...Crap

Its semi official. Rhythm & Hues will be filing for Chapter 11. So much for that $21 million infusion from other studios. I can only say that I feel those artists pain. Being told not to show up next week and then having your paycheck held indefinitely? I can only imagine. (Having had a certain studio slowly pay me up to a year after I had stopped working for them seems like a piece of cake compared to this)

So what happens now? What should happen is an investigation. I'm sorry, but any time a large company files for Bankruptcy, this should happen. Cause a problem like this just doesn't happen over night. Its something that has been an issue for several months or maybe years. How did we get to this point? Every company should want to know. And I know bankruptcy seems like an easy answer, but its way too easy these days to file for it. Cause when you file bankruptcy, your obligation to pay your staff, or anyone you owed money to, goes out some window. Everyone else is kinda screwed. (Okay, so I really know very little about Bankruptcy, any chapter for that matter, but from what I believe to be true, I think the information above is correct)

http://www.deadline.com/2013/02/oscar-nominated-vfx-rhythm-and-hues-filing-bankruptcy/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapter_11,_Title_11,_United_States_Code

http://www.deadline.com/2011/05/visual-effects-society-exec-director-eric-roth-slams-movie-industry-for-terrible-treatment/

...So what is going on with all these large studios?

Not so long ago, a company called Digital Domain closed its doors. Well, they defaulted on a $35 million dollar loan, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and were put on the auction block. Now another large studio seems to be in a jam. Rhythm & Hues has been a staple in the industry for a long time. I'd list all their films and projects, but that would be a very long list (http://www.rhythm.com/home/). One of their most recent films is Life of Pi. It did well, won a bunch of awards, and everyone is still talking about it. 
So what happened? This studio that has been producing good work for the past 20+ years is facing financial difficulty? Why? How? I'm finding it difficult to comprehend how large, solid studios are getting their financial asses handed to them. 
The economy sucks. I get it. But anyone who doesn't plan for fuck ups and financial hardship isn't planning well. People should do this on an individual basis, which is kinda another post now that I think of it. But I feel like that's part of what should be in a business plan. Plan for profit...but also plan for hardship. Right? (I have not taken any business class or majored in finance or anything like that. I'm just using my own logic at this point. If I'm wrong, let me know. Okay? Thanks!)
So, again, what the frak happened?!

I found the following links interesting and thought I'd share....

http://www.thewrap.com/movies/blog-post/rhythm-hues-we-could-be-going-frying-pan-fire-76326

http://www.awn.com/news/visual-effects/rhythm-hues-gets-20m-studio-infusion

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118065654/

Gifts that I love!

I meant to blog about this about a month ago. You know, when it was more relevant (with all those holiday gifts and all). But since I forget to do these things, I'll just tell you now.
Christmas gifts are always fun and useful in my family. Its stuff that I'll use and enjoy. Even if I don't make a list, my family knows what I'll like. This year, I got some fun movies and games. 

Cinderella: Oh man. I had told my fiancé that my favorite Disney movie growing up was Cinderella. With that information, and Disney's silly Vault scheme keeping certain movies on and off the shelf, Cinderella came out just in time for him to get the perfect gift. It also made me realize that he listens to me :D

ParaNorman: I just loved this film. It was a great movie to see in theaters and I absolutely loved watching it again. This time I have to thank my grandmother-in-law. 

Dance Central 3: So this isn't an animated movie, but who doesn't love dancing and games? So what if I didn't work on this one, I'm still gonna tear up the dance floor. 

Game of Thrones Season 1: Okay. Not exactly an animated series, but there are definitely some awesome visual effects shots. It also doesn't hurt that I absolutely love A Song of Fire and Ice.

I just loved my gifts this year (didn't list them all, these are just the animation related ones). I hope everyone loved what I got them as well. 

Keeping Focused

This is my dilemma. When I'm home, and looking for work, finding a project I want to work on and sticking with it til its finished, can be a task. I've started maybe 3 animations that I want to finish. But then I get side tracked.
And its not huge problem, its just that once I get side tracked, jumping back into a project can take me a little time. Is this just a problem I have? I mean, other people must have short attention spans like me.
FYI...When I'm being paid to work, I never have this issue. I know I have a deadline and I know what needs to get done by when. And I plow away at it. Maybe that's my issue. I probably should give myself a deadline.
Okay. That's what I'm gonna do. Thank you, internet, for listening to me think this out. Its been helpful. Now I need to make you a promise to get on my sh*t and upload some animations I've done.

Posting; not my best subject

I don't think its surprising that I kinda suck at posting on my blog. What can I say, life happens. Hopefully, I'll have something more substantial to post later in the week. I have been working on my own stuff. I just forget to post it and I wanna post stuff that I'm proud of.
Well, till then, I'll try to keep you updated.

Updates, on what I'm working on

Its been a couple of weeks since I last updated. Maybe more. And I kinda feel like I need to update you all on what I'm working on. Nothing big, just some ideas.
I've had a bunch of free time as of late and its been some time since I worked on my own personal projects. And there are a few that I'm always touching base. Recently, I talked with a friend about how sometimes we need a little push. You have all these ideas and you need someone to just say 'Start Here'. Well, we made an agreement. We decided to just give a nice little reminder to work on something specific. My next little project is short and sweet. And will hopefully make it onto this blog soon. I'm working on animating a character jumping over a gap. Simple.
I'll update you all very soon on how this is going. Maybe even post a WIP for you.

Dressing to Get the Job

One thing I've noticed about the 3d, animation, gaming industries it that the attire that everyone has told you about in business class or from your friends working in other industries, doesn't always fit. Wearing a suit might make you stand out, but in a way where you might not fit the profile of what they are looking for. Some studios are laid back, some are more business centric. You really have to know your audience.
First and foremost, do your research! Look into the studios you are applying to. Everything is on the web these days. It shouldn't be too difficult to figure out the vibe of certain studios. I'm not exactly sure how to describe this, but looking up a company before you go to an interview is always a good thing. Trying to figure out their vibe through their website isn't so easy. There are a bunch of studios that are becoming more social. Reaching out through LinkedIn and Facebook. Its not just on their website these days. Some places have head shots of their employees. Are they wearing suits? Are they wearing t-shirts? Looking for simple hints like that can help you figure out their 'vibe'.
Let's say the studio you are applying to has a very casual vibe. T-shirts and jeans type folks. Should you wear that to an interview? Hell no. Should you wear a suit? Please don't. You don't want to look like you couldn't care less. But you also don't want to look to anxious for the job. No one actual likes the eager beaver. We tolerate them. Some more then others, but that all depends on how much they know and how well they do things. For this situation, you should dress clean and appropriate. Nicer than the regular t-shirt and jeans. Go for a nice shirt. Maybe something that buttons up. And nice pants. Now, you can still do jeans, but please make sure they look clean and there are no oddly places holes. I might avoid the ripped jeans look. Ladies, if you are gonna wear a skirt, please make sure its not too short. If your finger tips can go past your skirt when you stand straight, you are wearing something that is probably more suited for a night out on the town and not a job interview. Try again. Also, low cut shirts are just distracting. Remember, this is a job interview, not a date. You want them to hire you based of your talents (at least, this is what I'm hoping).
Let's say they are the opposite. Its a very business attire type place. Well, then you should be dressing that way. I have not gone into any studios that have had that type of vibe. Maybe it exists, but I'm just not aware of it (this is where I ask you all to inform me if I'm wrong and make me update this whole post later or address it in a new post).
A job interview is definitely an important way to show potential employers who you are and what you can bring to their company. But not everyone has just an interview. I've worked at a few places just on word of mouth. I've also been to a bunch of job fairs. Word of mouth is difficult to dress for. On your first day, you should put some effort towards your appearance. For job fairs, well, it really depends on the job fair.
I always find jobs fairs kinda weird. You show up, stand on a bunch of lines and hopefully the person you are talking to has the information you're looking for. You hope they are looking for an artist like you. That their upcoming projects might need a person with your talents. Job fairs are tricky. You just don't know who is going to be there and it might be an impossible task to research them all. I've been to a job fair where they did not list which studios were going to be their ahead of time (well, they did. It was just they didn't list what locations they would be in. Kinda important to figure out if they are gonna be in your city or not. And they know who they are). For job fairs, I say the same thing rings true here as it did for the interview section. This is going to be the first impression. You want them to remember you, but you also want to make sure its a good memory. You don't want to be the slob they saw walk in who looks like they might not have showered this week. Clean up and make sure your leaving the right impressions.