Final Term: Grad Film Update, Portfolio Update and Applications

Entering the final term, I’m becoming increasingly aware of the limited time I have left on this course. There’s still so much left to do on my grad film, but it’s making very good progress, which has let me begin to position myself in the industry with applications and showreels to send out.

I believe in my last post, I briefly showed my spreadsheet documenting the various studios I was applying to. I’ve applied to Art&Grafts again for a potential internship alongside Golden Wolf, I’ve sent emails to The Line Animation, Animade, Picnic Animation studios but have yet to hear anything from them as of now. I also applied for freelance work with Lobster studios but alas they have nothing for me to work on at the moment. Getting my foot in the door is a bit of a pain at the moment, but hopefully once I get my first real job in the industry, the ball will start rolling.

I’ve been using LinkedIn a bit more frequently this term, sharing clips and behind-the-scenes of previous projects as well as my grad film. It’s begun to help establish connections with different animators, so hopefully going into this last term, I’ll keep this up and build my presence up on the site.

I’ve also started making specific showreels tailored towards a specific style. This anime-inspired showreel includes my anime exercises or inspired designs to send to places like The Line Animation or Picnic Animation Studios which use a more anime-esque aesthetic. Once my grad film gets real close to finishing, I’ll start tailoring clips of more puppet-styled animation and different genres of animation.

It’s been quiet behind the scenes. I did get short-listed for a 2D animation job on Arts Temps, but due to the clashing schedule with my grad film and personal commitments, I had to turn it down (not to mention the demands of 9 minutes of animation in less than a month). But with this last term right in front of me, I’m taking as many opportunities as I can to build my portfolio up before I leave.