Career Q&A, part 2

Q: How do I get a job in the field of computer animation?

A: This IS the big question, isn't it.

1. RESEARCH

To begin, you probably have a lot of research to do if you're asking this general of a question. Computer animation is all over the place, and though the tools and techniques are similar, the work can be very different. Take, for example, these four big pieces of the industry: feature animation, special visual effects, commercials, and games.

In my previous Q&A post, I write a little bit about the difference between working for an outside client (which happens generally if you are in VFX or commercials) versus working within a feature animation studio. That is certainly one concern. But what about the jobs themselves? Do you want to be working on jobs that turn around every few weeks or months (commercials) or longer term fare (games, movies)?

Do you want to be in a smaller studio, which means you could wear multiple hats more easily, or do you want to be a specialist in a larger organization?

Here's a big one: do you actually know what this or that studio actually calls the job you want? You might answer my questions above with something like, "I'd like to work in a small games company." Okay, so what kinds of jobs do people actually have in the companies that fit your description?

A while back, every studio had a different name for the same job. Depending on which company you were looking at, you might be applying for a digital artist position, or you might be applying to be a lighting TD, or something else entirely. Things are stabilizing a bit more, as far as I've seen, and TD (technical director) is a fairly standard term for non-character-animators who work on production. Of course, as I write this I'm sure there are "camera artist" jobs at one place which would be called "layout TD" jobs at another.

Comb the job boards and try to get a picture of what the actual positions are. See if representatives of the companies you are interested in have sponsored speakers at conferences and/or schools, see what they had to say and how they described themselves. You may find that you want to do position X at company Y, but the same job at company Z is called something else. At various points in my animation career, I have been referred to as: production support programmer, developer, animation software engineer, TD, generalist TD, shading TD, lighting TD, effects TD, tools storyboard artist, and director. My responsibilities while wearing many of those hats were the same--it was the hats that changed.

In short, know what you're aiming for. Know the places and the people, and know specific job titles to watch for.

2. INTERNSHIPS, APPRENTICESHIPS, RESIDENCIES

My second piece of advice is to try and find internships. I've written about them before, but their importance in the hiring process is truly under-appreciated. Some studios hire half of their interns to full time jobs, whereas those same studios get 100 resumes and reels a week. I like the intern odds much better.

Think from the studios' perspective: they want good people, but 1) it's hard to know who's good and 2) they have production needs that fluxuate. So they don't want to over-commit to someone who might not work out for any number of reasons. Internships and other part-time arrangements are strategies to get people in the door at a very low-cost and with little risk. If it doesn't work out after 3-6 months, goodbye.

There are internships, typically for current students and sometimes for recent grads. Some places have apprenticeships. Some have residencies (or the equivalent). Cast a wide net early on and see what you can find out. For most studios these programs peak when they have a lot of work coming up (they need more bodies, after all), and they may vanish when times are tougher. So you may need to be flexible and agile, ready to respond quickly if and when these things are posted.

3. APPLICATION MATERIALS

The third thing to keep in mind is your materials. By this I mean your reel, resume, reel breakdown, cover letter, and possibly letters of recommendation. There are lots of pieces of advice about these things online (I particularly appreciate Pixar's How to Create a Demo Reel webpage), but the thing I'll mention here is the cover letter. I don't really know how important the letter is in the scheme of things (I do think the reel is king), but I know that if I were reading a letter I would want it to be clear that the applicant has done his or her research about my company. In other words, given the variations between even the feature animation studios, you want to be sure your letter is tailored to the place you're applying.

For example, I just peeked at openings at Pixar and DreamWorks (PDI). There is a "Technical Director" position in both. At Pixar, based on the description, the TD generalist can be expected to do modeling, articulation, shading, maybe some software, some effects, etc. At DreamWorks, the TD reads as more of a production support programmer role, focused more on tool development. However, it does say that the TD supports and works with multiple departments too. These sound close, but are they?

You should know the answer by the time you are applying so you can target your materials to the job that they are actually offering. I think the best way to find the answer would, of course, be to actually speak with TDs from both organizations. What do they do each day? What are their responsibilities? This is where conferences, presentations, and the web come in handy.

4. PEOPLE/COMMUNITY

When you can actually speak with people in the organizations, and preferably in the positions, that you are considering, you will be the best equipped to apply for those positions. They can tell you what good reels in their areas look like, they can tell you what points you might want to emphasize in your other application materials. They can tell you what the jobs actually are like and help you understand whether or not you actually want those jobs.

The annual SIGGRAPH conference is a terrific way to chat with industry folks in a relaxed atmosphere. You can actually thumb through a book full of presentations and pick the things you want to see by the name/title/organization of the people giving the presentations. There are evening parties, gatherings during the day, etc.

I think that the SIGGRAPH student volunteer gig is the best way to get folded into the SIGGRAPH community. You spend half your time working the conference, the other half hanging out with the other students and the industry folks you've met, going to talks, screenings, etc. The deadline for student volunteers for the annual summer conference is generally in February; watch for it.

This career thread came up on a mailing list I maintain recently, and I wrote more there about the importance of building community, aka getting to know and work with people. Former colleague and now Imageworks TD Eric Wilson has kindly posted his comments and mine on his own website, so instead of elaborating here I'll refer you to that page where my comments can be found after Eric's.

Good luck.

Career Q&A, part 1

I get career-related questions a lot. I've decided to finally start answering them in a public place so I won't have to re-answer them the next time I'm asked!

Q: What's your history in "the industry?"

A: I left the MIT Media Lab with a Master's degree in 1994 and took a programming job at Rhythm & Hues studios in LA. I worked primarily on animation software, supporting productions. After almost a year I moved onto a longer-term project developing a new animation system for R&H (my particular area of focus was the deformation system). After perhaps 2 years of programming I realized that my real reason for coming to Hollywood was to make pictures, not software, and R&H kindly let me shift from tools to production. I did some articulation at first, then moved into more general TDing activities ("TD" is short for "technical director," a blanket term for folks who, in general, use the software tools to produce images).

The TD life in that particular corner of the industry--visual effects work for a client--didn't sit too well with me. It was frustrating to work for an outsider who came in every few weeks and shot down the work you'd been cranking on hard since the last visit.

In 1997 I took a job at Pixar to work on A Bug's Life. At Pixar I hoped the "client" would disappear, and it basically did. Because the client was there every day, working one-on-one with me in the form of an Art Director, Designer, or the Director himself. So there were no longer any deflating reversals of direction. The filmmaking process was ongoing and I was a part of it, encouraged to contribute in my own ways where I could. I also was lucky that my direct managers were very friendly, helpful, and great at estimating how long something should take to do. As a result, on ABL I felt like I had enough time and support to do what was asked of me. In production, at least based on my experience up to that point, that was quite unusual.

After ABL I moved to Massachusetts, so I switched from production back to tools and telecommuted for a year to work on the (at the time) new deformation system. Everything was great about this setup except that I missed two things: the community of the studio and working on production. In an effort to try and reconnect with production in some form, I asked around at the local schools to see if anyone would be interested in letting me teach a once-a-week production course. Hampshire College happened to have a full-time visting opening and when Pixar said I could go on leave I jumped at the chance to try out teaching.

I've taught CG and animation at Hampshire from 1999 until now, and I've returned to Pixar 4 times during the summer/winter breaks for various exciting short-term jobs. 3 were related to Finding Nemo (early concept modeling, fish fin R&D, and then render speed enhancements), and the most recent (summer 2005) had me back in tools.

Q: How was working at Pixar? What was the work environment like?

A: Terrific. I was lucky enough to spend time both in production and tools (software) and I enjoyed both groups equally.

Production can be hectic but working on a big film, alongside dozens of talented people, is not like anything else I've ever done. I would dive in and focus on my part of the project, then show up in a review a few days later to find that (of course) everyone has also been working on their stuff! And it's all growing richer, more interesting, more complicated, more beautiful. Any team effort can be like this if you've got a good team, and I was always working with good people when I was in production there.

My most recent coding work in tools was co-developing the deformation software used for Monsters Inc. and beyond. Unlike production problem solving, I had time in tools to ponder/debate the "right" way of doing things, to work on the whiteboard, to meet and talk and read up and talk some more. Not infinite time, but enough. The needs were pretty clearly laid out, but the approach I would take to solving a particular problem was basically my own. It was a great environment to develop code in. Lots of brilliant engineers and, of course, a user base trying to make the most advanced CG imagery ever. I really loved working closely with production as a tools guy, both at Pixar and at Rhythm & Hues, because I enjoyed understanding exactly what production needed from a tool and trying to give it to them.

Q: Do the engineers get to be involved in the creative process at all?

A: There are many different kinds of engineering jobs at Pixar, ranging from the super-isolated, long-term R&D positions to what might be called "production support" jobs. This is a term I borrow from my first gig at R&H in 1994, where I was hired to do production support programming. At the time it was a job within the software group but a job which was completely determined by the needs of production. At Pixar these days, my understanding is that there are folks who do some level of software engineering from within the production. Same job, but different boss if you will. This is a simplification, but I think the work is the same: if the production needs something that requires programming work, you do it.

If you have engineering skills but want to actually create content for the films then you may want to consider the role of TD. There are TDs who are primarily artists, and there are TDs who are much more technical. A code-savvy TD will often exercise his or her coding skills to solve some form of procedural animation or modeling or shading or effects task for their production. Perhaps these new tools folks, working within a production, are also asked to take on these kinds of jobs. I'm not sure. But the point is there are many ways in which coding skills can be useful at a studio like Pixar.

Q: What do you think Pixar is looking for in Summer interns? What is the best way to get my foot in the door?
A: It depends on what kind of internship you want. I think Pixar's own web pages have some answers to these questions, but here's my short take:

Tools interns need to be good programmers with a demonstrable interest in CG. How you demonstrate those skills and interests is up to you, but a solid resume is a good start. Your cover letter can describe projects you've done, classes you've taken, and other experiences you have too. What parts of CG are you interested in? Make the answer to that clear and I don't think it would hurt.

Pixar has other internships too, such as TD internships. They may be posted with more specific descriptions (layout intern or shading intern, for example) which would help you know if you're a good fit or not. Once again, you need to make your interests and skills clear and hope/ensure that you're applying for an internship that you would be a fit for.

This advice applies to regular TD job applications too: know the job you're applying for and tailor your application for it.