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Topic: Animator - #2 hot job in Hollywood...
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Charles
Administrator
Member # 7
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posted
...according to this article from the Princeton Review, preceded only by special visual effects director.
http://spotlight.encarta.msn.com/Features/encnet_Departments_CareerTraining_default_articl e_HotJobsinHollywood.html?GT1=10887
From the article....
2. Animator: While basic animation has been around for a century, in recent years the medium has virtually exploded, and employment opportunities abound.
Modern-day animators don't just work with stop-motion clay animation ("Chicken Run," "Wallace & Gromit"), but also with photographs of drawn or painted images ("The Lion King") and computer-generated images ("Finding Nemo"). Computer-generated imagery (CGI) animation is nearly industry.
The award-winning animators at Pixar ("Ratatouille," "The Incredibles") have raised the profile of animation, and they've also pioneered 3-D computer graphics technology.
With the public's insatiable appetite for animated sitcoms ("The Simpsons," "Family Guy") and films ("Toy Story"), the growth and glamour potential of this career promise to keep skyrocketing.
At the moment, there are only about 94,000 multimedia artists and animators in the country--and demand for industry professionals is on the rise, expected to increase by 40 percent in the next decade. Oh, and did we mention that a good animator can earn a salary in the six-figure range?
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Sketchbook
IE # 135
Member # 1581
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posted
I've got to say, this is great to hear!
Quite a promising outlook compared to 10 years ago, when studio animators were out looking for work, or contemplating a new career.
I'm glad there is such a demand for animation!
![[cheers]](graemlins/cheers.gif)
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Mike
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Charles
Administrator
Member # 7
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posted
I'll be sure to tell that to all the students I know who've broken into the industry the past few weeks. Both from my school and Cal State Northridge.
A good friend who's been dealing with partial employment and long strteches of unemployment over the past several years is now working 2 full time jobs. He's not getting much sleep but he's making a lot of money and will soon be entirely debt free.
The condition of the industry isn't predicated on anonymous message board comments that reflect poorly on the AN community, thank goodnes for that. It has its highs and lows, and the low we went through was a false recession that I anticipated in one of my original AN articles nearly 9 years ago. The demand for animated content, along with the advances in technology, along with the expansion of media and the global market means that there's healthy activity for skilled animation professionals.
One of the interesting things mentioned in the article is that the industry in the US is about 94,000 strong, considering everyone associated with it in some capacity. I don't know what their source is, my guess prior to this from what I've been able to ascertain from AN's traffic patterns over the years would have been 120,000 to 130,000. Factor in a little of the international scene and the numbers start to make some sense.
Also, the #1 job is special effects director, which means that between animators and efx artists, the highest demand for entertainment industry jobs are those in our related fields.
With a 40% growth projected over the next 10 years, that figures to 4% a year, which is typical of a strong and steady average growth rate for an economy.
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Charles
Administrator
Member # 7
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posted
Spoke with several friends today to see what's happening and they're all working, busy with projects, etc. I'm hearing new studio names that I haven't been aware of before, plus major studios picking up on talent. A lot of activity. Seems like a good time for the biz.
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SoleilSmile
IE # 120
Member # 1483
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posted
Yes, but how many of these boutique studios are union? I find that it is very difficult to pay rent working for a non-union studio as a independent contractor. No unemployment, no severance, not even two weeks notice. Just an email saying that you're done or an informal blurb saying that your done-without the action being cleared by all management.
I left quite few jobs not knowing that I was wasn't really let go, because some neophyte producer did not communicate with a higher up.
It would be nice if the boutique studios were more formal like a union studio. At least this is the way things are sloppily done at a lot of Bay Area shops.
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HipChick Comics and Animatress Blog
www.hipchickcomics.com
http://www.animatress.blogspot.com/
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Semaj
Member
Member # 3131
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posted
This is very encouraging news.
I hope to enter the business someday, but a lot of people I've spoken to still believes that it's a "starving artist" medium.
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Graphiteman
IE # 218
Member # 2092
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posted
hmmm.Do you think that the U.S. dollar not being as strong has soemthing to do with it?....Cheaper to keep some stuff home?
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strawberry
IE # 28
Member # 14
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posted
its got nothing to do with weak dollars. Animators are awesome. it's science.
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Charles
Administrator
Member # 7
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posted
I don't know to what degree the dollar is a factor. The impression I'm getting is that if it is a factor it's not much of one. Everyone is gearing up. And with the resolution of the writer's strike, it's more good news. I had a conversation today with a recruiter from an A list studio preparing to staff over the next few weeks. The activity seems to be more in line with a general growth in animation media. It looks to me as if we're in another boom.
The difference this time as compared to the one of the 90s is that the artists who are entering and/or presently active in the industry have very strong skills and are highly trained. As opposed to a decade ago when the studios were looking primarily for artists with good line quality who could inbetween, the ones who are making it today have spent a lot more time getting their chops down with their basic skills and with software.
You can't walk off the street like before. It's a much more competitive and varied landscape but artists are rising to the challenge and it's helping the industry by raising standards.
Plus, there seems to be a lot more creator driven or creator oriented situations. The environment of hard core corporate control, although still prevalent in some places, is not as widespread and powerful. As I mentioned earlier, it's a good time for the biz, at least that's the impression I've been getting for a while now, which is consistent with the spirit of the article.
In my opinion, it feels as if we've weathered the storm of the past few years and are entering into a new age or era of some sort. Time will tell as to how long this will last, but it's looking good. A better world than before in many ways. Creative people are driving it forward.
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Charles
Administrator
Member # 7
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posted
This was a very active week, which included a meeting with a group of artists who were here on a trip sponsored by their government. I won't say which country, it's in the western hemisphere. Their visit was the first step in developing a viable animation production industry within their nation. The boom that's happening is a global one. An exciting time for the business.
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