It's the drawing stupid!
It's the drawing stupid!
When I was at USC Film
School in the Filmic Writing Program the slogan, "It's the writing
stupid!" hung scrawled on a white board in our director John Furia's
office. It was true and we all knew it. Yes, you could make excuses. Yes,
you could procrastinate. But it all came down to the words written on our
pages. The same holds true in animation.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but...yes, you have to be able to draw
to work in animation (naturally excluding stop-motion, puppet animation,
motion-capture, etc.)! Nothing changes this one simple fact. Yes, computers
now play a big role but time after time after time producers tell us they
would rather have someone who can animate and knows timing than someone
who knows how to click a button. Friends, students, do yourself a favor.
Do not neglect the drawing. It will be your strongest calling card.
Our annual Jobs and Education issue is an exciting one this year because
we are kicking off Animation World Magazine's first two ongoing
series: Glenn Vilppu's Drawing Online and Barry Purves' Production
Diary. I feel that students will truly benefit
from both of these series. Glenn Vilppu is one of the world's foremost
life drawing educators. Besides working at the very prestigious California
Institute for the Arts, he has also held training sessions in a number
of large studios. Follow along every other month as Glenn feeds us a lesson.
This is really a treat and absolutely free. Also included will be monthly
installments direct from Barry Purves' production diary as he helms a series
of shorts for the U.K.'s Channel 4, focusing on Gilbert and Sullivan. Want
to hear all of the ups and downs and what really happens throughout a production?
Barry has promised to supply us a very complete, sincere and accurate representation.
Wearing his emotions on his sleeve as usual, Barry's first installment
is delightful. We are honored to be taking this ride with him and wish
him all the best of luck on a successful job well done.
As this is the Jobs and Education issue I'd be remiss if we didn't point
out that the talent feeding frenzy of the early and mid 1990s is over.
I think it will be a very long time before a phenomenon like that reoccurs.
The launching of so many feature film companies, combined with the expanding
production of existing companies, stretched recruiting to unbelievable
limits. Now that balloon is beginning to shrink. Yes, there is a lot of
work and yes, product for television is a market that seems to be still
growing. However, gone are the days of those crazy stories about artists
being held, without work to do, on incredibly hefty salaries, just to be
guarded against competing studios snatching them up. Yes, talent is still
in demand but it is for a very specific honed craft so be prepared to apply
and get turned down a few times. Persistence pays off in the end.
On a more humorous note, the recruiting frenzy has led to some absolutely
outrageous rumors. I recently received an e-mail that asked, "Is it
true animators make $1,000 an hour in California?" Another recent
e-mail declared, "I've heard that everyone is so desperate for people
in the animation industry that you don't really even have to know how to
draw to get in. So, do I have to go to school?" Once again it is talent
and training, not luck, not fate, but talent and training that makes one
a success.
Here's another myth. "Well, he got the job because his brother is
friends with the producer..." It is true that relationships like this
can help one get the old "foot in the door," but I know from
experience when a deadline arrives and the work isn't done, it doesn't
matter to whom one is related! What matters is that there is a red-faced
producer jumping up and down and going over-budget by the minute.
What pays off is research. `Do animators really make $1,000?' Call the
Union. I'm sure Tom Sito would quickly set a story like that straight!
`Do I really need to go to school?' Write/call a recruiter at a studio.
Ask them where their last recruits came from. You might get nowhere, that
tried and true endless phone transferring into oblivion technique, but
you might get a really kind soul, a Phyllis
Craig angel, who gives you some straight answers.
So. Check the resources. Poke around in the magazine, Animation World Village
and beyond. Read the info on the sites and learn a thing or two before
you open your mouth. People respond to direct specific questions that have
obviously been written by someone who has done a little research.
Kudos go to this month's Dig This! 1001 Nights is yet, another use
of animation that pushes the boundaries of how animation is perceived and
used within the larger arena of the arts. I was especially impressed by
the artwork exhibit that accompanied it. The pieces ranged from inspirational
art to storyboard pages to the finished cels. Not only was the display
beautiful but also educating to those that may not be animation aficionados.
Exhibits that help describe to the public not only the wonder of animation
but also the difficult, sometimes tedious, nature of producing this precision
art form deserve support and recognition. I hope that the film and exhibit
tour and urge you to attend if it happens to come to a town near you.
Until next time...
Heather
Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.
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