all the little polishing parts of the animation in films from Pixar and Dreamworks, it’s got to be heatbreaking for the animators when quick character moves and panning the camera just turn the incredible pixel-perfect images into a colored smear.
It just makes me want to cry … but then I’d fog up my glasses. See previous point about wearing silly glasses.
In defence of 3D
To be fair, when 3D is done well – like in the flying scenes in Up, How to Train Your Dragon and Avatar – there is an added feeling of vertigo. If you have any fear of heights, the 3D really adds to this element, but is it enough to justify the drawbacks?
Studios must be thrilled at the recent enthusiasm for 3D, because it’s still the one thing you can’t just grab from a pirate bit torrent site.
Movie producers are banking on turning the movie viewing experience back into an event – not just a download.
I’m just fine with studios making money. It’s just that I prefer my films the old-fashioned way.
Visual storytelling versus scripts
May 7th
I was lucky enough to be introduced to John Colle the other day. John is a screenwriter whose credits include Happy Feet, Master and Commander and the upcoming animated feature Legend of the Guardians.
After our initial introduction where I blushed, gushed and embarrassed myself in every conceivable way we got to talking about films and in particular: visual storytelling.
As it turns out we were both big fans of both animated and live action movies that featured stories with as little dialogue as possible.
John referred to projects he had developed that had elaborate storyboards and incredibly intricate action sequences, but he said: “As beautiful and detailed as the storyboards were, they still needed a comprehensive script.”
My first reaction was sarcastic: “Why? Because Hollywood producers won’t finance a film unless it has a 100 page script?”
“No, ” Colle responded calmly but firmly, “because without a written script it’s almost impossible to communicate WHY the action is taking place.”
It was a real eye-opener for me.
He was right of course. I had been working on an animated dialogue test recently where no matter how many times I showed my work-in-progress – nobody “got it”. It wasn’t until I sat down and wrote down the relationships on a piece of paper that it became clear to me WHO the characters were, WHAT they were doing and WHY.
Once I clarified: “A father is guiding his eldest daughter through her first breakup with her boyfriend” then it all became crystal clear.
In animation, visual storytelling is definitely important. But don’t forget to be as specific as you can in your written script. Even if the actors never speak.
Ed Catmull speaks with The Economist
May 5th
Check out this interview that Ed Catmull did with the Economist about leadership at Pixar.
Ed Catmull is the president of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios, and although it’s hard to summarize such a broad-ranging interview, let me try to pull out a few nuggets of wisdom I gleaned from the interview.
Pixar will not let something bad leave the studio.
Probably this, of all their values, is the one that drives all others. It informs the way employees work, ensures people are honest with each other and oddly enough seems to provide a safety net. Pixar people aren’t too worried that criticism is aimed at them personally. Everything that is said is specifically to make the film better.
Even in the case of Toy Story 2 where they had to go back to the drawing board. It was not seen as a failure, but as a way to guarantee that they would not release a crummy movie.
Pixar’s “brains trust” of peers supports the director.
Periodically, the current film in progress get reviewed. But the notes given by the inner team of fellow directors are not considered “orders from on high”, but ways of helping solve problems WHILE support the original director’s vision.
It’s only rarely, and it has happened, that a director would be pulled off a film and replaced by someone else. The main role of the brains trust is to keep the director moving in the right direction. Directors put so much of their lives into projects that sometimes they get lost.
Pixar is comfortable with problems, change and instability.
Ed Catmull says “If there weren’t any problems, the film would be finished.” So by definition, having problems is not a sign a film is in trouble. It’s a sign the film is in production.
Finding the balance between the creative and the commercial was also a challenge, but Pixar has a high tolerance for eccentricity. Although if you’re not functioning socially you can expect to be asked to leave.
Pixar is in touch with reality.
More than anything, you get the sense that Ed Catmull doesn’t claim to know everything. Which is strange, because he’s frighteningly bright. Terrifyingly so.
I mean, who can use the phrase “stochastically self-similar” in a sentence and get away with it? But he is completely willing to throw ideas and hard rules out the window if they don’t match reality.
5 Reasons to Enter Animation Competitions
May 3rd
There are a growing number of animation competitions opening up on the web. And regardless of whether you are a hobbyist, student or a pro, you should absolutely take advantage of them.
Here’s 5 reasons why (and 1 huge reason not to enter).
1. For practice.
This is really stating the obvious here, but animating is not that different from learning to play an instrument. The best way to get better is to practise. And practise. And practise.
There is only so much you can claim to theoretically know about squash and stretch, timing, spacing, overlapping action and appeal. You have to be able to do it.
If you are animating 60 hours a week and your fellow animators are animating 6 hours a week, you are learning at 10 times the rate they are.
2. For experimentation
If you have always done 3D computer animation, why not try a 2D cartoon? Or a stop motion test? Or a paper cut-out animation? Or flash?
Not only does it improve your breadth of knowledge and make you more employable, but it helps you focus on what is essential in your main animation medium.
3. For your reel
Treat the animation competition as an assignment for school, or a commission from a paying client. Once you finish it, you can definitely consider adding it to your show reel. Particularly if you select a different style that complements your existing reel.
If your reel is mostly dialog shots, why not go for a very physical scene.
4. For the deadline pressure
If nothing else – entering an animation competition forces you to think about the constraints of the competition brief AND the constraints of the deadline.
It will allow you to focus on what is important and leave out details that are not required.
5. To get feedback
Some competitions, like the 11 Second Club, also have a portion where you can comment or vote on other peoples’ animation. This is where the really valuable part comes into play. Not only can you receive honest feedback (maybe brutally so), but you can GIVE feedback.
In a previous post on feedback I said why it’s better to give critiques than receive, but suffice to say – do what you can to give specific comments on as many animations as you can. It will help develop your eye which is one of the most important things you can do if you’re still learning.
And finally, one reason NOT to enter an animation competition:
1. To win
The simple fact is: you can only control your output, not outcomes. All you can do is your best, and the rest largely lies in the hands of other people. This is true of life and of competitions.
If you spend time thinking about what it would be like to win, or worse: thinking about how you deserve to win, you are setting yourself for massive disappointment.
Instead – make your goal to be doing the kind of work that would have a real chance of winning. Staying focussed on quality, rather than future outcomes is a much better attitude and will ensure you’re pushing your work as far as it can go.
Best of luck in your future competitions everyone, and here are a few that caught my eye recently.
Related posts
Two biggest mistakes made by animated filmmakers
Better to give critiques than receive
May 2nd
If you work in any of the creative fields, you know that getting good, honest critiques of your art is incredibly important.
Having someone look at your animation and give comments is essential to making your work as good as it can be. Even if that person is a non-expert.
However, I think it’s even more important to give critiques. Not just receive them.
Your ability to improve is directly proportional to the quantity and quality of the critiques you give to others.
Looking at other peoples’ cartoons improves your eye. It helps you see with greater accuracy and subtlety.
When you are very specific about pointing out where your friend’s animation can improve, you will be surprised that when you look back at your own work you might see similar examples of the same error cropping up.
You can only animate what you observe. You can only fix mistakes in your own work that you can readily spot in others.
So take every opportunity to hone your observation skills by looking at as much student and work-in-progress animation as you can and being specific with you recommendations.
Online animation webinars
Apr 28th
If you’re looking for a great source of online animation webinars, then you definitely need to check out this series of Animation Mentor webinars.
There are some brilliant titles in the series, plus a bunch of incredible and legendary animators including Eric Goldberg, Shawn Kelly, Bobby “Boom” Beck, Carlos Baena and one of my own mentors: Kenny Roy.
They have lots of advice on animation training, getting into the industry and what to put in your demo reels so that studios will take notice.
For animation fans, students and professionals
Apr 27th
I love animation.
There. I said it.
I love watching animation. I love studying animation. And I love making animation.
This is the first in what I hope will be a long, ongoing series of articles, reviews, interviews and insights to animation and the animation process.
Whether you’re an animation pro, a student or just a keen fan of animation – this blog is for you.
Stay tuned for a whole lot more animation articles coming up.
