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Putting The Pieces Together
Part II: The Big Studio Life  By: Kenny Roy, AnimationMentor.com Mentor Almost every single animation student I’ve met has disclosed to me their intentions of working at one of the largest studios in the industry: Pixar, ILM, Sony, Dreamworks, R&H, Weta, Animal Logic, Digital Domain, and Blue Sky. There are a few more in the world, but the fact that these few places are the main goal of nearly every student of animation should be alarming. Not only because competition is so tough for potential applicants, but just as striking is the lack of outside knowledge as to what animating at a large studio is like. What does a big company offer as a lifestyle as opposed to freelancing, or working at a boutique? Students should carefully consider the lifestyle of the animation career they choose, and it should be made clear that there exists a huge variety in this industry. Some studios offer the kind of stability to their artists that after a single project they will find themselves house shopping in the area. While others are more geared to the high-throughput nature of feature work and take advantage of the still large influx of talent coming into the industry from schools. The middle of the road – the average – is described in this Second installment of “Putting the Pieces Together: The Big Studio Life.” If a studio were a ship, then animators would be the engine room. Now, this of course depends on who you ask, but it is generally accepted that a shot could not exist outside of the performance within it. Why do I bring this up? Well, for the most part, at a big studio, all the production processes are specialized and broken up very clearly, making it so that if you are a character animator, chances are you will not light a single scene, nor model a single prop. This means that you have to be very specialized and quite talented in your focus of character motion. I bring this point up first because although it’s mentioned in demo reel guides, the fact that a character animator does nothing but animate means that he/she is committing at a large studio to perform only one function. To some who enjoy the creativity of dressing a set, animating a camera, etc., this assembly-line format may get a bit tedious. For me and most people I’ve talked to, this was never a problem. Some animators, however, enjoy switching hats every once in a while, and chances are at a large production house, you can get into trouble for doing someone else’s job. This is just as important to remember when applying to a big studio, (but the entire application and demo reel guideline conversation will have to wait for later). Just remember that of course your animation should be as good as it can be when you are applying for any job, but also that your knack for modeling won’t help you; it could even get in the way if you draw too much attention to it in a CV or Demo reel. Secondly, due to the nature of a longer project, there are going to be wider swings in the production schedule, which can mean long periods of crunch time. In fact, the only assurances in life are death, taxes, and crunch time. It’s quite baffling to the artists why this happens on every single project. I’ve expended many hours of my time trying to figure out a way to abolish this production practice. After all my best brainstorming, my advice to you is to plan for it. Speak to your family and friends beforehand to let them know how to prepare for a few months of 90 hour weeks, because it’s bound to happen. Third, at a big studio, creativity is at a much lower premium. One of the few downsides to animating for a large studio is the ‘cog in the wheel’ feeling you are apt to experience. There’s just something a little off when a person walks by in a hallway and calls you by your email address (at R&H and ILM they called me Dewder – maybe it serves me right for not wanting to be Kroy…). Indeed, there are benefits that offset the lack of a personal feeling – seeing your name go by after an audience applauds a film is an amazing experience all its own. At the largest studios, especially those with a very long track record of huge projects, it’s even normal for it to take a project or so before production learns your name. If that doesn’t matter at all to you, I wouldn’t let the large company feeling of the big studios scare you. After all these negatives, how about a few positives?! By far the most positive aspect of a large project is that it takes a long time! You are looking at normally a 6 to 9 month contract for a feature effects job, and well over a year for feature animation. Since the largest projects are only awarded to a half a dozen or so massive studios, it follows that if you are looking for a stable job, a large studio might be able to offer the lifestyle you dream of. Like I said above though, be careful to research the studio that you are applying to – some are notorious for their short artist lifespans. More important to most artists are the projects! Only the sweetest feature effects and feature animations are handled by the Big Players, and if you are driven by the projects, then it follows you should find your way into a seat at a large company. There is a huge pride involved in working on something for quite long and for audiences to receive the work with excitement. Truly nothing compares. High on your list of considerations of where to focus your job search should be what kind of projects you’d like to put your efforts towards. Having a few of the hundreds of shots on the biggest movie of the year might sound incredibly better than having a large role in a smaller production – it’s up to you. Some of the other things that you’ll find primarily only in the larger studios are: excellent tools and equipment, comfortable facilities, overtime and benefits, calmer schedules, and some other perks like bringing your dog to work, daycare, etc. While some of these perks are offered at studios of varying sizes, these things can be the ‘icing on the cake’ for animators seeking high profile work. There is one last large point to consider if you are committed to housing your career in only the large studios. By the nature of bureaucracy, you’ll be less likely able to control where your career might go, on a project to project basis. What do I mean by that? When an awesome show comes along at a large studio, there are going to be plenty of other artists who want to work on it besides you. There is going to be the chance that through political dealings and project history, you will not be staffed on the “A” project. It’s unfortunate, but plenty of people whose skills far surpass the mocap clean-up that a project may require have little to no negotiating power when it comes to working on the things they want. And if the studio is slimming down to coast through a slow patch, you might get let go by the same person that hired you, but who you haven’t seen for the 8 months in between! So as it may seem that the large security of a Big Player is the main draw, there’s the other edge of the sword; you may feel ‘stuck’ after a while. I hope that this State of the Industry does not come off as too biased towards any one facet of animation. I sincerely strive to outline all that I have observed in the industry, and hold that in working for all sizes of companies in my life, being at some of the largest ones have been some of the most rewarding experiences of my career. I mean only to shed some light on the unforeseen aspects of Big Studio Life for you, and I offer these points of advice and knowledge from my experience as an animator in the CG industry. The next installment of Kenny’s Korner, however, is an account of the past few months, the last and final installment of “Putting the Pieces Together: Starting a Studio”. Stay Tuned! Look forward to working with you,
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