#fettle animation

Fettle Official website 

Talk 2 of 2.

Zane Whittingham, a creative director of Yorkshire Based animation company "Fettle" came in to give us a seminar on the harsh realities of professional animation, and how he managed to break into the industries, making a point that it was a long, drawn out process. 

However, he did end up in a position that gave him full creative control, and went on to direct several well known pieces, including the Bafta winning Animated documentaries, 'Fragile stories'. depicting the horrors that children faced in the Second world War.

He gave some stellar advice during the seminar: 

Figure out how much you're worth, and how much you need to live so you can do your job at your greatest efficiency. Depending at the client, they will be different about money. If you are in the situation where a client is throwing money at you to meet a deadline, sometimes you can force yourself to meet it, but there are other times where it literally isn't worth your health. Know how to identify these boundaries. 

If you are working from a model sheet during a project, dedicate an appropriate amount of time to learn how to draw the characters, because practice early on means that there are less mistakes later. 

As an extension of this, make sure you are also familiar with their movements and solve any problems you might face with the flow of the performance as well as you can before you turn up for the commencement of a project .

The director's word is law. Don't try to adjust the storyboards once they are locked. If they have a certain aesthetic for a project, it's best just to replicate it as well as you can.

Don't give up on life drawing. Even this kind of knowledge can become fuzzy and leave you without constant practice. A loss of this fundamental knowledge can become evident in your animation if it's not kept sharp.

There's a 50/50 chance that the project you've signed up to will be one that you won't like. This is a harsh fact of the animation/ creative world, but it sometimes really is just worth buckling down and bringing home the bacon so you can move on to something better and work on personal projects without fear of poverty.

Communication within a project is key, with your director, and your fellow animators and creative team, even if it's just to manage time, progress, or making sure that everyone is literally working from the right page.

Fettle Official website 

Talk 1 of 2

Fettle is a small but accomplished animation company founded and based in the Yorkshire dales. Recently, the Animation producer Kath Shackleton (Also affiliated with 'All animated' )came in to speak with us about the practical considerations of running a company and gave us some advice on how to alot time, money, and yourself.

As the producer, she is in charge of managing the company, the team from a practical standpoint, and also secures funding and balances the finances.

Her first piece of advice was to go out in the world and mingle, in order to put a voice and a face to your company or practice. Attend conferences and seminars, and have your ideas concisely organised in your mind so if the opportunity to Pitch strikes you can take it without tripping up over yourself too badly. 

An online presence is very valuable but also very cheap in today's society, so make the most of the free platforms out there to host your work and promote your company at minimal cost.

Rejection is never easy, but it is a hard fact of life that if you're an aspiring artist or visionary, you are more likely to have your ideas dismissed than accepted a majority of the time. It's worth hardening yourself to it and moving on with your next possible source of funding or idea. To stay active is a better state to be in terms of procuring work, than wallowing in self pity after all.

Equally though, if you think your project is really worth the investment, be persistent and possibly even hard handed in your pursuit of support or funding. If one source is adamant about your rejection or inadequate in their offer, then move on to find a better offer. Don't undervalue yourself, ie: don't underestimate the cost of a project or the amount of money needed to live.

Lock off details in the storyboard stage. It will save you grief and money later. Keep last minute alterations to a minimum and ensure that your client is completely satisfied with your approach before asset production begins.