#ppp 3

In the late summer to early autumn, I am going to visit some friends in America for a long vacation, as I have been told that the Fall is the prettiest time to visit the Maine/ New England region. However, before departing, I intend to get into contact with a few local production companies, with a few reasonably close together in the Boston Massachusetts area. The purpose of this visit mainly is to relax, but I also wish to investigate opportunities for internships abroad, and even just to see how a real animation production house pipe line looks in action. A few of the selected houses I wish to visit are  Fable Vision Clam Bake Studios

Soup2Nuts

and finally, Hero For Hire, to name a few.

From my research, I can tell that each of these companies carries a different ethos and possess an inherent aesthetic, despite each undertaking a variety of projects. I think that this is important, as it distinguishes a company from the crowd, attracts different kinds of talent and holds an appeal to a niche at any given time. 

'The Uncertain Adventurers' Official Site 

After spotting a notice in the 'Creative opportunities after college' newsletter, this competition caught my eye.

The brief is to design the cover for a soon to be released children's book "The Uncertain Adventurers and the rubies of Wisdom" by C M Small. A little information is given on the website about the background setting of the story, a mystical island named 'Gojoli' and the various characters involved, but not much is supplied in the way of imagery or plot points. This is a good thing, as it allows the readers to truly make their own deductions and interpretations about the  story and doesn't provide spoilers.

It also means that entrants have free range over what type of cover they submit. The final submission date is the 30th May, and there are two categories, one for over 18s, and one for under. I resume there is going to be two editions of the book. 

The winning submission not only gains valuable exposure, but also a tidy £250.

Although there have been interruptions and Pitfalls during my time at college, I would never regret attending, and I'll certainly value my time serving this institution with fondness. 

I am not the party going type. Nor am I a social butterfly. but if I am passionate about a particular topic, I can talk about it for hours with much gusto. 

So when the opportunity came to promote the course that I had grown to love, not only for what it taught but also the way in which it conducted itself and the friendly, supportive staff and students, I leapt at the chance. 

As a student ambassador, I was employed to greet applicants and help out at events to promote the college. I was charged with taking others on tours, telling them about my course and answering general questions about the institution. It taught me a great deal about how to hold a conversation, conducting myself in a confident and professional manner, and how to promote something enthusiastically without seeming (or being) insincere.

For an introvert like me, it was a challenge, but passion won out, and applicants never seemed intimidated or afraid to ask questions, and left with their fill of knowledge.

This choice to take the position was also brought about by my open day at LCA. The ambassador that took me to the orientation did not study DFGA and was mostly unhelpful in answering my questions about the college. I never wanted a prospective student to feel that way again, so I learned all I could about the university lay out, what other courses had to offer and how we could access their resources, such as would and metal work, fine art, fashion, graphic design and vis-com. 

Using these acquired communication skills, I then set  about trying to find out what the students who already attended thought of the course. I became student representative and learned about the bigger picture, and how the college processes requests and how compromise and procedure make themselves known in that process. 

Although there was less hands on engagement, the experience was useful. It taught me how to comprehend the minutes of a meeting, meeting etiquette, and how to think through and word a question carefully and concisely in a limited time frame. As reps, we were also asked to help come up with credible compromises and solutions using problem solving skills. 

In the oddest way, it felt like I knew how to see things in education, not from the student side, but from the point of view of those in charge. The 'adults', one of which I have gradually become. 

It's obvious that sacrifices have to be made, but if the budget can be used creatively, it may very well be a case of merely asking, and the course will receive.

From these small but important roles in my college life, I have learned how to entertain, pitch an idea, hold eye contact without fear, be responsible for a group and to ask questions without rambling of having judgments passed upon you. And the satisfaction that comes with agreement and even approval of suggestions. 

MCM London Official Site 

After visiting MCM for the first time last year, I have decided to attend the London Comic Con against this May. Not only will this be an enjoyable trip, I found that the exhibitor tables and stalls had a lot to offer in terms of educating me about current trends in Films, Games, animation and comics. 

The experience I personally enjoyed the most was the exploration of artist's ally, because it allowed me to talk with both high profile and indie writers and artists, asking them about their art and how to get it out into the public eye. Seeking advice from these creators offers valuable insight in how to get started in comics, and possible methods for self publication. Plus, the whole experience of getting a table at a convention seems like a fun one, and is not as expensive as one might think. The real expense comes from printing your books and illustrations for sale, but this is where making your online presence known really counts.

Many artists I have visited at cons have been known to me before hand because they promoted their appearance at the convention and marked themselves on the table map. simple, but effective. 

Drawing at the convention, offering sketches with certain sales as promotions is also a deal sweetener and can buy you an extra few drinks at the end of the day.

Above all, appearing at a convention gives you a face beyond your cyber self, and contributes wonderfully to networking.

Eye the prize official site

Going through my college emails, I happened across a message about creative oppurtunites and internships for both current students and soon to be graduates. Amongst a few competitions that peaked my interest, there was also a year's free subscription to a site called "Eye the Prize" for LCA Students. I  investigated and actually found it an incredibly accessible site with a diverse range of categories, ranging from Film, illustration, and even creative writing. 

It was easy to set up a profile and means that during my first year out of education, it's easier to find footholds in the industry to try and submit work to. 

Mark Mayerson, a TV show creator, animator, and teacher, has written what may be the single best thing I've ever read about the contemporary animation pitching process.

(Part 1 and Part 2)

This article by Mark Mayerson raises several pertinent points about how to go about getting your ideas funded and pitching your ideas to a panel that may not appreciate the full potential of what the creator is trying to convey, and I learned something else: The person who Pitches doesn't get paid, but the panel is paid to listen. 

Another aspect that Mayerson acknowledges is that Extroverts have an advantage over introverts in that they convey their ideas without a finished product. To me, this is important because it gives a person with a more nervous predisposition a heads up and informs them that it's probably a good idea to prepare thoroughly and rehearse your presentation. A vast majority of potentially excellent projects have rarely seen the light of day because a sponsor turned the creator down after a Pitch.

I also feel that it would help to bring a concise, well organised selection of concept art to give the panel a clear idea of what they are looking to fund, because often these people are not creators themselves and might need visual to persuade them.

Over the last few years, however, I've started to see a steep rise in the amount of work pitched directly to prospective audiences, which is possibly the most ideal scenario, and had these projects consequently  realized via crowd funding platform websites like Indigogo and Kickstarter.

The rub with this approach of course is that one's reputation as a practitioner needs to already be established, so again good networking and a strong online presence needs to be cultivated in order for prospective endeavors to gain momentum.