Program

FMX 2011 promises to be another exciting conference where industry professionals interested in Global Production, Visual Art and Innovative Technologies descend on Stuttgart for four days of networking, presentations, technical demonstrations, conference papers and recruiting events. We will present exciting trends that are taking place in the industry. Full program information will be available soon!

History

FMX was initiated as an event for students labeled "Film and Media Exchange" (FMX) in 1994 and was supposed to take place every two years. As early as 1996 it became an annual event already . When the first FMX took place in 1994, the industry did not even dare to dream about the creative possibilities within computer animation and digital effects that exist today. Throughout the past fifteen years of its existence, FMX kept up with the developments and trends and has grown to become an important networking platform for those working with digital imagery.

As you know if you have been reading my blogs, I don’t typically write about myself. It’s that time of year for reflection I guess and I thought to share of my own personal background and experience. As we ponder our career choices in life, we usually are faced with making decisions about our life’s path as we graduate college and enter the work force or sometimes opportunities present themselves even earlier in life.

If you’ve ever heard the expression, “skin in the game,” don’t worry, it’s not a reference to a condition you get if you turn into a zombie in the AMC series “The Walking Dead.” It is a condition you get however, if you ask yourself what is your long term commitment when it comes to your career and if you have what it takes to stay the course. When you have skin in the game when it comes to your career, it means are you committed to the long-term plan and asking yourself, Do you really know what you want and how to keep it?

...or so it seems. Timing, timing and more timing. Like the old biological clock that ticks for some and tocks for others, your job search like the waxing and the waning of the moon, is subject to timing, divine or otherwise. Knowing that patience is the name of the game when it comes to waiting for the right opportunity to come along does not always make the wait any easier or any faster. For some of us, waiting for the right job is as they say like watching paint dry, for the rest, it can be as quick as someone running the course through a speed dating session. Your job search does not have to be an ordeal, 127 hours of waiting for help that never comes….

Special Guest: Ottawa International Animation Festival - Part 2 The Big Bang, Opposable Thumbs, Fire, the Wheel, Chop-Sticks, Animal Husbandry, The Mona Lisa, Gigli, Head-On, the Frenzer Foreman Animation Forum. Now, the most exciting conclusion to the most anticipated part 2 part of the most recorded audio podcast by the Frenzer Foreman Animation Forum at the Ottawa International Animation Festival in 2010...

Pamela Kleibrink Thompson offers fresh inspiration after visiting Ringling College last weekend.

Giving it your all, calling in the shots, focusing, following, listening and playing your A-Game. When you’ve given it your best shot in your job efforts and have shown up to deliver your best, it’s now time for the hard part, to sit back, trust and yes, wait. Finding the resolve to release control over the job process when you know in your heart of hearts that you’ve showed up and delivered your best is not always easy.

Everyone knows we are in a down economy. Just because you empathize with the state of the economy, does not mean you should forfeit your worth or value when it comes to what someone is willing to pay you. So many of you think that you may have made a certain salary, earned a certain income level in the past and you can’t or don’t deserve to ask for the same amount of money now. What’s changed? Have you gotten less experience over the years? Have you depreciated in value? Just because you may not have worked in awhile or are trying it on your own for a change, doesn’t mean you are worth any less?

Mark Simon has some horror e-stories. Deal with it!

When you feel like your job track has been all over the place and you’ve been running the relay like the Long Beach Grand Prix, it’s time to figure out how many laps you’ll need to get to the finish line. When you are not sure where you are headed other than the circles you keep running, it’s time to course correct your career and get yourself moving in the right direction.