Raquel Benitez, ceo of Comet Ent. Inc.

Recruiter: What is your area of expertise? Any specialty?

Student: Well, I pretty much know every area, so whatever you have available…

Recruiter: How do you see yourself functioning in our studio?

Student: I’m a director; I want to direct my own movies and control the staff… in school I made a short film and…

Recruiter: What kind of experience do you have as a director?

Student: In animation school they prepare you to be a filmmaker, so I guess I’m a director…

This exchange might sound unreal, but it was taken from an actual interview conducted in our studio recently. As you might have guessed, the applicant didn’t get the job.

Why are students being trained to animate, but not how to work effectively at a studio? Why are they taught to be filmmakers but not how to be productive employees in the industry? In my view it is very difficult for any individual to master even a few of the many skill sets required in contemporary animation. Why is there such a disconnect between the needs of industry and the training being provided by educational institutions?

Over the years I’ve discussed these questions with many professionals I’ve known and worked with, including Carmen Llanos, Deborah Fallows, Debbie Pashkoff, Barbara McCullough, Maria Fares and Tony Tarantini. I’d like to share with you some tentative conclusions I’ve come to as a result of these discussions about the problems we currently face in educating animation students.

1. Uninformed Prospective Students
Typically, students have little knowledge of the animation process at the time they decide to get involved in a career in our industry. In many cases, they are familiar only with the end product — the nice movie, but have no knowledge of the immense amount and variety of work that has made this end product possible.

Before selecting a new career in any professional field, it is key to research the field to learn as much as possible about it. Prospective students should read about the animation process and the various jobs involved, and contact local employers to ask about their needs. Before signing with a college or other training facility, students should research them, too, to learn about their relationships with employers and placement record. Talking with graduates and prospective employers to this end is critical. Training institutions should have a solid track record of quality jobs being secured by their graduates.

2. Lack Of Communication Between Academic Institutions and Industry Professionals
When industry professionals do not give relevant feedback to the academic institutions training future animation industry workers, some institutions may simply cater to what they believe to be students’ wants and needs. Animation professionals should provide input into training program design by specifically letting educators know how the industry is changing and what new skill sets will be needed by prospective employees.

At the present time there is high demand in the areas of 3D modeling, Flash animation and motion graphics, and opportunities in general for CG artists with traditional foundation skills. The market is saturated, however, with artists with only traditional skills and CG animators with no understanding of performance and acting. How many academic institutions are adjusting their programs of study to address these realities?

In theory, placing students as interns in working studios should help foster industry-academia communication, but in practice studios have a great deal of difficulty integrating student interns in the face of hectic production schedules. When a project is green lit, everyone tends to go into production mode, and there is little time to mentor students. Often either no work is provided for students, or the work that is provided is meaningless “make-work.” I don’t believe industry placement should be abandoned, however, because experience in the workplace is beneficial to students, especially in a team-oriented industry like animation.