Escape Studios Visits Film London at Rich Mix

Rich Mix

Yesterday I visited Rich Mix - courtesy of Film London - to talk to with students and young media professionals about careers in animation and VFX. 

The event was hosted by Film London to provide aspiring artists with guidance on how to break into the creative industries  and, specifically, into the animation and VFX industries.  

Today the creative industries continue to grow (despite Covid, Brexit, Writer's Strikes and Actor's strikes) - boosted earlier this year by the further expansion of the UK Govt Tax Credit. 

  

How to Be Job Ready

The students and graduates I spoke to wanted to know about the kinds of jobs available in the industry, and how to get them.  Animation is now a big umbrella term, covering traditional keyframe animation (both 2D and 3D), technical animation, games animation, and motion graphics.  Old school 2D animation is also making a revival, with new software tools such as Toonboom Harmony.  2D Compositors are much in demand - but how many folks understand what compositing is?

Artificial Intelligence

Many students at the Film London event wanted to know about AI - how will it change the industry?  Predicting the future is hard, but my best guess is that it will be a huge turboboost for the industry, offering digital creatives ever more powerful tools to increase their output.

600 Graduates per year

UK universities produce over 600 students annually with degrees in animation, yet the animation industry still complains that most UK graduates aren’t ready for work - the gap between academia and industry is too great.  And this is the "gap" that we seek to close here at Escape Studios. 

Finding Work in the Animation Industry

At Escape Studios we try to ensure that as many of our Escapees as possible find work in their field - employability is at the heart of what we do.   

Polish Your Demo Reel

Successful graduates need to make sure they have a good well-cut demo reel, which is short, easy to find (not password protected) and embedded (and easy to find) online. 

Be at Linkedin

Today, students should have a well-curated Linkedin profile.  Animation recruiters tell us that they "live on Linkedin". Your profile should be attractive and well-organised, with your demo embedded.  Increasingly, Linkedin is your "shop window" to the industry, so it's important to make it appealing.  

Apply Online, and Network

Applying for jobs online can bring success - but students also need to network, by attending industry events (often by volunteering), posting their work at Linkedin, and building a network of industry professionals who can help them on the crucial first run of the ladder.  

For more on how to find work in the industry, see the resources below.

Jobs, Careers, Interview and Demo Reel Resources at Escape Studios
To see more resources on animation jobs and careers generally, see the the links below:

• Animation Recruiters (and how to handle them) - with Kevin Richards
• How to do well at your first job interviewAnimation - with Kevin Richards 
• Demo Reel Tips from Kevin Richards
• 
  How to create a great animation demo reel
• Escape Studios Showreel Guide
• Nine Ways to Blow a Job Interview
• The Number One Reason Why Animation Graduates Don't Get Hired
• Why Animators Need to Be on Linkedin
• Should Graduates Accept a Job as a Runner?
• Finding Work at Animationjobs.com 
• Finding Work in The Animation Industry Post-Covid

The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To apply for one of our courses, follow this link.