pixar, ilm, etc

[yb_rhee]

has anyone tried to get a job with the major animation film companies?
i'm a 3D arch guy at my office. i'm thinking about putting together a demo reel and sending it out to them.

any advice on doing this?

[Igor]

well...

..actually it depends of what you want later. Most people see the only sense of thier life to get a seat in Pixar&co and are happy to be 3D-operators. Some remain it till they are 50 old and 150 kg fat.

The other see this just like a chair in the 3rd row left, 2 Art Directors in front and 4 Creative Art Directos and Supervisors behind them, and want just to take some practice and jump out as soon as they learnd enough. No offence, working after the sketches, and before texturing and skinning work for some other guy is probably the most stupid job you can get. Go rather working for McDonalds, there you can at least see some nice girls (sometimes) in front of you, and not the ugly fat face of some Visual Art Director who takes your models/textures apart becuase he thinks he must become the second George Lucas (or even worse).

The third group don't want "to develop themself as a part of a great team where all are happy and high while doing 3D Movies", since they not lucky to play a small wheel in the big clock. In most cases it makes stupid - one will rare become the chance in an big studio to do today Animation, and tomorrow a bit skinning. (One call it specializing! Making a moron of an creativ, talented guy) They work alone, working on themself and not for some company that earns millions later. They get after some time very strange and angry, since they notice they can't come far alone. You can't compete with 100 man in the proffessional studio. They start then despairing and going around 3D Forums and writing how 3D, the life, everything and the Rest are only crap and one should work by McDonalds.


I went through almost all of this schools - this is the reason I am so sarcastic about it. At the end I decided myself for the worst combination - to be able to do what I want and to choose the customers as I want it. You can imagine how bloody is the way behind such decision.

I have no formula to solve your question, but I would anyway try something more alternative. Not the crap like Pixar or ILM, where you have to deal with mature company structures, Human Resource Center, Cheffs and Quality Securtiy Guys (???), only to sit on the 3D Door one see for 2 sec in the "ToyStroy 17". Try something smaller.

I have heard of many great progressive studios in the UK and US, which have 5-25 man on board, where you can develop yourself and not get the hatchet between the legs all day. I just saw Homepages, but can't remember anymore where and what. I would do some research first to find what I like and not what they will throw me.

hope it helps a bit

[Eldar]

I've heard this question asked many times. It's hard to say. Other people's experiences can't tell you whether some choice in life will make you happy.

If that is your dream, it doesn't hurt to try. If you are good, you might actually make it. Personally, I think if you want something, it's better to have tried and failed, then go through rest of your life wondering if you should have done it.

Only downside to this specific question is that Pixar and ILM buildings can only hold so many warm bodies before people are forced to work in the parking lot. Just about anyone I know would like to work there, so competition is stiff. There are many other high caliber VFX and post production houses though, so limiting yourself to just those top few would probably make things difficult.

That's about all the bathroom phylosophy I can offer at the moment.

[Mattman]

Doesn't a lot of this depend on what you're interested in doing? I've been toying with idea myself and I've been doing a fair share of research. It seems that in some areas, artists are a dime a dozen, but there are other areas that are more specialized and the positions carry more responsibilty and more of a chance to utilize skills than other's. Either way, big companies are big companies and they offer good things and bad. So do the small firms, they're just different things. I would say stay open to all posibilities and learn what you can from wherever you go. Then, move on and learn more.

[shytigercp]

re

Pixar...had an acquaintance of mine work there for awhile. He told me me they had too many chiefs...he was let go after he had an argument w/ one and punched him in the mouth. He said if given a second chance he'd do it again.

[cocolas]

Re: re

Pixar...had an acquaintance of mine work there for awhile. He told me me they had too many chiefs...he was let go after he had an argument w/ one and punched him in the mouth. He said if given a second chance he'd do it again.

hehehe....kinda of a rebel that friend of yours....

paul.

[Eldar]

Re: re

Pixar...had an acquaintance of mine work there for awhile. He told me me they had too many chiefs...he was let go after he had an argument w/ one and punched him in the mouth. He said if given a second chance he'd do it again.

I'm not sure that tidbit of info paints an accurate picture of Pixar's work environment.

Unless working as bouncer, policeman or kung fu instructor, anyone who resorts to violence at their office has likely got a loose screw somewhere.

[shytigercp]

re

hehehe....kinda of a rebel that friend of yours....

Some people aren't meant to work on teams or to take constructive criticism. BTW, he was an Aquaintance of mind, not a friend.

Anyway the moral of the whole thing which I should have stressed on more was there are too many chiefs and not enough indians at Pixar.


How many people in a archtectural office does it take to screw in one light bulb?

[Psy]

0, the janitor does it.

[cocolas]

0, the janitor does it.

there is a different version of that joke, but since this is a proffesional forum I won't go into it.....

paul.

[dusan]

Please pm me the rest of it

[shytigercp]

1 intern and 5 architects to tell him how.

[cocolas]

1 intern and 5 architects to tell him how.

true......very true ..........I should know since I happen to be that one intern

[erl]

Thanks for sharing your experiences and thoughts on this. Especially what Igor wrote above has really opened my mind.

Frankly, previously I set Pixar/ILM as my long-term target in life that I have to achieve. Now I guess I have to re-think and re-plan again my future.

[J_Bug]

Igor has some very good points but before you rethink your long-term goals I would suggest trying to contact someone, privately through a forum like this one, who works at one of the companies.

Does anyone know where to get a good list of these smaller CG houses? I know of two web sites recommended to me in the past (mandy.com and craigslist.com) but I haven’t had much luck as of yet. All I've really been able to find are very very small 1-5 person video production companies. These guys would only want to contract work here and there.

--Jon