Nine Questions to Ask Your Client

What questions should you ask a client when you start work on your first freelance job? Most projects start off full of optimism and excitement, but there is always a risk of things going wrong.  It's worth asking the right questions up front, to ensure that the job goes smoothly and well, and your happy client comes back for more. In this video I explain about the Nine key questions to ask your client before you get started.

Meet The Jelly Cars!

Animation Apprentice student Lee Caller has recently completed his short film Jelly Cars, a short story about perseverance in the urban jungle.   

"Jelly Cars" is an inventive piece of film-making;  it's a charming story, entertaining and fun - and beautifully animated.

Lee took a simple exercise - animating a vehicle in motion, (in this case, animating a cartoon car, using the free yellow Beetle rig by Aaron Parker), and turned it into a short film, which has already been accepted into its first film festival - the annual KRAF film festival in Croatia.

Congratulations to Lee on his excellent work; we wish him every success in film festivals around the world.

Film Freeway - How to Enter Film Festivals

Film Freeway is a great way for students to enter short films into international competitions.

Rather than enter your film individually into lots of different festivals, film-makers can create one upload to a single portal, and then apply through Film Freeway for as many competitions as you like.

Film Freeway has over recent years come to replace IMDB's Withoutabox, which is being discontinued and will close down in October 2019.

What is a "One Sheet"?

What is a "One Sheet"? And who needs one? A One Sheet is a movie poster, and you need to make one if you've got a movie or short film to sell.

A "One Sheet" is a single image that encapsulates what your film is about and - hopefully - will make people understand the film and also want to go and see it.

Think of the posters you see on the wall as you leave the movie theatre. You walk down a hallway, past a wall of posters, and you think: "that movie looks cool, I might just go and see that".

Introducing...Loop De Loop!

Here at Animation Apprentice we're excited about Loop De Loop, a bi-monthly animation challenge that's a bit like The 11 Second Club, but with a loopy twist.

Loop De Loop seeks to create "a community of creative folks working together for the greater good of looping animation". Whatever that is.

So, how do students get involved with Loop De Loop? And what's it for anyway?

Sky Academy Arts Scholarships For Young Artists in the UK

Hiive

Sky Academy Arts Scholarships, running in partnership with Hiive, are offering financial support and mentoring for five talented young artists (that includes animators!) aged 18-30 from across the UK and Ireland.

If you've every wanted to do a personal arts project, but lack the funding to make it happen - this might be for you.

The aim of the scholarships is to "give young people the time, space and money they need to develop their creative practice and unlock their potential".

"Prologue" Nominated for a BAFTA

A still image from Prologue

Animation guru Richard Williams (who directed The Thief and the Cobbler, and was animation director on Who Framed Roger Rabbit?), has had his six-minute animated short Prologue nominated for a BAFTA, in the category of Best Animated Short.

The two other films nominated are Edmond (by Nina Gantz and Emilie Jouffroy), and Manoman (by Simon Cartwright and Kamilla Kristiane Hodol)

The nominees for Best Animated Film are Shaun the Sheep, Minions, and Inside Out.

"More Stuff" by Blue Zoo Animation!

More Stuff by Blue Zoo Animation from Blue Zoo on Vimeo.

Animation Apprentice graduate Marc Godfrey worked on this excellent short film by Blue Zoo animation, one of the UK's best indie animation houses and a studio that takes seriously the business of keeping its creative juices flowing. One of the ways they do this is by making short films, involving their staff creatively and ensuring that their work is experimental, fun and interesting. Congratulations to Marc on another great piece of animation.

Cake-O-Mation is Here at Last!

Some say 3D Animation is the best, others argue for a revival of hand-drawn 2D Animation.  Others still argue that Stop Motion rules.  But here at Animation Apprentice we are loving the work of French animation Alexander Dubosc, who makes animated cakes - both extraordinary and delicious.  Dibosc creates spinning zoetropes, a technology that goes back to the mid 19th century (and, arguable, ancient China), which he has re-invented as the Caketrope.  Or, as we're calling it, Cake-O-Mation.

Tom Sito Reviews Richard Williams' Prologue

A still image from "Prologue"

Animation director Richard Williams recently completed his long-anticipated short film Prologue, premiered at Annecy this past June and recently released in selected theatres in Los Angeles.  Tom Sito, Animator, Director, Historian and President Emeritus of the Animation Guild, wrote a review of the film. 

Master Animator Glen Keane Introduces Nephtali

Ever wondered what master animator Glen Keane has been up to since he left Disney back in 2012? "Nephtali" is what. In this beautiful short film combining live action with animation, Glen shows why he is regarded as one of the best animators alive. I was lucky enough to have worked with him on Pocahontas back in 1994, and the animation notes he distributed for newbies like me are still among the most valuable training materials I use in the classroom today.  In this film, Glen shows us why traditional 2D animation still matters.

Richard Williams Premieres "Prologue" in Los Angeles

A still image from Prologue

Animation guru Richard Williams, who directed The Thief and the Cobbler, and was animation director on Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, has released a first look at his new six-minute animated short Prologue.  The short film was first screened at Annecy in June of this year, and will be playing soon in selected theatres in Los Angeles. Williams is the author of The Animator's Survival Kit, now the essential textbook for all aspiring animators, as useful for 3D artists as it is for 2D practitioners.

Radio 4 Series on the Business of Film

BBC Radio Four ran a recent series by Mark Kermode on the Business of Film, which you can still catch up with via podcast.

Specifically, how do films get developed, financed and then distributed? It's a handy and informative series which simplifies much of the apparent complexity of the film business. We recommend that any student who is interested in making their own independent animated film (why not? We should all aim high) listen carefully. And take notes!

Nitrogen Studios in Vancouver is Hiring Junior Animators

Nitrogen Studios in Vancouver is hiring Animators at all levels! It's always tough to get those entry level jobs, but a young studio crewing up for a new movie is a great place to get a head start in the business. Follow this link to see details of how and where to apply.

The project is Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's Animated Comedy 'Sausage Party'. Presumably this one is not for kids. To see the whole story, follow this link.

How Do You Cast a Movie?

Frank Gladstone directs voice actors in a Soho sound booth

How do you cast a movie? The question is as relevant for animators as it is for live-action film-makers. If you are hoping to get your animated film project to the big screen, then at some point you need to think about casting.

At a recent event at BAFTA in London, part of the BAFTA Guru series of lectures, a panel of industry experts discussed how, exactly, film-makers can go about casting their film.

Studio AKA Reel

STUDIO AKA Montage Reel 2015 from STUDIO AKA on Vimeo.

Check out the latest work by STUDIO AKA, a multi-BAFTA winning & Oscar-nominated independent animation studio & production company based in London. This is just the sort of small studio we love to see, boutique houses doing creative and interesting work in animation. Most interestingly, Studio AKA do a mixture of 2D and 3D work, showing that the medium isn't really what matters - it's what you do with it that counts. Animation is all about creating an entertaining and believable performance. We train our students to master these skills so that they can use any software to create great animation.

BAFTA Hosts Film-Making Masterclasses in London on 11 July

On Saturday 11 July,  the BAFTA HQ in London at 195 Piccadilly will open its doors to emerging filmmakers for a day of masterclasses and panels with some of the UK’s major film industry organisations. The classes are hosted by industry experts, aimed at helping emerging filmmakers improve their creative and business skills. Best of all, each lecture/masterclass costs just £6 - cheaper than the price of a movie ticket.

RealFlow Student Challenge - Worth S3,000

Time to enter the RealFlow "Deliciously Viscous" Student Film Challenge! At stake is $3,000 in prize money for the winning submission. RealFlow is one of the newest and most exciting software packages for creating realistic fluid motion in an animated environment, and $3,000 of prize money is a worthy prize pot. So, how does it all work?

What Is Transmedia?

The Internet. Image: Wikipedia

Once Upon a Time there was Media. Then, there was Multi Media. Then, there was New Media. Later, there was Cross Media, and eventually 360 Media.  But nowadays, it's all about your TransMedia strategy. And yes, you really do need one - at least, anyone with a product to sell. At a recent conference on the business of making animated films, Mahesh Ramachandra, Transmedia Producer & Strategist, explained what a Transmedia strategy is, and why we all need one.

Five Rules For Dealing With a Tricky Client

How do you deal with a tricky client?  Difficult clients are so common that there are websites such as are clientsfromhell.net, dedicated entirely to horror stories written by freelancers about having to deal with hard-to-please clients. So, if you are starting off on your career, how do you handle a difficult client? Below are our five rules for success