PPP Talks from the Industry

Kath Shackleton

http://fettleanimation.com/

An animation producer who owns her company called Fettle, consisting of a work number of 8 employees. The company has recently won a BAFTA award for one of their work, CITV Share A Story competition.

http://fettleanimation.com/2013/11/25/were-bafta-winners/

She raised some points in the talk about what she has learnt while working in this industry and how to she has made her company well known.

Some points were:

• only as good as your team members that work in the company, the team have to be dedicated and be able to work towards the deadline at the standard needed
• a brilliant idea pitched to the wrong person or company at the wrong time could be very dangerous and not help your idea being used
• budgeting the money has helped her understand how to live and handle work projects, like hiring an accountant to help understand the money flow and planning ahead for the future
• planning needs to be done to keep the company organised and make sure that work commissioned gets done by the time it is needed
• motivate yourself and your team to make sure you can encourage those that have a hard time with new briefs and working within a time limit to those that can work to a time limit and help them work together
• completion is important if a work needs to be done for a deadline, try to emphasise to commissioners or producers that at the storyboarding stage is where details can be changed easily but after that it puts pressure on the workers
• publicise, get the work advertised and out into the public so people and companies can see it and get to know your work
• networking does not need to just be done with fellow colleagues, but lawyers are needed in case an agreement goes wrong, animators, editors and producers all need to be on your contact list for future needs

A few questions answered by Kath:

How long should it take to put together a pitch?

It should take no longer than an elevator ride to get your pitch/idea across.

How to get into the industry?

Tips given were to apply for Runner positions, Internships. 

I enjoyed her talk because it was just interesting to her story of how she started out and learned as she went along and now owns a company with a life partner.

It was motivating to listen to, and she also gave advice about always keeping learning and getting your work out there for people to see, though not all may like it but it keep making work and someone will pick it up.

Matt Saunders

http://cargocollective.com/rabbitportal





Graduated from Leeds College of Art four years ago with a degree in Visual Communication specialising in animation and illustration.

He showed us the different works his been doing since then and how it is getting known in the industry.

Presently, he is working comfortable with a company and can go to work during the day and still do his own personal work back home.

He got himself signed to an agency, Handsome Frank (http://www.handsomefrank.com/) that helps him get work which keeps his name out there.

http://www.handsomefrank.com/illustrators/matt-saunders/

The work that got him well known was the poster he did for the Bestival event for his favourite band, The Cure.

This helped increase the jobs he got later as companies like the style and wanted similar work done for them.

He also got the chance to exhibit his work in Paris for Pictoplasma festival that helped advertise his work.

Other people have requested his style of work such as the band Florence & The Machine and recently did a job for Marks and Spencer department store for a range of their products.

His talk was interesting because it also showed a progression of how he got his name out there and his work known, he stated that he did get offered jobs but had to also compete with other people to be picked and sometimes was fortunate to get it.
He advised to keep working and improving your skill because that is the only way your work quality with improve.

I have learnt from both speakers that the main advice given is to keep working on yourself and it will get better eventually.