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The Big Picture

There is quite an intimidating reality check that comes with putting all your work together and making a portfolio for the world to see. For once, I have to be objective about what actually showcases skill and ability and which projects, no matter how dear to me, need to go. There are thousands of demo reels on the internet to be intimidated by, and the best way I have found to go about this is to show my work to professionals for advice.

I had put together showreel and portfolio website last summer for internships and I started to refine it this term. I had the chance to show my work to a number of professionals this term, including the amazing Aya Suzuki. She was very kind to go through my one minute film, my website and my showreel and meticulously give me feedback about what to include, what to remove, how to organise my work, what my perceived strengths were and also how to improve my animation skills. 

I have been debating for a while on how to compartmentalise my work since it is a mix of preproduction work, illustration, character designs, 3D and 2D animation, and while not every part is relevant for every application, I would still like to come across as versatile, curious, and well, skilled. She suggested categorising my work not as project case studies as I had, but by type, so I had a page for all the background painting, another for character design, another for storyboards and so on. It would be easier to direct someone to their relevant section. I felt very nervous to show my amateur work to someone so skilled and successful, but the experience ended up being validating, encouraging and also grounding.

What my website looks like right now

I also had a portfolio review session at the UAL graduate careers fair, and though they were not from animation, they gave me a good idea on what first impression my work seemed to create. It is hard to see your own style and what you take for granted among animators. They also advised me to care about my own presentation and confidence while talking about my work in person.

Business cards I printed for events and festivals, with a Linktree QR code

While editing my reel, my business card and making a new website, I was constantly worried about how to make an impact and how there are thousands of animators and artists like me doing the same thing and trying to stand out as well. At some point I looked at the artist cards I had collected over time and realised, well it just needs to be something I think is fun, because there are zero parameters past basic functionality, and no way of knowing what will appeal to whom. (I am partly validated by a talent rep from DNEG being delighted that my business card was pink since that was her favourite colour.)

Recently I had a chance to show my edited reel and website to Margeux from Moth Animation as well, and I looked for her reactions and what seemed to be interesting enough to click and explore and what seemed to be confusing or not just not appealing enough. She made the observation that currently my work in 3D animation is stronger than any of my 2D projects, which I did not expect, since I started 3D pretty recently. Also a lot of 2D clips I had were very context dependent, so unless I could include a sequence, they just didn’t have quite the impact I hoped. This too was an enlightening experience since she gave us insight into what recruiters and studios look for (and how long they look) in showreels. 

organising work into categories
Checking for legibility in different formats

This is an endless process and I doubt I will ever be satisfied with my work, but I hope to develop an objective eye towards my work on my own. In the meantime, I am extremely grateful for having access to such amazing people and their honest and constructive feedback.

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Making a Film (Why a Film?)

One of my biggest goals while searching for masters programmes was to find an opportunity to make a grad film. Ever since I wanted to be an animator, I wanted to make a film and this term was my chance to properly develop a short film over 6 months. 

However, come January, I found myself debating whether it was worth developing dedicated portfolio pieces or work on someone else’s film. Would it be practical to make a film on my own just because I really wanted to or was there something more useful to do with this chance?

However I decided to go with a film for two main reasons:

  1. Because I really really wanted to 
  2. A completed animation student film would then grant me access to filmmaker spaces

From other filmmakers I have met and discovered, their directed animation films then gave them opportunities to apply for festivals, host screenings and also participate in talks and events to share their experience on working on their films. A collective of animation students called Ghost Animation, created 4 animated short films and went on a tour across cities hosting screenings and animation meet-ups. Having a film that I have directed and created would become my way of introducing my work to a lot of industry professionals, even if it is only the festival curators who see it.

Since I plan to veer towards filmmaking sometime in the future, I also wanted to try my hand at directing a film, specially one with moving parts, with dialogues and music. I was so excited about it, forgot it was going to be hard, and, well, it is really hard.

Recording dialogues with my friends with a makeshift set- up in my room

There are so many decisions, ‘is the theme of the film coming across’, ‘should I make my film in 2D or 3D based on what kind or portfolio I want to showcase’ or ‘these storyboard panels look nice but will I actually be able to animate this’. I started with just a faint image in my head and developing it into something that would be consistently interpreted the way I needed it to, was quite stressful, which is why it was rewarding when things started falling into place. 

The working schedule, or rather Plan A

Once I started working with the first year student, assigning her work and tasks meant I myself needed clarity on how everything is going to look, how many shots there would be, what brushes, what file settings and naming pattern to use, and so on. I needed to plan, schedule, co-ordinate availabilities and account for things to go wrong. Similarly when it came to recording dialogues or giving feedback on music, or working with a background painter, I realised I needed to have a solid idea of what the film is not, to be able to direct someone towards what it would be like.

Assigning shots and coordinating through the shot list

I don’t know yet what future this film will have, but being a director gave me indispensable experience and also a little insight into what directors and supervisors have to think about. Time will tell if choosing a film was the smart choice, but it is worth it simply because of how much fun I am having making it.