11 minute read
Autonomous Animator
Illustration from the popular book Dr. Seuss’s Oh the Places You’ll Go, which tells readers, “You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’d decide where to go. You’ll look up and down streets. Look ‘em over with care!” © Random House, 1990.
By Martin Grebing
Helpful Tips on Landing Your First Job in the Biz
So, you’ve recently graduated or are going to be graduating soon and you’re not sure how to go about fnding a good animation or visual effects job, or at least the right one for you. If it offers any comfort, you’re not alone.
But truth be told, the single most important ingredient needed to brew the magical formula of being happy in your career while simultaneously increasing your chances of fnding just the right position at just the right company lies within the answer to the following question:
What is your passion purpose? In other words, what is it that you really want to do? Forget settling. Settling is what happens when you don’t have anything better to do. And as someone pursuing a career in the animation and/or visual effects feld, you clearly have lots of better things to do.
Listing Is a Virtue
Do some serious soul-searching and create a list, circling the top one or two things that you would be completely smitten doing which could potentially occupy 50-80 hours per week for the next 10 years of your life. If nothing on your list truly inspires you to commit to this level, keep searching until you fnd something that does. Next, create as long of a list as possible of companies (at least 25) that may have this position available. Create a spreadsheet of resume submission guidelines, contact information, deadlines and other pertinent information so that you have all the required content organized by company and ready to go.
Start with a Pole, Finish with a Net
When seeking employment opportunities, you should always pursue the ideal scenario frst. Start with the top three most dreamed about companies on your list. Do all the research on these companies and the position as you possibly can, talk to as many people at these companies as you possibly can, and fnd out as much as you possibly can about their interviewing, review and hiring processes so you can be as prepared as possible with your application and subsequent call back or interview.
Now, chances are, your top three dream companies are probably on many people’s top three dream companies list. Most people shoot right for the top because those are the most visible if not the most obvious targets. But keep in mind that Pixar, Disney, DreamWorks and the like only have so many positions available in their company, not to mention a never-ending torrent of applications that could seemingly keep them busy sifting for the next several millennia. In other words, competition for jobs at blockbuster animation studios is ferce. So, if after putting your best foot forward you do not receive a call back and/or are not invited to schedule an interview, keep your chin up and be open to exploring the other options on your list. After all, isn’t pursuing your passion purpose and being happy and fruitful in your career far more important than the status of the company for which you work? Obviously, there can be overlap between the two, but maybe ask yourself this question: would you rather sweep foors at a top-three dream company or would you rather be the animation director of really cool projects at a smaller company?
The reality is that people rarely land their ultimate dream job right out of college. This is often something that takes time, practice, experience, credentials, referrals and good fortune. So don’t let initial rejection dissuade you from pursuing your dream career even if you don’t land a dream job at your dream company right out of the gate. Instead, expand your reach. Broaden your target base. Instead of using a fshing pole with a single line, focusing only on one small area, expand your reach with a net. Look for companies that may be a little more off the mainstream radar but have really great things happening nonetheless. As long as you can land as close as possible to your passion purpose, you’re off to a golden start.
Martin Grebing is the president of Funnybone Animation Studios. He can be reached at www.funnyboneanimation.com.
15 Movies to Track at Cartoon Movie ‘21
One of the most exciting aspects of France’s Cartoon Movie pitching and co-pro event, which takes place March 9-11 this year, is that we are treated to a great snapshot of what European animation flmmakers are working on in the years ahead. Here is a sampler of 15 titles that piqued our interest. We’ll be watching their progress closely and hopefully we can all get to see them in a theater or on a streaming service in the near future. (Please check our website for full coverage of the event in March.)
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman
The offcial synopsis for this adaptation of short stories by Haruki Murakami is as intriguing as you can imagine from the brilliant Japanese writer of award-winning books such as Norwegian Wood, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and 1Q84. “A lost cat, a giant talkative frog and a tsunami help a banker, his frustrated wife and a schizophrenic accountant save Tokyo from an earthquake.” First-time writer-director Pierre Foldes, who has many credits as a composer (L.I.E., Babylon Fields) is the talented man in charge of this 2D-animated French-Belgian-Canadian co-production. (Cinema Defacto, Miyu Productions, Doghouse Films, Micro_scope, Unite Centrale and Cinema De Facto).
Caramel’s Words
European Film Award winner Salvador Simó (Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles) is back with another fascinating adaptation of a book by Gonzalo Moure. The plot centers on a deaf child who lives in a refugee camp in the Sahara and forms a friendship with a camel by reading the animal’s lips. Spanish company Koniec Films is producing this poignant tale about a young poet’s coming of age.
The Character of Rain
In this charming, eccentric movie directed by Liane-Cho Han (storyboard artist and animation director on flms such as Calamity, The Illusionist, Zarafa, Ethel & Ernest, Leap!, Long Way North and The Little Prince) and written by Han and Aude Py, a two-and-a-half-year-old Belgian girl born in Japan thinks she is God, that she can make plants grow in the garden, or cross the sea by foot. But her world soon falls apart when she learns that she will have to leave Japan eventually. Based on Belgian author Amélie Nothomb’s bestselling book. Produced by Maybe Movies and Ikki Films (France).
Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness
This eighth movie by Belgian studio nWave is directed by Ben Stassen (Fly Me to the Moon, A Turtle’s Tale, Son of Bigfoot, The Queen’s Corgi) and Benjamin Mousquet, with a script by Dave Collard (staff writer on Family Guy). The hero of the tale is Chickenhare, half-chicken and half-hare, who has to disguise himself as a hare to avoid being bullied by his peers. Accompanied by his faithful servant Abe (a sarcastic turtle) and Meg (a martial arts expert skunk), he sets out to fnd the powerful scepter of the Hamster of Darkness before his evil Uncle Lapin gets his paws on it. A co-pro between nWave and Octopolis in France.
Eyeballed
Animation veteran Paul Bolger (director of Happily N’Ever After, storyboard artist on features such as The Pirates! Band of Misfts, lead animator on The Thief and The Cobbler) is attached to this feature about a big bad monster known as Balor of the Evil Eye, whose gentle side is awakened when he meets six-year-old twin girls named Ifa and Shifra. Script is penned by Irish scribe Barry Devlin (A Man of No Importance, My Mother and Other Strangers) and produced by Irish toon veteran, Monster Entertainment chair Andrew Fitzpatrick.
Flee
Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s powerful animated documentary, which premiered at Sundance in January, centers on an Afghan man who arrives in Denmark as an unaccompanied minor. Years later, he is a successful academic and is getting married to his long-time boyfriend, but a secret from his past threatens to ruin his life forever. Riz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau will voice the leads in an English-language version, and serve as exec producers. The project is produced by Final Cut for Real (Denmark) and co-produced by Mer Film (Norway), Most Alice (Sweden), Sun Creature (Denmark) and Vivement Lundi! (France).
Golem
The latest work from Czech stop-motion master Jiří Barta’s (Pied Piper, Toys in the Attic) is set against the backdrop of communist Prague in the 1950s and follows the adventures of a math student who sets out on a quest to fnd the famous Golem and bring it back to life. Produced by Vladimir Lhoták at Czech studio Hausboot.
Granny Samurai - The Monkey King and I
A young schoolboy fnds his life completely turned around when his neighbor Granny Samurai defends him against the school bully and then takes him on an adventure to stop a scheming Monkey King. The high-energy movie is based on the popular book by John Chambers and directed by Jesper Møller, a European animation veteran who directed Asterix and the Vikings and Sandman and the Lost Sand of Dreams and also worked on Eight Crazy Nights, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Quest for Camelot and FernGully: The Last Rainforest. Germany’s Dreamin Dolphin Film and Denmark’s Parka Pictures are producing.
Maryam and Varto
Written and directed by Gorune Aprikian (Passade) and Alexandre Heboyan (director of Mune: Guardian of the Moon and animator on Kung Fu Panda, Monsters vs. Aliens and Azur & Asmar), this emotionally charged drama centers on two Armenian children caught up in the 1915 turmoil who are saved by a young teenage Turk and embark on an enchanted journey through Anatolia. The flm has a modern-day coda as well. Produced by French outfts Tchack (Matthieu Liégeois) and Araprod (Marie-Claude Arbaudie).
Ninn
Based on a series of original graphic novels by Jean-Michel Darlot and Johan Pilet, this ambitious feature adaptation follows the adventures of a mysterious 11-year-old girl who has a magical connection to the Paris Metro and explores the dark tunnels and abandoned stations with an origami tiger who is her protector and guide. The project is exec produced by TeamTO co-founder Corinne Kouper (Yellowbird, PJ Masks, Angelo Rules) with creative development by industry veteran Mary Bredin (Justin Time, True and the Rainbow Kingdom, Pikwik Pack).
Sorya
Funan writer and director Denis Do is back with this lovely slice-of-life effort about a 17-year-old Cambodian girl who experiences the ups and downs of life in Phnom Penh as she works in a textile factory and sings karaoke at a local bar in hopes of fnding stardom. The script is penned by Do, Louise Dubois and Tevy Dubray. Produced by France's Special Touch Studios (Sébastien Onomo).
Tales of the Hedgehog
The dynamic duo of Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli return in top form with this beautiful pic about a 10-year-old girl named Nina who has to deal with her factory worker father’s recent job loss. The plot thickens when Nina decides to look for a hidden nest-egg which is rumored to be stashed away somewhere in an abandoned factory. The 90-minute 2D-animated movie promises to be another subtle gem, just like the duo’s previous movies A Cat in Paris and Phantom Boy. Produced by Parmi les Lucioles Films (France) and Doghouse Films (Luxembourg).
Uncanny Stories
This smorgasbord of terror is based on popular tales written by Laura Kasischke, H.P. Lovecraft, Jean Ray, The Brothers Grimm, William Tenn and Edgar Allan Poe. Among the stories: A young girl wishes her stepmother would die; two young hikers meet a strange old woman; an endless nightmare; an explorer trapped by terrifying forces from a distant past, etc. Directed by Benoit Razy, Fabrice Luang-Vija, Jean-Loup Felicioli, Hefang Wei, Alain Gagnol, Izù Troin and Morten Riisber Hansen. Produced by French animation powerhouse Folimage and Les Films du Tambour de Soie.
Winnipeg, Seeds of Hope
This powerful animated pic tells the story of how famed Chilean poet Pablo Noruda saved 2,200 refugees after the Spanish Civil War and brought them to Chile aboard the SS Winnipeg. The project is directed by Elio Quiroga and Beñat Beitia with a script by Laura Martel based on her own graphic novel. Produced by Dibulitoon Studio (Spain) and co-produced by El Otro Film (Chile), La Ballesta (Spain) and Midralgar (France).
Your Spotted Skin
The forbidden love between Antonia the Cow and Kurt the Lion takes a terrible turn when a sheep goes missing and suspicion falls on the carnivore lion in this 2D-animated feature directed by Deniel Nocke, Stefan Krohmer and Thomas Meyer-Hermann. Nocke is the German writer-director behind acclaimed shorts No Room for Gerold and The Modern Cyclops. Produced by Germany’s Studio Film Bilder and Raumkapsel, Schmidt & Stein-Schomburg.
