Stop Motion Job Hunting 101

Saturday, 22 May 2010 14:36
Last Updated on Monday, 16 May 2011 03:49
Written by Marc Spess

Finding work in the stop motion field can be a daunting thing. Most people will ask themselves - hmm, do I go to college? Do I spend 40,000 dollars to learn this craft? Or is there a way I can save my money and get work on my own?

If you love the art form of stop motion and really live for it, those are the kinds of people who are most likely to get hired by a studio. It's a love affair and not something that has to do with being famous and making millions of dollars. In a lot of cases you don't even need a college education. When it comes to colleges, usually studios go to the local art college to find employees. There's also another way studios find help.

Since the people already working in studios have the same passion for stop motion, they are going to help people similar to them. In other words finding work in stop motion depends on who you know and your genuine passion for it. Perhaps your just that kind of person reading this article now.

If your trying to find work, first you need to share your passion. I recommend you make a web site and upload pictures of your work. Put your videos on YouTube, and then share your links everywhere you can. Place your web site link in your e-mail signature, your message board signatures, in your YouTube video descriptions "or incorperate the link in your videos", put them on business cards, make rubber stamps out of them to stamp your mail, put them on your stationary and on your resume. This is just basic marketing and will help you in the next stage.

Now that you've got your work online, it's all about how well you network with people. The internet is extremely powerful! Only ten years ago, most of what you see on the net didn't exist. Today finding connections is much more convenient and only a few mouse clicks away. Did you know there are many producers, animators, college animation professors and studio employees on the internet? Many can be found on MySpace, YouTube, Facebook, message boards related to animation, blogs and other spots. Many can be e-mailed just by going to their web site and trying to start conversations. Yes, it is that easy, and most people overlook this. Instead focusing on writing studios directly when they are looking for work.

If you find just one person who likes your abilities, they might help you out and find you work. So who exactly do I recommend you try to contact first? My advice is to find a person who inspires you. Then if you can't contact them "Ray Harryhausen for example would be tough", then try to find people who worked with him. If you do, you already have a topic to talk about. Your hero Ray Harryhausen! It's a great way to start the conversation, and it is the best way to get into what you love doing. You may get a job offer when you least expect it, and you'll learn from your new friends in the process.

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Necesary but incomplete
written by JUAN, July 19, 2010

Thanks a lot, it's necesary this kind of articles.
But really it sound a little utopian like a dream. I have been waiting for a animation job a lot of years and I practise all this tips.
I think what you must to do is go to the studios where you want to work and show your face and your work, even if you have to travel very far. You must to be brave.
In my case I'm Spanish and all the good animation studios are foreign, I have it more complicated.

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written by Marc Spess, July 19, 2010

Hey Juan, yeah - you really need to go where the work is if you want to get a job in stop motion. If the studio has a big budget, they will usually fly you out and give you a place to live. If the studio is small, they won't really bother because of the expenses. So don't give up, your work is already good enough where a studio will hire you if you show them what you can do.

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written by JUAN, July 20, 2010

Thank you very much Marc, I hope the studios think like you about my work and give me an opportunity, despite my english lenguage speaking is not good.

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