Need some Advice Please guys

Hello - Today I have finally decided that I am going to quit my current job at the Local Government, I really cannot be arsed with coming into the office to hear my boss rant about sub-base, carriageway widths, how big parking bays are etc etc - it's all driving me nuts now - I'm totally not intrested in Civil Engineering, and i just got this job to make some money. It's now 2 years down the line, and I'm still here, I want out!!

I've just recently figured out that there's 2 animation studios located near where I live - and I would do anything to get in. The thing is, i have'nt got much experience, and I havent got enough work to make a demo reel, the only work I've got to show, and I'm willing to show others at the moment is my 'Movie Parody' entry for the competition a few months ago (I'm currently re-touching it, and rendering it out again) - everything else I've done is 1/2 finished, and it will take a while to get everyhting finished, and by then, I'll be attending the Course down in London that I'm starting in January.

How would you guys approch the companys? I've already intorduced myself to one of the comapny's, and he was quite keen to learn more about me, and was impressed by the boardroom i'm working on (the one in 'The factory') - but this was about a year an a half ago now, and the Boardroom has improved soo much since then. Welsh is also my first language, and these comapany's are Welsh - you don't get much Welsh animators around here - so I'm thinking it's definalty worth giving it a try - I hope you guys could help me out, and give me some pointers as to how i could approach them.

sheesh - first things first, don't quit one job unless you have another! seriously, unless you can afford it.

i SO understand what you're talking about! back home on the east coast i NEVER once had a job i enjoyed. i would get so furious with just going in everyday and dealing with the same stagnant garbage, nothing changing, exact same everyday... it felt like "what's the point?". that's when i made a change too.

everybody kinda has there own way they got into the industry, so there's certainly no set way to do it. it sounds like you already made a pretty good impression on one of the companies. thats a great start! maybe they'll remember you? a demo reel would certainly be a huge help, but i understand your concern that there won't be much on it. at the beginning of a career, your demo reel tends to be more important. after you've been doing it a while, at least in movies, your credit list kinda does the work of a demo reel. one thing i would definitely do is actually go there if you can. don't mail in a resume. walk in their front door and hand it to whomever is there, take a business card, maybe ask to speak to the person in charge of hiring. doing things in person, even if they don't even consider you, is still a million times more rewarding than simply dropping an envelope in the mail. take sample sheets - 1 or 2 pages of pictures of things you've modelled or scenes from your animations. they may be too busy to look at a demo reel, especially if they aren't hiring, but it only takes a split second to look at the pictures as they're sitting your resume in the "file for later" box. it may catch their eye. be super nice to everyone, and try not to be too nervous. (i know, that can be hard!)
once, a LONG time ago (7-8 years) i was doing creature/make-up work, but really wanted to do digital. i had an interview at a place called Threshold, and while i was there, the hiring person introduced me to someone who was walking the opposite way down a hall. the person then pointed at me and said "are you good at masking in photoshop?". i was nervous as hell, and stammered, "ah, no, i don't know..." they needed someone right then and there to do some simple masking stuff. i was perfectly capable of it, but it totally caught me off-guard and i choked. i didn't get that job and it took me years to get into digital work. i always think if i had just kept my cool and said "sure", i would've got started years earlier.

ugh, i'm writing alot, i don't know if this is helpful. i tend to babble.

if you're starting a course in January, maybe just ask for an internship, or some kind of trial period? just definitely take as much of your finished work as you can. that's what you're going to have to rely on for now, that and a great attitude. friendly, willing to take on whatever they want to throw at you, don't complain about any of the work. holy crap, there are SO MANY PEOPLE that do nothing but complain at the places i work, and it makes me nuts. if its that bad, they should leave! if they don't like roto, McDonald's is always hiring! our jobs are ridiculous when compared to other people jobs - nuclear technicians, sewage treatment plant workers, surgeons, presidents and prime ministers... we make entertainment! so have a great attitude, it makes a huge difference.
oh, and tell them straight up-front that you don't mind working overtime, no matter what. that's all these jobs are, overtime.

ok, i should stop now. there's probably some kind of word-limit-per-post i just hugely violated! and i don't even know if this is good advice, but it's what's worked for me.

Hey there Hype - thanks a lot for your comments, and theres some excellent advice in there about going to see the studios in person rather than by mail etc, it would definatly make a much better impression.

How would i initially get in touch with the compnay? Shall i e mail him and say 'Hey remeber me, can i come over and work for you?!' I have totally had enough doing this boring job now, and i really want out - I'm scared of making this first move, because i havet got enough work to show the guy.

That's a bummer about the masking thing and how you replied man - thanks a lot for the heads up!
Thanks again
-Iest

Hey - thanks for your comments man- made a lot of sense, I'm only 22 at the mo as well, and I've got loads of learning ahead of me. But it would be amazing to learn within the right environment, and not having to listen to my boss talk c**p about everything im not intrested in.

I'm currently in the middle of creating my CV - should finish that tomorrow, then it'll be full steam ahead with the anim for a few weeks, then ill be ready to face the music and dance.

Thanks again!
-Iest

Hey guys, just thought I'd let eveyone know, that im going to submit my reel and CV to the company on Wednesday. I've finished everyhting now, but im away till Wednesday. I really hope everything works out fine.

Good luck with that Iest!

Do you have your reel online?

Hey - thanks Global. Due to some massive problems i had with Premiere, i probarbly wont finish it now until the weekend, im soo gutted, i really wanted to hand it in this week too. Really pee'd off about it at the mo.

I havent got anythig up at the mo, i will soon * hopefully!*

yeah, good luck!

Hey all - had some major problems with my reel, and wont be able to do anything until the week, im soooo pissed off about it you guys would'ent believe.

Thanks hype!

What are the problems? Maybe we could help or lend advice

No need for advice t, just lend him your animations.

well, hell, if tyson's "renting" his animations, put me on the list!

iest_rob, whatever you do, DON'T rush your reel just to get it in. I'm sure you know this already. take your time and make sure it's as good as it can be.

He he - that would be awsome!

The problem was - when i went to 'export timeline' in Adobe Premiere 6.5, i got the 'Adobe Permiere has experienced some errors and had to be shut down' - this happened everytime i tried to expot anything, i even tried to export nothing, and i got the same message. I uninstalled it, and re-installed, but still got the same problem. No idea what's going on.

So now im doing it on my freinds laptop. But i have a new problem. I've made the reel, burned it to a DVD, and when i try to watch it on a DVD Player, nothing happenes, i get a 'No Disk' error - i dont want the studio to not be able to play the reel - how would i get around getting it to work on a DVD player? I'm currently using 'My DVD' by 'Sonic' (?) to burn the DVD, would getting NERO or anything else be better?

Thanks

well nero would be the best for that...

Make sure its a DVD - R not a DVD + R , +R's are crap.

your kdding right? + R are the best, they are specialy made for videos.... why do you think - r are alway cheaper... it's because the - r are not as good as the + r

+ R's don't ever play in dvd players.

At least in Canada..

yes they do
i always use them and they work perfectly fine.. it doesn't make a differance, they should both work with dvd players... the only think that could make it not work is if you don't know what you are doing when you are burning it
at least in france and uk and spain

I used Nero 6, burned as a DVD, and every time, it didn't work in any 3 of my dvd players. then i used a dvd-r and it worked.

i use nero, too, or i create DVD's in Adobe Encore. and, i also experience nothing but headaches with +r's, so i've started only using them for data, not playable. i know they can both work, i just seem to have better luck with the -r's.

i don't know why premiere would be giving you problems with exporting without seeing the project. you might want to spend an hour browsing the adobe forums, sometimes people will post the same problems, and others will have figured out how to fix it.

Hey hype - yeah i was planning on looking around the Adobe forums today to see what the problem might be. I managed to export the reel on my freinds laptop, but im having nothing but stress with playing the DVD's on my player (they are DVD+R) so im gonna make an epic trip int the city to buy some -R's )
Hopefully I'll get this sucker in on Monday!

Within the next 15mins - im gonna put my reel in people! Im very exited, and nervous - i just hope everythings gonna be ok, and i dont make a massive ass of myself.

At last - finally, i can start having a life again, not sit infront of the damned Premiere everynight trying to get little things to work. I wish there was a standard fromat to export stuff in, i dont get the whole compression thingy - oh well, jobs done now anywho.

This is the companies web site by the way; http://www.griffilms.com/flash/en_index.htm

Wish me luck guys!
-Iest

Here's hoping, I've got my fingers crossed for u mate.