Questions Questions.....

Recently I've gotten e-mails asking me a few similar questions. Mainly about the transition from games to film and how hard that is, as well as what kinda reel they should put together and IF it'll even be seen, as well as if it's even possible to get a job at a Feature Film company straight from school? Figured I'd post something in regards to these questions as it may be helpful?? *shrug*

Demo Reels -

It's my opinion that you should put your first 2-3 pieces you feel are the strongest/most appealing first, followed by some that are obviously good but not your best...i said good because otherwise they shouldn't be on your reel if they aren't even good (again, don't put space filler animation just for the sake of it). Then your final piece doesn't have to be like your second best, just has to leave them on some sort of positive note IMO.

Someone asked me about the myth of recruiters not even watching entire reels, i don't have concrete answers for that, but i'd presonally bank on the fact that it's true, if they watch the whole thing, awesome, but i'd count on them not. I've helped recruiters watch and crit'd reels myself at Lucasarts ocassionally, and sometimes I/we knew within the first min whether or not we were gonna keep watching. (You must consider how daunting this task is when you have boxes and boxes of reels sitting in front of you and you.) The key is putting a few really good pieces at the start so you can grab their attention and make them want to watch the rest of your reel.



Switching from games to film -

In terms of it being difficult getting a feature film job from games, think about it like this...At a feature film company, they most likely want to see your sense of physics...as well as your acting choices. Once your in games, all the work you do all day long isnt' gonna help get you a job in the Film industry because chances are your not gonna be doing any acting (it's a shame, but games need game animation, and some people are verrrry happy making games - thank god!!). Side note: Something that I thought was interesting to think about was when I was at Lucasarts, my art director at the time said to me (when we were talking about a friend i knew who I was mentioning would be a good hire)...he said..."we'll is he into games animation and a gamer, or does he want to do acting and be in film?" Basically what he really was saying was...his job is to hire and fire and keep everyone inbetween happy. He probably doesn't want to hire someone who's not totally into games and is looking to get into film down the line because 'down the line' that person may actually GET a job in film, or at another games company thats offering him to act. Instead he wanted someone who would stick around for a while and be happy animating in that environment, thus making his job easier because he doens't have to turn around and look for another animator to hire in a few months or more....and like i've said before, lots of people are verrry happy in games. The world doesn't revolve around film, it just so happens that's where really high quality animation and story is these days (even though games is getting much better). It's two different kinds of feelings involved, games vs. film. Both have their perks.

(Insert paragraph so this looks like a smaller less rambled post.) Working in games, perhaps you'll get some good physical animation pieces done, but acting wise, most likely not. So right outta school you have quite a bit of both on your reel most likely...that's because that's what the schools are trying to teach you, the wide range of animation. So straight from school you'll probably (if you've been gearing your portfolio for film) have more of what Film companies are looking for on the reel. If not, you need to figure out what those companies are looking for and do tests on your own time geared for that company. So basically if your working in games and dreaming of film someday, you'll proly have to do acting tests on your own outside of work because the time you spend working, most likely isn't helping gear your reel for film(unless your working on cutscenes or something like that with some substance of course) - i'm talking mostly about when your doing cycles or action animations for games - obviously won't really help you too much in getting a job at a Film company. So basically it's on you from then on. You get what you put in I always say.



- Lastly, Drew sent me this question which i thought was funny -
"do you think it is possible to get a job at a high end studio like pixar right out of school if you're not cameron miyasaki?"

I responded. nope...only cameron is possible of these things. ;) kidding, you can totally get a job at any major studio right out of school. Experience helps a TON! but internships are out there and if your work is incredibly stellar i'm sure you'd have no problem finding work in a high end studio right out of school. I mean, other people have done it right? Majority of the time they want you to have some experience, but if your work stands out that much straight from school you could totally do it."

So yea, totally possible.

*kay done*
I hope some of that helps or makes some sense, it's a bit long winded for me to proof read right now.
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New Cars Teaser Trailer

Finally, a fully rendered Cars Teaser Trailer!! No more old footage in it. If you didn't happen to catch it this weekend you can check it out on apple's site. I'm stoked.

Cars Teaser Trailer

I swear I'll post something with substance soon.....*argh*
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"Wax oooon, Wax offfffff" :(

Actor Pat Morita Dies at 73

For those of you not familiar with Pat Morita, you may recall a small little asian man who was incredibly popular after his role in The Karate Kid as Mr. Miyagi. I know this isn't as interesting as I claimed I'd get something substancial up on my blog yesterday but I read this this morning and felt I should write up something small in honor of Mr. Miyagi.

Kinda intersting was a few weeks ago at work a few friends and i took our lunch hour and watched all 3 (we excluded 4 for obvious reasons) Karate Kids in honor of their brilliance. Little did we know this would happen. A darn shame if you ask me, was still pretty young. Regardless. May he rest in peace.

Happy Thanksgiving

I swear, I'll update cooler stuff soon (this holiday weekend I plan on going through all my Paris pics and I'll try and post a few up and talk a bit about my trip, and hopefully some animation stuff as well - lots to do these next 4 days). For now....Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Make sure you gain some weight during the holiday. It'd be a shame if you didn't. ;P



mmmm....Turkey.

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Schweeeet Teaser Art!

Came back to this in my e-mails. So Sick!



Bigger Version
HUGE version

I had a blast in Paris. I'm still recovering so I'll post up about that when i get some rest.
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