A world of animation fairs

By Thomas J. McLean

Becoming an animator is about more than just learning to move characters on a screen. It requires an understanding of the business and the art of animation, both of which can be experienced in a grand manner at animation festivals and conferences.

Attending these events, which range from the tech-centric SIGGRAPH conference to the more traditional film festival experience at Annecy, can be very exciting for students and recent graduates. The chance to see the latest and greatest animated films, meet other students and professionals, and learn about current and future trends is inspiring and motivating – and for many, life-changing.

Suzanne Francois, Animation Mentor's student care manager, says that those very new to the school and the industry may be thrilled just by the chance to take in the full range of possibilities a conference may reveal. Becca Romeo, Animation Mentor's career services manager, works primarily with graduates and says there are three key reasons animators should go to conferences: Networking, seeing the industry's cutting-edge work and learning how to promote one's self and one's work.

For Animation Mentor students and graduates, these fairs also provide a place of community. Animation Mentor hosts meet ups and gatherings at these festivals and conferences, providing an opportunity for online colleagues to hang out in person, fostering connections, friendships and inspiration.

Festivals and conferences vary radically in their focus, offer different benefits for students and recent graduates. What follows is a rundown of pivotal festivals and conferences around the world that animators and animation students should consider attending.

FMX

FMX is an international event held each May in Stuttgart, Germany. Organized by the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg's Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction, FMX is a three-day event focused on global production, visual art and innovative technology.

Romeo describes FMX as very organized and much more intimate than larger events like SIGGRAPH, delivering a global feel and providing a diverse variety of panel topics conducted by artists and studios from all over the world on topics ranging from animation and visual effects to 3D technology and gaming.

FMX is highly technical and animation is not the primary focus, but it offers a chance to survey the cutting edge of technology and make connections with companies and other students. With attendance of about 3,500 per day, FMX offers an intimate experience and a convenient travel opportunity.

The educational opportunities at FMX are particularly good, Romeo says, and helpful for artists who’ve been out of school to keep up their skills and knowledge of the current and trending technology and techniques.

Annecy International Animated Film Festival and Market

Launched in 1960, the town of Annecy, located in the French Alps, hosts the world's longest-running and largest festival of animated films each June.

Following a more traditional festival format, screenings dominate at Annecy. There are also conferences, a film market and the Creative Focus section, which includes a call for projects that presents some recruiting opportunities and master classes.

Animation Mentor graduate Remi Pricaz has attended the festival each year since 2005 — a task made easier by the fact he lives in Annecy. He says he finds the networking opportunities the most useful.

"As an animation geek, the most amazing part of the festival are the films you can watch," Pricaz says. "This festival is definitely really inspiring and mind opening."

He also finds the festival to be a good way to meet industry professionals and network for job opportunities. "Recruiters are usually very relaxed during the festival," he says. "So, it is really easy to talk to them and get feedback about your show reel."

Pricaz says this past year he met with several animation companies in Europe and America and has heard from two of them about job opportunities.

The festival is very popular with Animation Mentor's European students, who use the event to socialize, hang out and network. "It was very interesting to talk to other animators, mostly Animation Mentor alumni, to find out what an animation job is like," says Animation Mentor student Nele Simons. "I think it was also a good reality check, because when you’re a student it’s not easy to judge in an objective way if moving around in order to get a good job is fun or not."

Not strictly an animation conference, the annual meeting of the Special Interest Group on Interactive Graphics and Techniques — commonly known just as SIGGRAPH — covers a wide range of topics related to the art and science of computer imagery. "While it’s not an animation-specific conference, I feel everyone should experience it once," says Romeo. "It's the big one in our industry."

SIGGRAPH is a large event that features both an exhibition with booths representing the industry’s best and brightest companies and organizations. Simply walking the floor can be an exciting and invigorating experience as it offers an all-in-one glimpse of the forefront in computer graphics. The floor usually includes all the major players in the business, from Pixar to Digital Domain to Autodesk, making it an ideal way to easily browse the entire scope of the industry within a single day.

The panels and papers presented at SIGGRAPH are often highly technical but convey a deeper understanding of the core technologies underlying CG animation in particular. Many students find such real-life, cutting-edge material refreshing and inspiring to their work.

With more than 15,000 people attending the most recent SIGGRAPH, held last month in Vancouver, the event can be large and overwhelming. The need to plan ahead and figure out what you want to do and see before you go is essential.

One advantage of SIGGRAPH is that it changes location each year, with past locations including New Orleans, San Diego and Boston, and next year's show set for Los Angeles for Aug. 5-9. A second annual event, SIGGRAPH Asia, is held toward the end of each year with this year's event set for December 12 - 15 in Hong Kong.

SIGGRAPH proved to be a significant proving ground for Animation Mentor graduate Martin Sen, whose short film New Digs was chosen and shown at this year's Computer Animation Festival, a part of the conference that explores computer generation animation and visual effects. "The response was more than I hoped for and it's a great feeling that all the months of hard work paid off," he says. "I hope it opens doors for me, it’s still pretty early so I suppose only time will tell."

Ottawa International Animation Festival

The Ottawa International Animation Festival runs four days each year in September or October, and is usually preceded by the Television Animation Conference, or TAC, which is focused on the business side of animation. This year's event is September 21 — 25.

This is the premier animation festival in North America, making it an ideal festival for students in Canada and the United States to experience the breadth and depth of global animation output. The festival runs multiple shorts programs as well as a competition for animated features and special screenings ranging from the academic to the plain silly.

The festival holds several unique events that are student friendly, including a student party running late into the night, and the annual Animator’s Picnic, which includes the famous pumpkin-carving contest.

One day at each festival is set aside for a school and jobs event called Animarket. The event features booths showcasing Canadian animation schools, a professional development track and several top animation studios are on hand to review portfolios. There also is the renowned pumpkin. Last year's participating studios were Disney, Nelvana, DHX Media and ToonBox.

Held in Canada’s capital, the festival also offers a chance to experience a number of charming historic locations, from Canada’s Parliament buildings to bustling Rideau Market. And with Quebec just across the river, expect to hear more than a bit of French spoken on the streets.

Pixel Vienna

Another relatively new event, Pixel Vienna is organized by Animation Mentor graduate Kris Staber. This year's event, the sixth, is set for October 7 — 9 in Austria, and will feature appearances by legendary Disney animator Andreas Deja; Blizzard Cinematics lead character technical director Simon Yuen; the designer of Marvel Comics' Iron Man, artist Adi Granov; and Christian de Vita, story lead on Fantastic Mr. Fox and the upcoming Frankenweenie.

"The quality and the level of the talks is quite high so students can learn a lot from the speakers," says Staber. "Also most of the talks do not require a lot of prior knowledge so one does not have to be afraid of not understanding what's being talked about."

Creative Talent Network animation eXpo

The Creative Talent Network (CTN) animation eXpo, is a relatively new event to be held November 18 -20 in Burbank, California —  the animation capital of the world. A smaller, more relaxed conference, this event features live demonstrations, networking receptions, master workshops, panel discussions, business symposiums and recruiting opportunities.

The great benefit of attending this event is its laser-like focus on the animation industry. Burbank is one of the centers of the animation business, with studios like Disney, DreamWorks, Warner Bros. and Film Roman all no more than a freeway exit away.

That means the show draws in a large crowd of professionals, many of whom set up their own booths and are easy to talk to. The crowd also is full of animation students from many schools, making attendance of this show one of the easiest ways to meet and talk to professionals, mentors and other animation students.

"It's definitely less intimidating, and I would say, as an animator, you get the most bang out of your buck going to an animation-specific conference," says Romeo.

Whichever conference or festival students plan to attend, it's important to prepare. Francois helps prepare students for each experience, finding out what they hope to get out of each show and helping them find a way to achieve it.

So, what conferences have you been to that you find to be important for animators? Let us know on our Animation Mentor Facebook Fan Page.