Summarised '2D Job Options' Research

2D Job Options

Skillset listing of jobs within 2D animation

http://www.skillset.org/animation/careers/2D_drawn/

The link above is to a website listing of a range of jobs within the 2D animation area. This includes all areas, from pre-production through to post-production. While this list is extensive (38 in total), there are only a few that graduates would be able to apply for. These include Animator, Assistant Animator, Junior Animator, Inbetweener and Runner. An animator’s job is fairly self-explanatory, they follow directions from a director, animation director or key animator. They work either alone or in a team, supervising the work of inbetweeners or assistants. An inbetweener produces the stills between the previously drawn key poses. Their responsibilities include making sure they produce the character(s) on model, that they are neat and accurate, and that they produce a smooth animation. They must be capable of working in a team and following directions. A runner is in effect, an assistant to everyone. Their tasks can include anything from making tea and coffee for staff, replacing batteries and lightbulbs, and tidying up, to checking time sheets and keeping the showreel and reference library. Whatever a runner’s job is, they should always be watching and learning. However, within this list are several options in both post production and pre-production that myself or other people would be able to do.

This leads on to what Peter Dodd answered one of our questions with. Question 8 of our questionnaire was ‘What was your first professional job within 2d?’ He answered by telling us that he started off designing props and storyboards, and eventually moved on to producing animations. Prop design and storyboards are part of the pre-production of any animation, so the fact that Peter moved from pre-production into full time animation is evidence that the change from one area of the process to the other is possible.

Aaron Hodder

Summarised 'Getting your Name out There' Research

Getting your Name out There

There are many ways for an animator to get their names known. The most effective are as follows:

-Showreel

The most important thing for any animator is to have a showreel. A showreel is a short video which shows a person’s best work, usually accompanied by a music track. Tips which I have picked up through various lectures include:

            -Keep your showreel to less than 3 minutes

                        This is because you may have a huge collection of work, whoever you send it to won’t necessarily have the time it takes to watch it all, so keep it short.

            -Make sure any lip syncing included can be heard over the music

                        This will allow you to show off your lip syncing, and the viewer will be able to see your skills. Usually, people dim the background music while the voice is played above it.

            -Show your best work first

                        The viewer may not have time to see the full showreel, and if your best work is at the end, then they may be left unimpressed by the rest of the reel. If your best work is first, they will see that no mater how long they watch it for.

            -Identify your work.

                        This applies to collaborations and group work. If multiple people worked on a scene, identify in your showreel what parts you made.

-Networking

Websites such as Facebook and YouTube, which allow video uploading, are popular among anyone who strives to get into the industry, as it allows them to upload their completed work and people can view it. With over 2 billion videos watched a day, YouTube is the most popular video sharing website, and it is almost guaranteed that if someone uploads something, someone somewhere will watch it. Facebook on the other hand, while it allows video uploads, only the person’s contacts can watch them. However, if a person creates a separate page for their work, people outside their contacts list can watch it.

Photobucket is another website which allows video sharing, but as the name suggests, it has more emphasis on images. The part of the site for videos isn’t as popular as Youtube, but for people who produce high quality images as well as videos could use this site.

Websites like Twitter are aimed more at simply keeping in contact, but many people use Twitter, and with the right contacts, one’s work can be spread through word of mouth.

Aniboom is another video hosting website, dedicated to animations. This website is also useful as it’s purpose is an online animation production studio. This gives it a slight edge over YouTube as a method of finding work, as YouTue has more viewers, it is more likely that someone looking for an animator will visit Aniboom.

-Personal Website

Having a personal website isn’t necessary pivotal in promoting oneself at the beginning of their career, it is extremely advisable that people have their own websites. This is because it allows people to see your work, you can have a website in your own personal style, and it generally makes you seem more professional. There are a wide range of website hosting sites, such as Justhost or 34sp.

-Contests

There are many short film contests on the Internet, and they can be great way of promoting yourself, with the bonus of winning money if you win. The 11 Second Club has monthly competitions, although they are aimed at character animation, not short films. Another website, BigStar, offer monthly prizes for short films. While there isn’t always a designated animation contest, animated films are allowed in all their contests.

-E-mail

Another great way of getting your name out there is through e-mailing a range of different companies. It is a good idea to attach a showreel or have a link to an online showreel, as the viewer may take the time to watch it.

Aaron Hodder

SWOT analysis - Aaron

Here is my SWOT analysis:

Aaron Hodder

SWOT analysis - Richard

Here is my SWOT analysis:

Richard Collins

Presentation Website

Here is the link to the website we used to create our presentation. This allows you to freely roam round the presentation at your will.

http://prezi.com/48t_y1lpylxt/2d-animation/

Presentation Screenshots

Here are some screenshots of our presentation. As we have done it on a presentation website I will link the website in the next blog.

Aaron Hodder and Richard Collins

Summarised 2d Industry Research

Industry

‘The amount of animation produced in the UK has almost halved.’

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8225954.stm

This link is to a BBC News video which puts the animation industry, particularly in the UK, into the spotlight. It highlights that while animation in the UK is popular, it is impractical to produce animated features in England, whether they be films or T.V. series’, as the rest of the EU provides Tax Rebates to cover production costs, whereas the UK don’t.

‘US and Canada are home to dedicated children’s and animation networks that account for a large proportion of animation hours viewed.’ –P270

‘Whereas most countries are dominated by children’s animation properties, this is not true in Japan. Animation here extends to every age group and subject matter, including nonfiction, with styles and content ranging from cute and sugary sweet to violent at a level not seen in any other country’ –P272

‘The United Kingdom is strong in the production and consumption of television and home videos for the preschool market, such as Bob the Builder or Postman Pat.’ –P276

Raugust,K (2004), The Animation Business Handbook, St Martin’s Press, New York.

These quotes outline the main audiences at which animations from the countries are aimed at. This shows that the US and Canada aim their animations primarily at children, and the UK aim their animations at pre-school children. Japan, however, while producing animations aimed at children, they also produce a lot of successful animations aimed at a wider audience, such as more violent productions for teens and young men.

In the questionnaire we produced for Peter Dodd, question 2 was ‘Is the 2D industry growing’. He answered by saying that the industry is growing at the moment, but as a whole, it is unstable, it is continuously rising and falling.

An observation that my partner and I have made is that while 2D animation isn’t exactly popular within feature length films, it is still commonly used in other areas, such as advertising(‘Tony the Tiger’ for ‘Frosties’,), T.V Shows, (Ben 10, Pokemon), video games and their cutscenes (inFamous, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops). One medium which uses 2D animation extensively is the ‘App’ market, applications for mobile phones such as the iPhone, a large percentage of the downloadable games and applications are in a 2D visual style, and therefore 2D animators would have been hired to produce these.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWrfWEmHs1Y

Tony the Tiger commercial

http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/ben10/index.html

Official Ben10 website

http://www.pokemon.com/us/

Official Pokemon website

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8bj4AUly4I

Cutscene from inFamous

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jknofynJ5dw

Cutscene from Epic Mickey. Watch from 8:00

Aaron Hodder

Summarised Abroad Possibilities Research

Abroad Possibilities

This is a summary of all the research we have found. All of this is necessary for our presentation. We have also provided links underneath each specific part of research to show were we found out about it.

From our previous research we have found out that to get work within animation it is best looking abroad for the experience. This is usually because of the tax rebates that other countries get. In England we get no money support for creating an animated film, this is why most business will look abroad for animators as it will be cheaper.

We had a look around to find out the tax rebates that each country gets and this is what we found:

England: 0%

Ireland: 28%

France: 20%

Germany: 20%

Hungary: 20%

Iceland: 20%

Malta: 22%

USA: there tax rebates are dependent on each state

A tax rebate is when the government will provide you with a specific percentage of the films cost. This means within countries like France and Germany the government will pay 20% of the cost of the film as backup. This was done throughout countries to help keep animation afloat as it was in trouble.

Main link as to were we found all of the tax rebates and information. This has many sub links to each countries film commission giving information about why they are doing this.

http://www.afci.org/incentives/europe.htm

Peter Dodd: Within our questionnaire we asked Peter about how he first goes into animation work. He told us that to get work within animation he had to go abroad to find the experience. His first job was also producing storyboards and props; this shows that even though he had to go abroad for work he still couldn’t get straight into animation. When he was finding his first job within this industry, the country was also in a recession. This is pretty much exactly the same state we are in now, so this is a perfect insight on how difficult it is to get a job.

Peter Dodd also said that there are many jobs available in France at this point in time. This is because of the tax rebate that France provides.

Peter Dodd questionnaire question 7,8: http://aaronandrichardspb.blogspot.com/2010/11/questionnaire-peter-dodd.html

Richard Collins

Summarised '2d in the future' Research

2d In the Future

This is a summary of all the research we have found. All of this is necessary for our presentation. We have also provided links underneath each specific part of research to show were we found out about it.

  

From all of our research we have found out that most 2d jobs are mainly popular outside feature films. Although there have been quite a few 2d feature films in the past couple of years this still isn’t the best job source. From researching into many different areas of the industry we found that 2d is within such areas as Games, Cartoons, Phone apps and advertisement.

Games: Many games are coming out with a 2d animated style. From looking around many game industries, the games being produced within 2d are usually the cheaper games you buy from Playstation Network or Xbox Live. This shows an increase for 2d within games which is only getting more popular within the future

http://uk.playstation.com/psn/games/

http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/live?xr=shellnav

Another huge area within games for 2d is within pre-production. 2d is needed in many areas which coincide with the 2d job options. This includes such jobs as Concept Artist, Storyboard Artist, UI designer, Background painter, Animation director, etc. All of these jobs apply for 3d games as well.

http://eu.blizzard.com/en-gb/company/careers/directory.html#region=Americas – Many job links within the company Blizzard.

http://job.ubisoft.com/MAIN/careerportal/Job_Profile.cfm?szOrderID=2873&szReturnToSearch=1&szWordsToHighlight= - UI designer for Ubisoft

http://www.jobsdbase.net/job_details.asp?ID=5282 – Interactive selection

Cartoons: Are also a huge area for 2d. Many cartoons have moved into 3d but the majority of them are still produced within 2d. This supplies a great number of jobs for 2d animators.

https://careers.timewarner.com/1033/ASP/TG/cim_jobdetail.asp?SID=^hxw1mJflVjJ7t5yc8hYTnx1aBj_slp_rhc_Xi3cnW658SDfa2O8=&jobId=547086&type=search&JobReqLang=1&recordstart=1&JobSiteId=36&JobSiteInfo=547086_36&GQId=0 – Warner bros animation internship

http://nick.co.uk/info/jobs/work_experience.html - work experience with Nickelodeon

Phone Apps: In the past few years phone applications have become incredibly popular with smart phone users. As this market grows more and more opportunities are given to 2d animators. The majority of phone apps are produced in 2d as they have specific specifications to work with. This ranges from games to helpful application tools for everyday use. It also produces and opportunity for networking. The creative ideas for apps are limitless.

The main thing about the phone app industry is that anyone can do it. After researching into Apple’s Iphone applications, all they require you to do is pay a $300 fee per year. This allows you to develop, test and distribute your application. Because this is so cheap you could easily start up your own business.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/business/apps/in-house/resources.html - Apple application information website

The new windows phone 7 has now started letting anyone create applications. I have found an interesting blog informing us how to get the rights to produce applications legally for Microsoft. This does require you to apply and register, but once doing that you are free to create apps.

http://community.microsoftadvertising.com/blogs/pubcenter/archive/2010/09/29/register-windows-phone-7-apps-microsoft-advertising-publishers-app-developers.aspx - Blog about windows apps

https://pubcenter.microsoft.com/ - Registration website

Advertisement: Lately more advertisements have been produced in 2d. This is due to a late trend in 2d animation. At the moment 2d is on a rise and is being used in many different industries. I have been looking around the internet for examples of were 2d has been used for animation

http://www.kingbee.co.uk/animation-services-uk/commercial-animation-studio-uk/fashion-streetwear-commercial-animation-production-company-uk-london.asp - Thera Shoe advert

http://www.happyhourproductions.co.uk/tv-commercials-production.html - Produce a range of live action, 2d and 3d adverts. There main 2d advert being ‘Cookie Crisp’

http://www.markmasonanimation.co.uk/television_commercials.html - This company has produced many 2d adverts

  

From our research we have mainly found out that jobs can be quite scarce within 2d feature films but that doesn’t mean 2d animation has completely gone. It has just become more popular within different industries. Just from this summarised sheet I have linked many opportunities for 2d within different industries, which shows there still is room for 2d. Even if it is difficult to get straight into an animation job, there are many options still open. (This will be shown on the ‘job options’ page).

Within the future 2d still has room to grow even though it is being dominated by the 3d industry in feature films. Although with today’s current situation in Britain, it is still very difficult to get work within animation. It is advised to try and get work abroad, just for the experience. As this will provide you with a greater chance of finding a animation job in Britain.






Richard Collins

Summarised 2d Experience Research

2D Experience

This is a summary of all the research we have found. All of this is necessary for our presentation. We have also provided links underneath each specific part of research to show were we found out about it.

Animator / Assistant animator / Inbetweener: From researching many companies, we have found that you typically need 2-5 years work experience, a degree and also a showreel.

http://www.cartoonsaloon.ie/index.php/jobs/

http://www.skillset.org/animation/careers/2D_drawn/

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/jobs/firebrand-games/glasgow/scotland/uk-and-europe/2d-artist-id44743

http://www.dneg.com/jobs/compositor_67.html

Junior animator / Runner: To get a job within these titles requires no previous work experience. All they ask for is a showreel and a degree within a specific field.

http://www.cartoonsaloon.ie/index.php/jobs/

http://www.skillset.org/animation/careers/article_4111_1.asp

http://www.dneg.com/jobs/runner_44.html

Software Experience: Whilst interviewing Peter Dodd we asked him how difficult it is getting into a 2d animation job without experience. He answered us with a few good points, one of which being that we do have experience. This being within software we have used and know. This is a key element employers look for when hiring new people.

Peter Dodd questionnaire question 4: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8iEkyxCe_63JXmfIyuxnNxPUF3k9XHRix8Jfvh3NT6QrTXrp6FbSfqw9s-i5lcJZ1dyO6aP5vkajCc5Q1rsfaXcw_96n0nzyR5nQWwRLrZbOgxsu1KlqvB3meKYCrQNpsXfh8hbT48Ml/s1600/questionnaire1.JPG

Internship / Unpaid work: Another good way to gain work experience is by either getting onto an internship, (which only requires a degree and show reel), or doing unpaid work. Both of these options are viable and very good ways of gaining experience

http://www.cartoonsaloon.ie/index.php/jobs/

http://www.seedanimation.com/jobs.php

http://eu.blizzard.com/en-gb/company/careers/directory.html#region=Americas



Richard Collins

Tax Rebate

Tax rebate websites

All of these tax rebates have been found on this website:

http://www.afci.org/incentives/europe.htm

Germany: 20%

 http://www.markmasonanimation.co.uk/television_commercials.html

France: 20%

http://www.filmfrance.net/v2/gb/home.cfm?choixmenu=taxcredit

Hungary: 20%

http://www.afci.org/incentives/europe.htm

Ireland: 28%

http://www.irishfilmboard.ie/financing_your_film/Section_481/5

Iceland: 20%

http://www.filminiceland.com/

Malta: 22%

http://www.mfc.com.mt/page.asp?p=14253&l=1

England: 0%

UK: Provide £15 million a year to fund all films

http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/filmfund

USA: Funding changes between each state

Richard Collins

Questionnaire- Peter Dodd

Here is the filled in questionnaire from Peter Dodd.

Aaron Hodder and Richard Collins

Possible questions for primary research

Here are some possible questions for our questionnaire. As I cant find the insert file button on this site i've posted a link to the document. This is a mixture of questions about the 2d industry and personal questions for Peter Dodd.

http://wichrich.weebly.com/5/post/2010/11/questionnaire.html



Aaron Hodder and Richard Collins

Possible Primary Research Companies

Cartoon Saloon

http://www.cartoonsaloon.ie/

Aniboom

http://www.aniboom.com/

Firebrand Games

http://www.firebrandgames.com/

Interactive selection

http://www.interactiveselection.com/



Aaron Hodder and Richard Collins

2d Implications

Review on 'The Death of 2d':

http://www.awn.com/articles/drtoon/death-2d-rush-judgment

Report on how 2d animation is making a comeback within Disney:

http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/02/28/wondercon-the-princess-and-the-frog-and-the-future-of-2d-aniamtion-at-disney/

Yahoo blog about 2d animation within films and games:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080809040439AAeIwfP

Report on 2d animation:

http://www.designingcrossing.com/article/780040/The-Future-of-Computer-Animation/



Aaron Hodder and Richard Collins

Secondary Research

Here we have posted some websites that have information that is important to our 2d Animation research

http://www.skillset.org/animation/careers/2D_drawn/

Many links for 2d animation jobs within games:

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/jobs/search?search=8479&keywords=2d&locations=&skills=

Interesting report on the economy differences between 2d and 3d animation:

http://www2.druid.dk/conferences/viewpaper.php?id=2369&cf=16

Jobs within 2d animation within Britain:

http://www.cartoonsaloon.ie/index.php/jobs/

2d animation jobs within britain

http://www.animationbase.com/jobs/2d-animation/

Animation competitions with the prizes:

http://www.11secondclub.com/home/FAQ/

Aniboom is a company that allows you to post animation work onto there website. This then allows them to show off your work to a global audience. It also has a virtual studio, this allows you to work with professional animators.

http://www.aniboom.com/aboutus
http://www.aniboom.com/Work/About/



Aaron Hodder and Richard Collins

Action Plan

Aaron Hodder and Richard Collins

Meeting

Had a meeting to discuss which area we are researching into. We decided on 2D animation.
Produced an action for the project.
Objectives for end of week

• Finish 2d animation secondary research
• Gather companies for primary research
• Produce questionnaire for 2d companies

Aaron Hodder and Richard Collins