Entering the Stop Motion industry
March 8, 2016 8:30 AM Subscribe
What are the options for someone who wants to break into the stop motion industry.
Asking for someone who is in the SF bay area, has background in art & stop motion animation and is willing to take on any related role to get a foot in.
Asking for someone who is in the SF bay area, has background in art & stop motion animation and is willing to take on any related role to get a foot in.
It's been a decade and a half since I was in the animation business, and I was in the technical side, but the thing that opened doors on the artistic side was kickass demo reels. Preferably as a full short.
If I see a link to an awesome video, I'll forward that to my friends who are still closer to the industry, who'll forward it to their friends, and...
posted by straw at 9:24 AM on March 8, 2016
If I see a link to an awesome video, I'll forward that to my friends who are still closer to the industry, who'll forward it to their friends, and...
posted by straw at 9:24 AM on March 8, 2016
Stop motion is only done by a few studios, and Disney/Pixar is not one of them. You should be looking into LAIKA, the folks who did Coraline, the Boxtrolls, and Paranorman. They're based in Oregon which is where other smaller stop motion studios are located. I would contact LAIKA with your existing portfolio and request guidance on what you could do to earn a job there, and ask if there are satellites for their studio in SF if you can't move to Oregon for a while.
posted by Hermione Granger at 9:41 AM on March 8, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Hermione Granger at 9:41 AM on March 8, 2016 [2 favorites]
Also, you would do well to include reels in your portfolio of your own stop motion work as well as traditional 2D animation turnarounds, expression sheets, etc, plus samples of sculpture you've done if you have it. You can look at Behance and DeviantArt for examples of stop motion portfolios, too, if you need guidance there. Additionally, if you haven't had formal training in the history of animation, I'd pick up a few books on Amazon to learn more about the forefathers of stop motion (like Harryhausen). Looking into DragonFrame would probably be good, too.
posted by Hermione Granger at 9:49 AM on March 8, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Hermione Granger at 9:49 AM on March 8, 2016 [2 favorites]
You need to create your own content.
The chances of getting an entry-level job, if you are not in school, are miniscule. You need to be able to prove you can complete a project (made with industry-standard tools*) with a reel and multiple complete productions to show.
And then you have to network your ass off, join every association, meetup group, FB groups on professional- and software-related topics, get on the job lists for production assistants and apply for everything you can (including internships and development programs - just to try to get to the interview stage, even if you don't want them or can't take them), and then if you do get work - and it may be free work - bring your business cards with your youtube channel on it and be so spectacularly nice that people want to work with you again.
*This can be tough to call or tough to do. My husband's comfortable native editing environment is Final Cut but a lot of the industry uses Avid and there's niche Premiere shops, you should ask around to find out what's de rigeur to whom in animation and stop-motion specifically, as I imagine there's some specialized software there. Nobody cares what cameras he knows or what audio software, but he'll get turned down for Avid jobs because he's not primarily an Avid guy, though he knows it. (OTOH, Final Cut is on a big push to get a bigger market share, and he's on some list of theirs as a qualified pro or whatever, so make sure you make friends everywhere you go.)
posted by Lyn Never at 10:55 AM on March 8, 2016
The chances of getting an entry-level job, if you are not in school, are miniscule. You need to be able to prove you can complete a project (made with industry-standard tools*) with a reel and multiple complete productions to show.
And then you have to network your ass off, join every association, meetup group, FB groups on professional- and software-related topics, get on the job lists for production assistants and apply for everything you can (including internships and development programs - just to try to get to the interview stage, even if you don't want them or can't take them), and then if you do get work - and it may be free work - bring your business cards with your youtube channel on it and be so spectacularly nice that people want to work with you again.
*This can be tough to call or tough to do. My husband's comfortable native editing environment is Final Cut but a lot of the industry uses Avid and there's niche Premiere shops, you should ask around to find out what's de rigeur to whom in animation and stop-motion specifically, as I imagine there's some specialized software there. Nobody cares what cameras he knows or what audio software, but he'll get turned down for Avid jobs because he's not primarily an Avid guy, though he knows it. (OTOH, Final Cut is on a big push to get a bigger market share, and he's on some list of theirs as a qualified pro or whatever, so make sure you make friends everywhere you go.)
posted by Lyn Never at 10:55 AM on March 8, 2016
Stop Motion magazine.
In general, I wouldn't limit myself to just one skill or knowing only Dragonframe, for example. I work in film, and most graphics and animation houses have people who can do lots of different things. (Avid is industry standard, too,)
posted by Ideefixe at 11:53 AM on March 8, 2016
In general, I wouldn't limit myself to just one skill or knowing only Dragonframe, for example. I work in film, and most graphics and animation houses have people who can do lots of different things. (Avid is industry standard, too,)
posted by Ideefixe at 11:53 AM on March 8, 2016
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posted by parmanparman at 9:18 AM on March 8, 2016