Imagine that the people who are going to review your work are the busiest, most disorganized and most inconsiderate folks on the planet. You want to make it as easy and painless as possible for them to look at your materials. Try to avoid anything that might contribute to them being less able (or less willing) to review your submission.
Cover Letter:
1) Make it short and to the point.
2) If you are applying to a particular department, indicate this so we know who should be looking at your reel.
3) If you were referred by someone, definitely mention this.
4) Include a list of references. Most of us have had at least one or two bad experiences with colleagues in the past. If you don't steer your prospective employer toward folks who like you, they might contact someone who doesn't.
5) Avoid adjectives. It always seems a bit suspicious when someone butters up their cover letter by mentioning how wonderful they are. Stick to the facts. “I have 10 years of experience” is fine. But “I’m the best animator on the planet!” sets up ridiculously high expectations that then must be met by the work itself, thus encouraging the reviewers to be that much more critical. Convince us of your talents with your animations, not your words. This is a great quote: "When your work speaks for itself, there's no need to interrupt".
6) Check your spelling, grammar, punctuation & typos. Some applicants seem to think that “artists” won’t be judged on such details, but keep in mind that your cover letter is often your very first introduction to a prospective employer. Do you really want your first impression to suggest that you don't check your work and that attention to detail is not a priority for you.
Resume:
1) Try to avoid listing irrelevant experience in the previous employment section. We don’t need to read about you’re the part-time jobs. In fact, it’s not even necessary to tell us where you went to high-school, unless it was some kind of special school-for-the-arts.
2) At the bottom of the page, however, do list skills/hobbies/interests that might be relevant (or otherwise attractive to your potential employers). If you're applying for a job at an interactive studio that makes fighting games and you've studied karate, indicate this. Acting/mime/dance/gymnastics/etc are good skills to mention when applying for a job as an animator. You never know what might be relevant. Maybe your potential boss is looking for a new rock-climbing partner. Believe it or not, sometimes a little detail like that can actually have a big impact on whether or not you get the job, and it always helps to have something non-work related to talk about during your interview. Well rounded people are interesting people to have around.
3) Emphasize but DON'T LIE! If you were a lead game tester, it's okay to call yourself a "Quality Assurance Manager". If, however, you were a grunt animator at your last studio and you once made a suggestion to a co-worker and they followed it, don't call yourself an Animation Supervisor.
Demo Reel:
1) Send your reel in .avi or .mov formats. Use DVDs only despite of the fact that you gonna use few MB only. Mention your Name, Demoreel Content (animation reel, modelling reel etc.) and your contact information on the DVD itself. No need to do fancy packaging..Your work should Fancy though.
2) Put your best stuff first. Because of the volume of reels we review, if we're not "grabbed" in the first few seconds of a reel we tend to watch the rest in fast-forward mode until we see something that looks interesting enough to stop and look at in normal speed. Don't let us miss your best piece.
3) Don't repeat animations. Please don't assume that we wanted to see that particular piece again. We do have a rewind button in our video Players. Also, repeating animations implies you have a limited quantity of work and it looks like "filler".
4) Keep it short. 1-3 minutes is a general target length.
5) Avoid lengthy intros, unless they contain impressive and entertaining animation. Come to the point as early as possible.
6) DO NOT PUT OTHER PEOPLE'S WORK ON YOUR REEL! This should be the most obvious thing in the world but it happens. We do not make a habit of hiring deceitful people. Also, do not include any tutorials or demo/stock scenes which came with the software on your reel.
7) Don't send inappropriate work. A place that creates children's educational software does not want to see blood and guts. Don't send a creature-shop, a demo reel full of spaceships and camera fly-throughs. This shows that you didn't take the time to find out about the company to which you are applying. Why then should they take the time to find out about you?
8) Show "acting". Let's face it, walk/run/flight cycles alone will not get you hired as a character animator anymore. In fact, these days, don’t even bother including walk-cycles on your reel unless they additionally demonstrate some personality (or unless you are applying for a junior-animator position). This is mainly because basic motion cycles can be too easily copied from a variety of sources and they typically don’t help to demonstrate actual animation skills. In order to get hired as an animator, your work need to convey emotions and thoughts through body language. Example: Don't animate a kid eating a bowl of peas. Animate a kid who hates peas but his mother is making him eat them anyway. If you can effectively tell such a story through timing, posing and facial expressions alone, you will get hired.
9) If possible and appropriate, show some style variation. If you can do cartoony style animation as well as realistic human motion and lip-synching, make sure you demonstrate all of these skills on your reel. However, consider carefully whether or not it is appropriate to show the entire spectrum of your skillset. Smaller companies will often want to see that you can animate as well as model and light and rig and draw and design interfaces, etc. Larger companies, however, will prefer to see a strength in one particular area. The perfect demo reel will demonstrate a variety of skillsets while making it obvious that you are especially strong (and experienced) in one area that shines above the others. It should say, for instance, that you clearly belong in the animation department, but you could potentially fill some other holes if absolutely necessary. In the film biz, a singular strength will tend to help you land a job, but versatility tends to help you stay employed beyond the current production cycle.
10) Don't show abilities that you don't want to be asked to perform.
11) Wireframes with solid motion are better than fully textured renderings with mediocre motion. (You might accidentally get hired to do lighting!)
12) Be careful when including work that isn't supposed to be publicly viewed yet. If you are showing clips from a project that has not yet been released, you are telling us that you'd be willing to show OUR work before it's released as well. Make sure your interviewer knows that you've cleared it with your current/previous place of employ first.
13) Be careful when including animations of your potential employer's characters. I've heard that Disney absolutely never wants to see any of their characters on a reel. You're opening yourself up to the same level of scrutiny that goes on in dailies every morning at that shop. If, however, you truly think you can animate their characters as well as they can then, by all means, go for it.
14) Choose your background music wisely. Avoid songs/styles that might be deemed annoying or offensive, such as Death Metal or Rap.
15) Be careful of including lip-synch pieces that contain potentially offensive language. Don’t use regional language(Marathi,gujrati etc.) or even Hindi dialogue piece..Use English dialogue piece to keep it understandable for all.
16) Include some personal work on your reel. It helps if we can see what you can do on your own as well as what you can do when collaborating or being directed.
17) Be honest with yourself. If your entire demo reel is limited to demonstrating that you've managed to pull off a couple of walk cycles, you're probably not quite ready to offer your services as a character animation supervisor in a full fledged animation studio. Only apply for a job that you truly feel you're capable of handling. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that you have to have done that particular job before. In most cases you WILL in fact be expected to rise above your current skills. Aim high, just don't bite off more than you can chew.
Interview:
1) Research the company you’re visiting. Typically, you’ll be asked: “Why do you want to work here?”, and of course, the best answer is: “Because your stuff is awesome, and I’d love to be a part of anything you might be doing in the future!” But only make such a statement if it is true and you are prepared to field follow-up questions that may require you to provide details, like: “So what specifically do you like about our products?”
2) When asked “Why do you want to work here”, your first answer should NOT be “Because my commute will be really short,” or “Because I hear you guys pay really well,” or “Because my rent is due and I really need a job”. These may indeed be your main reasons for applying, but keep such thoughts to yourself and answer the question with something related to your creative preferences instead.
3) Be on time. Remember, first impressions are lasting impressions.
4) Dress appropriately. You don't have to wear a suit, but error on the side of over-dressing rather than under-dressing. Don't worry. You're not going to insult a prospective employer if you are better dressed than they are. Chances are you will be...after all...they already have the job!
5) Project a positive attitude but don't go overboard and act like a used-car salesman. Show that you are interested in working there and compliment their work. Just try not to make it too obvious that you're "buttering" them up or trying to sell yourself with your words rather than your work.
6) Bring another copy of your reel/resume. Remember, we’re really disorganized. We might not have your materials handy.
7) Bring some additional work. Don't let us believe that your reel comprises everything you've ever done.
8) Be very careful when speaking negatively about a former job/boss/co-worker. This is a small industry. There's a chance your interviewer knows the person/place of which you speak.
9) Watch for trick questions. "Oh...come on...you can show us those shots from that movie that isn't out yet...we won't tell anyone!" Or: "Hmmmm...I see you have 3 months to go before finishing your current project...we could really use you sooner...are you sure you can't just abandon your current team and join us now?" If you do it to them, you'll do it to us.
Follow up:
Keep in mind that it often takes a while before a demo reels gets reviewed. If you haven't heard anything for 2 weeks or so it is okay to call and make sure your submission was received. But don't be a pest. After an interview, it is always a good idea to send a (genuine) follow up letter thanking your prospective employer for taking the time to meet with you, but do not contact the company repeatedly. If you don't get hired and you really want to work at a particular company, resubmit your materials in 6 months or so. Studios needs and criteria change all the time. Your skills/style might not have been appropriate for last year's project, but they might be right for the new one.
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