Anyone working in film/video industry work around animators? Esp. In Cali? My daughter is looking at universities for art and film animation studios. We are trying to find what are the best schools to get into the scene? Any ideas? contacts? directions?


Thanks

KT

They have schools for that?
Ive been doing animation for 18 years now.
I wish they had them back then When I was getting into the biz.

From my experience when studios look for animation/graphics talent they
90% look for tradition artists. Very few "Computer" only animators
get into the big studios. Sure there are some but most of the staff are
your old school 'paper' designers/artists.

I have my own Animation/Multimedia company. From time to time I look for subconsultants. I usually look for a software programming background due to the bulk of my work being in the Industrial and Mechanical Engineering fields.

There are tons of people who have jumped on the Animation field recently.
'Computer' only Artist/Animators usually only get work in the gaming industry
Which is not a bad thing..............

So I would say attend a traditional Art or film school as a Major and Minor in 'Computer' animation/design

if you can look farther afield, the National Film School in the UK has a top notch animation dept. Not easy to get in, but their alumni success says it all, eg - this years Oscar winner for Best Short Animation? A woman who graduated just 2 months before the awards....

Every person I know who's gone through that dept. is working within the industry, doing what they love, day in, day out.

Good luck with the search

I worked in LA as a 3D animator/compositor for film/TV for over eight years. Prior to that, I worked in the midwest doing the same on a smaller scale.

PM me for direct contact info. I'll do my best to supply good primer info, especially regarding schools.

List of Schools -
http://www.pixar.com/companyinfo/jobs/schools.html

Additional good info:
http://www.pixar.com/companyinfo/faq/jobs_faq.htm

A "demo reel" how to... (good info for all that are trying to get a job in this industry).
http://www.pixar.com/companyinfo/jobs/howto.html


Cheers!

Thanks for all the great replies. Natalia lived and studied several months on and off in London, and was visiting this school as a possibility a while back:

London College of Communication (London, England): http://www.lcc.arts.ac.uk/

Do you know anything about it? The one you suggest also looks very interesting.

Chris, I will PM you.

Allen, she will be attending a full traditional art school--animation is just one of the areas she wants to explore. College is a good time to see all the different ways artists can work, and apply lessons from all the media wherever one lands. Her passion, however, is anime, cartooning, and filmmaking.

Pascal, thanks for taking time to post such excellent info!

www.cgtalk.com is a pretty good forum for animation type stuff.

from what I have read, Vancouvor film school is very well regarded..

http://www.vfs.com/