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# 1 31-05-2004 , 09:18 AM
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Talent? Future!? :S

I was wandering about the future a 3d/3d artist can have in the movie industry.... do you have any advice about how to get a nice job in the movie industry? what kind of experience do you think is needed and which way should someone go to get there?

Do you think you need a really good talent to get on top? or is it just practice that can get you therE???

P.S I know, I know...too many damn questions...but i am sure there are people who also ask themeselves the same questions...SO HIT ME! user added image


Ioannis KarAvas
# 2 31-05-2004 , 07:28 PM
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Still a student, but this is what i've been told:

- Just be a good artist. Show your creative and motivated.

- Preferably you'll have traditional skills/background. Essential in some cases, not in others. But always a good skill to have nonetheless.

- Dont try to learn specific software packages, or the one you like best, as you may have to use others in the industary. Learn the artistic fundimentals as you can then adapt to diffrent packages. Most big studios use there own software anyway.

- Professional qualifications are not improtant. All the degrees in the world wont equal a good portfolio. So, if your good enough, that all that counts. Whether you gain your skills from university or sitting in your room practacing all day is irrelevant.

I belive some/most studios only look at your CV untill they've watched and liked your showreel.


Yeah, but no but yeah but no....

Last edited by doodle; 31-05-2004 at 07:41 PM.
# 3 01-06-2004 , 05:18 PM
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I know my self and my friends that just recently graduated have had a tough time getting a job. 4 of us sent out over 80 resumes and weblinks to places and no one got a job from that. (I know i sent out atleast 50). The best I got was 2 interviews for non paying jobs. But money was never an issue for me so a job is a job.

We were lucky enough to find a place that let all 4 of us join together and work on projects for them as a test run.

# 4 01-06-2004 , 06:01 PM
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stavs.... non remunerated work is wrong at so many levels...

(and i have beeen offered quite some...and sometimes wondered about the crucial (for the company) things they will let you do if you do it for free...i mean i could have been in charge of placing the most expensive ads of the year(the ones on the last night), imagine the person that came after me (which i know that took the work to put it on the curriculum, to (i also know) no avail in finding remunerated work) were paid by a rival tv channel... (or simply were in the moood of screwing them...)


Last edited by dragonfx; 01-06-2004 at 06:12 PM.
# 5 01-06-2004 , 06:15 PM
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uh...recomendations:
make a friend inside of the place where wou want to work... for reasons completely unrelated with the work itself... and is preferably that he can honestly recomendate your skills...

the other recommendations we could give you are here on the forum buried somewhere... doing a search would surely unbury them...


Last edited by dragonfx; 01-06-2004 at 06:19 PM.
# 6 01-06-2004 , 06:21 PM
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Advice:

Never work for free! Unless it for a charity or environmental thing. Working for free means: "He! I am too crappy to find a job! Please I beg you, let me be your slave!" You better work on your own projects.

Best way to get a job:
- NEVER send CVs and wait. If you send a CV, make a follow up call 2-3 days later.
- Try to find where people who are working in your field of interest hang out and go there. Would that be web forums, bar, conference, etc. You have to meet the people!
- If you dont have much experience, call a company you would like to work for and ask for a SHORT interview with a manager. Tell them that you are a student about to complete his class and you want to learn more about the field and talk about people who are already working to know what you havent been taught in class and you want them to talk about their job, etc... Believe me, this is the best strategy to get a job. Everyone like to talk about their job... Just make sure to say that you arent looking for a position, you are just looking for infos and that the interview will only last about 10mins max. Then, when you complete your classes, you can send them a mail to see if they have a position for you. The trick here is that they will already know about you, so instead of doing all the work to find a candidate, they are probably just going to give you a call. 2 of my friends did this and got a job...
- Meet people! When you are in a bar, dont just flirt with girls! Talk to people around you, see what they do for living, etc... I keep getting contract for one of my friend this way, I just wish I had comission for this :-S

Point is: you will never get a job with CVs alone, you have to meet people and the more you meet, the better it is.

# 7 01-06-2004 , 07:33 PM
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Nice thinking... user added image keep ti coming.....this is really informing...


Ioannis KarAvas
# 8 02-06-2004 , 12:11 AM
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the reason i caved in to twork for free was because most of the feed back i was getting was saying I wasnt quite good enough to get in. either that or they wanted experience.

you have listed some good ideas though on how to get into a company.


www.geocites.com/stavs82 thats my webpage so please tell me what you think on my work.

# 9 02-06-2004 , 02:50 PM
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Never work for free! Unless it for a charity or environmental thing. Working for free means: "He! I am too crappy to find a job! Please I beg you, let me be your slave!" You better work on your own projects.

That's complete crap! If you work for free on a trial basis then that's not saying "hey I'm crap!" it's saying "hey I know it's tough to get a job out there but I'm willing to put in the effort cause it's what I want and thus I will work for free to show you what i can do!". Also any production level work that you can then out on your reel / CV is going to stand you in better stead than student work that you may have on there.

Sending out CVs does work (ask me how i got my job) but it really does depend on what the studio is looking for. if they need an experienced team then you're screwed. but if they are willing to take on Juniors to train them up (what happened here on thunderbirds) then you do stand a chance.

Making industry contacts is a great way of getting a job but finding the right people etc is hard. Forums are good but not great place, you may be able to get the name of a person to email or chat to but remember here for example a cold call will never be put through to anyone. It can take time, and applying to only big studios is not always the best idea either. look for local tv companies etc that will pay less but be more likely to let you have a go especially if you prove that you can do it with a short proof of concept or something.

But at the end of the day a great reel is the best way to get in....

Alan


Technical Director - Framestore

Currently working on: Your Highness

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# 10 02-06-2004 , 03:24 PM
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wow thanks Alan! I can see that these words are spoken by a true "bin there, done that" person user added image I will keep this in mind and let it be a lesson for all 3d artists user added image


...
# 11 02-06-2004 , 03:32 PM
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Well said Alan i agree 100 percent......


I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination, knowledge is limited, imagination encircles the world. (Albert Einstein)

https://www.artstation.com/kurtb
# 12 02-06-2004 , 03:44 PM
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Yep same here. In the same vein, lots of places offer internships first which means you get your foot in the door but you may be emptying the trash, making coffee, and answering the phones for a bit. It's a good test of your attitude....if you do the work with a good attitude, it's better for you when someone gives you your break. You work your way up.

I graduated Full Sail back in '92 for audio engineering (when it was just an audio/video post school) and had to go through the whole thing when I moved to NY...start out as an intern ($10 day)....moved up to general assistant (ala paid intern)...to assistant engineer (assisting engineers on recording/mixing sessions) to engineering sessions myself.

Heh...and now, I'm a web designer...go figure. =p


"Terminat Bora Diem, Terminal Auctor opus."
# 13 02-06-2004 , 10:00 PM
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Originally posted by Pure_Morning
That's complete crap! If you work for free on a trial basis then that's not saying "hey I'm crap!" it's saying "hey I know it's tough to get a job out there but I'm willing to put in the effort cause it's what I want and thus I will work for free to show you what i can do!". Also any production level work that you can then out on your reel / CV is going to stand you in better stead than student work that you may have on there.

While what they actually think about non remunerated interns depends on the manager at hand, Pure´s attitude is the good one (but at least here ive seen more of the other from the managers(even if your work happens to not to be shit!)

Working for free is wrong anyways.... in spain theres a "practices / trial and aprenticeship" contract (it means that because youre still learning the tricks of the job you should get 75% of what sindicates managed to put as minimum for the profession, and that they can fire you whithout any reason whenever they want, if youre still on the company after two months they gotta make you a full contract, and you can only train once on each job) that is what should be used... and is almost never used btw
taking sla... err interns is wrong, and should be regulated punishing heavily the companys for cashing on students and unemployed ppl
(and more generally speaking (and contrary to what actually happens) rights should be taken (if any) from the powerful not form the weak...)

it is wrong for the intern beacuse, more likely than not, they wont get a stable work in that same enterprise, not to mention youre employing your resources (your time and your mental or even physical energy,not to mention transportation meals and in some cases buying a suit) without having nothing in return but promises, and promises are blown with the wind
(and ive seen it time and time again,on the best of cases, when youre good it AND you get lucky, you happen to get employed, the second best case is when you are still good and lucky enough to manage to get a work in another company because the internship on the frist,(which happens as many times as the frist) the bulk of the interns (good and bad) just dont get absolutely nothing in return...the difference is that the good ones could have been employing its time on freelancing or working on personal projects(or researching) with chances of success on the areas, the bad ones can stll have a work in the area beacuse of contacts but then they probably didnt needed the internship on the frist time...)
it is wrong for the person that should be doing that work for a pay(dont forget even if youre an intern youre still doing a work, and it isnt less dign that the ones that play whith the big expensive toys and it deserves something in return(admittely proportionally)
it is wrong for the country as intern plus intern plus intern gets statistically significative altering the unemployement indexes, the difference between potential and real GDP and is a form of non official economics
it is only good for the company which says why placing one payed worker in practices where you can get two ot three interns for free?

i could go on but i dont have the time or inclination... did i mentioned it is wrong?

Originally posted by Pure_Morning
Sending out CVs does work (ask me how i got my job) but it really does depend on what the studio is looking for. if they need an experienced team then you're screwed. but if they are willing to take on Juniors to train them up (what happened here on thunderbirds) then you do stand a chance.
[/B]

I bet you also sent a reel, that it was relatively good (at least to stand from the crowd) and (im just guessing but:/) that it probably happened that the intern on the people management instead of throwing it to the wastebasket decided to hand it to its superior...

I COULDNT BE MORE IN ACCORD WITH YOU ON THE NEXT TWO

Originally posted by Pure_Morning
Making industry contacts is a great way of getting a job but finding the right people etc is hard. Forums are good but not great place, you may be able to get the name of a person to email or chat to but remember here for example a cold call will never be put through to anyone. It can take time, and applying to only big studios is not always the best idea either. look for local tv companies etc that will pay less but be more likely to let you have a go especially if you prove that you can do it with a short proof of concept or something.
[/B]

I said make a friend, not just a contact... if youre making a friend do it for itself... if he can do something for you it is a bonus, not the focus...

Originally posted by Pure_Morning
But at the end of the day a great reel is the best way to get in....
Alan [/B]

Exactly, great reel (ie being good and showing it) is the best way to get in... or to freelance... or to make some personal project... or...


Last edited by dragonfx; 03-06-2004 at 09:27 AM.
# 14 02-06-2004 , 11:34 PM
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If you turn down an unpaid job, whether it’s project, trial or intern based, it’s not gonna look good on your part. You could be saying goodbye to your break into the industry.

The fact you’re willing to work for free show how dedicated you are.

Internship programs are an excellent way of gaining experience and getting your name out. I’ve read numerous accounts of Pixar interns (who I believe get around $9 p/h) being offered full contracts based on their work as an intern. I’ll probably apply for intern positions once I’ve left Uni. Being paid is an added benefit but is not the reason I’ll do it.

And, if you don’t get hired after, the experience gained and show reel material you’ll have is far greater than a few quid in your pocket.


Yeah, but no but yeah but no....

Last edited by doodle; 02-06-2004 at 11:37 PM.
# 15 03-06-2004 , 09:11 AM
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it shouldnt look good that they offer a do something(whatever) for they in return of nothing (or at most the promise of a future remunerated work) relationship in the frist place... (because the frist objective of a company is making money and the secondary whatever it happens to be its business)

but... ok, well, thats how the machinery works... i just can point it is wrong and that there are other ways... but thats how it works, as of now... (but is wrong, fundamentally wrong, and should be changed...)
...choices, choices... i just shaved my knob beard(it is called that?) and got a suit after all, exchanging dreams for things, so i will get my air conditioning...(thats also wrong,but ill get AC by the end of the month, and it isnt a promise...)


Last edited by dragonfx; 03-06-2004 at 02:23 PM.
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