So You Want to Make an Animated Film?

Making your own animated film isn't as easy as it sounds. The most common mistake made by newbies is to underestimate the amount of work involved. Everything takes longer, and is harder to achieve, than you expect. That said, it's not an impossible dream to make your own short, especially if you plan well and work smart. The trick is to plan it out properly, doing all the steps in the right order.

Making any film, however big or small, breaks down into four main sections:

1. Development 
2. Pre-production
3. Production 
4. Post-Production

Do them in the right order, and you won't go wrong. Start animating before you've got your story right - and you are courting disaster. We all tend towards our comfort zones, and animators are no exception - the temptation is always there to start animating before you really have your story figured out.

To make a great film, you need to follow the steps properly, starting with a great story, doing your storyboards, making your animatic, and then going through pre-production, production, and post. It's a complex process but the best way to learn film-making is to go through all the steps, and do it in the right order.

To find out more, watch the video above.

---Alex

For information on finding work and surviving in the animation and visual effects industry, read our post on how to find a job in the animation industry, and check out our post about what not to do at a job interview. Also see our post on starting your own small animation business, learn how to create an invoice, and see how we are helping our students find work through our film co-operative Nano Films.  Download the free Escape Studios Careers in VFX Handbook. Take a look at how awn.com can help you find a job, and read our piece about how to survive as a freelance animator. Also, find out what Cinesite look for in a student's demo reel, and read our post on setting up your own animation business.