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.

The job search can and does feel like a crap shoot these days. When you may feel no matter you do, how many networking events you attend, how many job postings you apply to, you are in a mean game of rock, paper, scissors and you are always a mis-match! Even when you feel like your job search is more like a guessing game-guess again. You can win at this if you just sit back, and prepare yourself for an inevitable crap shoot with the occasional win.

When procrastination gets in the way of moving your career forward, you can either sit and let the stomach worms squiggle around inside or actually, get up and get on with finding out what’s holding you back. It’s never easy to make change when it’s something you started or was forced upon you. Change is as we all know, tough on those who stubbornly fight against it or easy for those who move with the flow. If you are holding onto something that no longer works for you in fear of the unknown, then procrastination has gotten the better of you.

Knowing when to make a left when you are going right, or to turn when the road seems to bend out of nowhere enables you to right the course of change when you come to a career crossroad in your search for the perfect job. It’s not as important to always have a clear vision of where your career is headed. It is important however to manage the obstacles, challenges, opportunities and gifts you come to find along the way.

Pamela Kleibrink Thompson kicks off 2011 by reminding us reminds of the power of change to achieve personal growth.

KidScreen Summit is renowned as the kids entertainment industry’s most important annual event. In 2010, the conference welcomed almost 1,500 attendees from 43 countries, with a record-setting 63% of delegates hailing from outside of the US. Top decision- and deal-makers in the kids business attend KidScreen Summit to engage in critical dialogue on issues that affect the industry and take advantage of some of the year’s best networking opportunities; recognize and understand current market needs, opportunities and challenges; learn more about key innovators and their visions; and share ideas that will drive their businesses forward.

2010 Statistics

Nearly 1,500 delegatesMore than 800 companies representedAttendees from 43 countries150 riveting speakers350+ kids content buyers & investors

Who Attends?

TV Programming, Acquisitions and Development ExecutivesProducers and CreatorsDistributorsRetailersLicensors & LicenseesMarketersDigital Media Content Creators and Distributors

Why Attend?

Build your business by networking with nearly 1,500 international leaders in all sectors.Engage in critical dialogue on issues that affect the industry.Recognize and understand current market needs, opportunities and challenges.Rejuvenate your creativity.Get face time with primary kids industry leaders.Discover new talent and build relationships with potential partners.

Just like the dead-air you get when your cell phone reception fails, your job search can feel like that sometimes, when you recant the same phrase over and over again, “Can You Hear Me?” Getting discouraged, frustrated, annoyed and downright fed-up with the lack of response, follow through and in some cases common courtesy, is unfortunately a routine part of the job search these days. When your emails, voicemails and even FaceBook requests go unanswered, all you ever seem to want to ask is, “Can you hear me?”

Pamela Kleibrink Thompson gets into the holiday spirit with some It's a Wonderful Life-inspired advice.

Just because you’ve been working your butt off interviewing, networking and working every angle you can to find your next job, doesn’t mean every job is the right one for you. When a job is not the one you were hoping it would be, you need to walk away from the a pending offer just like you would a bad first date. For whatever reason when the job you want does not want you, you need to figure out a way to move on with grace, courage and the speed necessary to get enough traction between you and your next career move.

When you struggle with what you think you want from your next job because you are convinced that you just need to work, you do yourself a dis-service. With unemployment benefits being extended to 99 weeks, it fuels the fires of doubt where it appears even the President is not confident in a job recovery anytime soon. Next time you find yourself ready to jump off a cliff because you just, “need to work” ask yourself, do you really know what you want?

I just hung up on Morgan Freeman. He called right in the middle of dinner and at our house, dinner is family time. Friday evening I hung up on Martin Sheen. I’m sure many other A-List celebrities have been calling of late, but I’ve hung up before they could introduce themselves and implore me to vote one way or another. The campaign phone calls have been relentless, like ants in the pantry in the middle of summer! I cannot remember a more vicious and completely demoralizing election. Who’s in charge of this pop stand? I demand to see the manager!