If you ever need a quick inspiration boost, check out Creative Talent Network’s Vimeo channel. I stumbled upon this treasure trove by clicking a link somewhere to the a talk given by Dreamworks Director/Producer Steve Hickner from 2009.
Steve Hickner has been in the animation business for 30 years, and shares his experiences with the CTN audience on the topic of breaking into animation and staying there.
Here are some of the bullet points I found to be most helpful and encouraging:
Attitude – Attitude is a huge factor in assembling a creative team. Hickner correctly states that “There’s nothing more collaborative than animation.” And for such a collaborative art, people don’t want to work with jerks. “Some people just light up the room when they come in… and you like you be around people like that.” It’s much easier to bounce ideas around with someone who has a good attitude and is eager to participate in the group effort. If it’s a decision between two equally-talented animators, I can guarantee that an animation team will hire the person with the better attitude.
Think Outside the Box – do what someone else won’t take the initiative to do. As Hickner says, “The person who does something different will stand out and you’ll remember them.” This can be something as simple as writing a hand-written letter vs. sending an impersonal email. I actually have first-hand experience with this one: after the AM graduation ceremony, I sent the three founders of the school a hand-written thank-you for all that they had done to create the wonderful community of animation students. I immediately got a personal message from one of the guys through the AM website saying that it stood out because he actually doesn’t get many thank-you cards. The card took 5 minutes to write, 44 cents to mail, and it started a conversation with one of the founders of my school and led to him looking at my work and giving me personal feedback!
Never Turn Down a Combat Mission – “Everybody who says ‘no’ and turns down a combat mission; you don’t know where that’s going to lead.” Every time someone says no and you say yes, you inch forward. Unless it’s something totally crazy, you’re probably going to get brownie points for taking on a project that other people won’t. Treat everything as a learning experience; say “yes,” because you never know what might turn out to be an amazing experience, the next blockbuster film, the stepping stone to a promotion, etc.
Again, if I might add a personal story: In 2009, I was fortunate enough to be offered an internship at Blue Sky Studios in Connecticut. The studio had just moved into a new facility from White Plains, NY, and a lot of people were still unpacking. When I showed up for my first day of work, I had no computer, no login/password, and no phone. Instead of doing what one of the other interns was doing – nothing – I went on the search for a project. Hello, mailroom! The kind facility guys told me that I could simply sort by department and that the production assistants would then deliver it to the right person. Well, since they were all busy and I was not, I decided to just take it directly to the individuals. It was a great way to match faces to names and to introduce myself! It led to one of the animators inviting me to hang out at his desk and showing me what he was working on. Without an armful of mail, I probably would have taken a lot longer to work up the courage to talk to the animators and tell them how eager I was to one day work as an animator, but they welcomed me with open arms on day one because they were impressed that I had taken on a task that no one else wanted.
This goes hand-in-hand with Hickman’s next tip:
Ask for Opportunity, Not Money – Ask to do something new instead of asking for more money. This seems like an over-simplification, but what Hickner means is that you’re going to get a lot more out of a great opportunity than you would out of a few dollars more. In the long run, jumping into a new project or learning a new technology will make your career a richer experience, and will only lead to even more new and challenging projects.
Twice during the talk, Hickman mentions that he’s written a book. I searched Amazon but couldn’t find anything. If anyone knows of it or has seen it listed somewhere, please share!
