Sunday 17 April 2011

interview techniques

This is covering some of the things discussed in IPP sessions. Alot are really good suggestions i will no doubt be using more often.

-Interviews help gauge what the company is looking for/

- phonecall interviews, setting a time via e-mail.
-bullet point things you may want to ask about.
-have your points prepared.

Do your homework, find out about the company, read their blog,
previous work,
industry awards, research the role, revisit cv and support material, practice answers, plan your route/ appearance.

-Dress smart, new trainers (?) usually, for animators, the rule is go casual, just be comfortable in your own skin. that way you are not self concious.

Expected questions:
- why are you the most suitable candidate?
- what have you learnd from the experience?
-your ambitions?
why have you made specific decisions/ took certain routes?
-your strengths and weaknesses?
- tell me about yourself? (Competency question)


_Describe a situation where you had to do something.

Answer should include, context, action, result.

-Take Responsibility for what you did. Say "I" did this as part of the team. (This way the employer can tell you are not the kind of person who passes the blame to someone else when they realize they are in the soup.

etiquette
-dont sit down first.
-be aware of cultural differences.
-eye contact, smile, confidence.
do accept water (vocal chords)
-low status behaviour can look like you think you are high status.
-humpty dumpty (in private) helps calm nerves apparently.

-"Products are sold on the similarities on the differences you have with a product"

Interview not going as planned?
- take back control, be honest.
- drink water, it can buy you time.
-ask them to clarify the question.
-Questions at the end can be a chance to make up for a poor answer.

Dealing with failure
-ask for feedback
-just respond, i completely understand your decision, and say no more about it.

it helps to say "I" Really want this job."

The ways companies put themselves out there:

here is a list of ways companies put themselves about:
-Website
-business cards
-email signiture
-giving talks at open days
-newspaper ( possibly, usually its word of mouth) Magazines
-credits in movies
- film festivals, short films (ala the pixar short collection)
-company showreels
- competition- deviant art
-merchandising, branding
-linked-in
-11 second club
-cg ociety
-twitter
-ipod, ipad, psp
-concept art.org
-blogs
-c.v.
-graduates
-cover letters

we were asked by Lorna hamilton Brown to all come up with as many ways as we all could companies let people know about them. usually , the bigger the company, the less it puts into spreading the word, because of their reputation, people will do all the work for them. they still put out work such as showreels and short films for film festivals. that can be good for broadcasting in the specialist crowd., as its usually people with background in 3D who are enthusiastic about festivals (most of the time). This was a pretty useful exercise as we all got into it and came up with increasingly obscure ways they do it.

woo this is a good formula for working out an hourly freelance Rate

I read this on Freelanceuk.com

someone was saying a good rule of thumb for working out hourly rates is

task x time(complexity plus effort) x rate = price

So for our example the formula would look like this:

1 mockup x time (1 × 10 hours) x £100 = £1,000

In my case, i can figure out how long it would take me on a job doing 3D animation. It depends usually on how complex it is, if i am doing a piece of animation with dialogue and acting, it tends to take about a week, that is taking into acount planning it out, shooting reference footage and going over in 3D. so if, for a short film i have roughly 20 shots, i could figure out each shot, depending on what it is would roughly take a week each to map out and animate, sometimes i can do 2-3 shots in a week.
and based on my work on my Final film for college, we have around 2 months give or take to do it. so about 12-15 weeks. this can be helpful for me when figuring out how much work I will be doing and for how long, based on that i could figure out what to charge.

Anyway, this is all in my head at the moment,

here is the site i got the quote from:

http://www.freelanceuk.com/news/2700.shtml

HOW TO PRICE YOUR FREELANCE SERVICES
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to charging for your freelance service. With new clients it's always a fine balance between being able to secure the best price for a job without pricing yourself out of the equation.

As a starting point, I get a general idea of daily rates for similar skill sets by constantly monitoring online ads in publications like The Guardian, and PR Week. I also monitor PR recruitment agency websites and, in fact, some of those have extremely useful advice for freelancers including a guide to current freelance rates.

In any case, there are many good freelance recruitment agencies around who, I am sure, would be happy to talk to people about their skills and experience and give a ballpark figure of current pay-scales.

You could also look at full-time jobs and do a very broad pro-rata calculation just to get a rough figure - then add on an amount to compensate for holiday pay and other benefits you would receive as an employee.

At the same time it is important to consider your client - clearly a small start-up business may not be able or willing to pay as much as a large organisation.

Also, some sectors pay better than others where an additional level of expertise is required for the job, such as financial or medical PR for example, whereas the arts sector tends to pay on the lowest end of the pay-scale, in my experience.

Obviously London rates will generally be higher than elsewhere - but again, monitoring local ads is useful indicator.

Based on that I'd then consider the length of the project and would be prepared to negotiate a lower rate for something that was long-term - however I might use that as leverage to negotiate other benefits - working from home, flexible hours and so on.

On a personal level I rarely charge hourly rates, only a daily rate. The reason for this is that, however many hours the work entails, it is most likely to preclude me from undertaking any other work on that day. So, in essence, it becomes day's commitment, which clients do understand.

However I have occasionally taken on small assignments like simply writing a press release - in which case I charge a flat fee rather than hourly rate.

Rona Levin, a freelance PR and Communications specialist. She is the Freelancer of the Year 2007 and has worked independently for clients including the British Library for over five years.

Charging by the hour, also known as time-and-materials billing, appeals to many freelancers because it's straightforward. With your hourly rate, work out how many hours you've worked, multiply the two, factor in any expenses, like travel or software costs, then send the invoice to your client.

Charging by the hour is a good option for short-term projects with specific goals. Such as building a supplied design into a web site.

When you're offered a long-term project with clearly defined goals, you should charge by the project.

Assess the project. What is the full scope of the project? How can you measure results? How will you know when the project is finished? I often ask "How much is it worth to this client to have this problem solved?”

To come up with a price for a client, try using the following popular formula, as spelt out by the Blue Flavoured Blog.

task x time(complexity plus effort) x rate = price

So for our example the formula would look like this:

1 mockup x time (1 × 10 hours) x £100 = £1,000

Adjust your total price according to your answers. Then, sell yourself on the price. Do you see the value in relation to the price? Can you describe the benefits of your service so that it seems like a bargain? Present your proposal to your client. Don't include your hourly rate, just the breakdown of what each part of the project costs so they can see which areas take the most time/costs to produce.

So should you charge by the hour or by the project? There's no one-size-fits-all answer. They're both legitimate strategies that work well in different situations. If it’s a new client you may want to give a discount if they promise further work, however be warned, don't undersell your skills and knowledge. These are what the customer is in reality paying for. Freelancers have to cover costs for time when not working, and if you offer a discount a situation may arise where you are haggling over a few pounds.

Make sure when you are with a client you get a good realisation of their web project, get them to write down answers to your questions, and get them to think about the aims of the site, this is always a good process to get them to all agree on what the web site should be, and what it shouldn’t.

Then it’s down to you delivering the project on time and impressing them with its high quality over your competitors!

Finally remember, be flexible and honest with your cost estimates.You need good sales and communications skills to demonstrate the value of your solutions and explain why you're worth your hourly rate.

Freelancers still unsure how to price their services can calculate what they need to earn to survive (and prosper!) by using an online calculator .

Jim Callender, Digital Freelancer of the Year 2006, and founder of Callender Creates , a Brighton-based Web Design and Development agency.

As a freelancer, I base the final price of my services on a few things:

* Complexity of the job - how many skills it requires
* My role in it - creative lead/concepting or just visual development /art-working
* The size of the client/what I think they can afford
* Timing - if it is a rush job

All this should be calculated while considering what the market offers for designers [as an] average [rate]. To determine a number, stats can be pulled from online resources, like Design Week.

Andrea Balboni , Digital Freelancer of the Year 2007 and Advertising and Design Freelancer of the Year 2007. She also specialise

freelance.com. uk

i went on here recently, i was told i could gauge how much i can start charging when i do jobs for how much to start charging.

Here is a very useful Article I found to help guage if freelancing was for me:

So you want to be a freelancer?
What's it all about? Being a freelancer is very different from being employed. There are more risks, but there are also a great many advantages. You are a freelancer if you work for somebody else for a fixed period under a fixed contract to help them complete a project. You will effectively be selling your skills and time, and will usually be paid by the hour - although contracts with a fixed price to complete a fixed project are also possible depending on your field of expertise.

What's in it for your client?
There are several reasons why companies like to use freelancers.

For example:-

They are usually more flexible over hours etc. than permanent staff;
They are easier to hire and fire - and are not a long term commitment;
They provide skills the in-house team may not have;
They complete one off or small, regular tasks that do not require a full time employee.
The other major reason companies like freelancers is that they save money. If a company employs you they have to pay sick pay, holiday pay, redundancy pay and employer's national insurance. But if they use you as a freelancer they don't have to pay any of this.

What's in it for you?
Every freelancer has his or her own reasons for liking it. Some of the most common are:-

Being you own boss - which can be extremely enjoyable and satisfying;
More money - freelancers are usually paid more than employees working alongside them on a project;
Freedom - e.g. Freelancers can, to varying degrees, choose when and where to work, when to take holidays etc.;
Variety - by moving from contract to contract and company to company, freelancers can develop very varied experience and an impressive CV;
Less tax - freelancers who take professional advice can also greatly reduce the amount of tax they pay.
The pitfalls
Of course, were freelancing an easy and completely safe way to earn a living most people would be freelancers. Some skills are not suitable for freelancing(e.g. where the employer needs a stable workforce and the customer expects to deal with the same member of staff each time). But even if your skills and experience are suitable for freelancing, it may not be right for you. Only you can weigh up the pros and the cons.

Some of the disadvantages you will need to consider include:-

Less security - freelancers are not protected in the same way as employees;
Uncertainty - there are usually no guarantees of another contract when your current contract ends;
Hassle - because you will be running your own business, there will be forms to fill in, rules to obey and accounts to keep;
You will be on your own - as well as sometimes being lonely, being your own boss means, for example, that nobody will pay you when you take a holiday or are ill.
What qualities make a successful freelancer?
The successful freelancer:

Knows what they want to achieve from being in business. Whether that is to achieve a certain lifestyle, or hit a certain financial target within a specified timescale; you need to set objectives to help you measure success; and reward yourself when you reach your targets
Feels comfortable in a leadership role. Not only will you be your own boss, but you will have to guide and direct some clients as and where appropriate
Is decisive. Now that you are your own boss it will be down to you to make the decisions to ensure your business is a success. Nobody else will ensure important forms are filled in or that clients are chased for overdue payments
Is self-motivated. If you have been used to having a boss breathing down your neck this may be harder than you think
Has thoroughly thought through the financial implications of going it alone
Has the ability to go from site to site, adapting to the different conditions, the different tools, the different culture, and the different ways of working. Those that can't do this will struggle
Has the ability to get on with other people and make new working relationships easily
Has a willingness to help other people without criticising their mistakes. Freelancers have a wealth of knowledge of how things are done at different sites, and it can be very useful for both permanent management and permanent employees to be able to tap into this reservoir of knowledge
Has the ability to know when his or her advice is wanted and when it is not. Sometimes, or at some sites, they'll want your advice about how to do things and sometimes they won't. A successful freelancer will be sensitive to this, and not try to force unwanted advice on an unwilling audience. If it is clear that they don't want your advice, just get on with your job or go elsewhere
Is always aware of a potential business at a client's site. Any problem that the client has is potential new business for the alert contractor. The successful freelancer may even have bid successfully to win pieces of work at various sites, e.g. to run part or all of a project, or to maintain an area of the system
Looks for his or her own work rather than just lets agencies look for him or her. That way he or she has the opportunity to tout for new business without having a restrictive agency clause in his contract which prevents him approaching the client for new work
Will have taken his or her opportunities to pick up extra bits of work for multiple clients over the years, and, therefore will be as far outside IR35 as you can get
Will have a database of potential clients, with those he or she has worked for before, near the top of the list. He or she will have permission to contact those potential clients every so often, say three months or so, and will do so
Will keep potential clients up to date with contact information when it changes, e.g. address, phone number and email address, so that there is never a situation when the client is desperately seeking him for work in an area of the system where he has knowledge, without being able to find him
The successful freelancer will have such a good reputation for his or her work, and have such a good rapport with clients that contracts are renewed whenever the client is able, or is contacted again when clients need to have work done on an area of the system where the freelancer has expertise


The next step
If freelancing is still attractive to you, and you believe you can cope with the disadvantages, the next step is to do some research. Don't give up your job (or spend money setting up a company or talking to an accountant!) until you are sure that there is a market for your skills as a freelancer. At the very least you will need to talk to the specialist freelance agencies in your industry to see what kind of contracts might be available, whether you are suitable for them (or perhaps need additional training), and how much you could earn. Planning for Success contains some initial questions you should also be asking yourself.

i have been recently looking at the job marker for 3D character animators

i looked on the 11 second club for some forums on this subject.
it looks like there are some good motion graphics and 3D jobs over on Animation base:
http://www.animationbase.com/jobs/3d-cg-animation/
I have added this page and i am watching updates."Strong showreel, with experience in channel branding a must. Experience at delivering OSP packages would be a strong advantage. At least 3 years experience at a senior level essential."

So i will need o get my work on my showreel soon, i haven't updated in about a year.

here is a little soemthing i read on a forum on the 11 second club
Depending on which part of the world you are in, there is either a shortage of job vacancies for animators or an even bigger shortage of job vacancies for animators. In short, there are more people applying to become animators than studios offering positions.

In such a competitive environment, this is where a CG artist has to excel in packaging and promoting himself.

So really there is not a whole lot to do other than keep doing what I am doing. keep doing 3d animation projects wether they be collaborative projects or personal side project stuff, build up a reputation online. and also to keep checking out these intern ships when they become available.
sites such as:

http://jobs.zenimax.com/
http://www.eidos.com/
http://www.sega.co.uk/
http://www.activision.com/index.html#home|en_GB
http://www.frontier.co.uk/
http://www.moving-picture.com/
http://www.dneg.com/
http://www.aardman.com/about-us/
http://www.ringling.edu/
http://www.framestore-cfc.com/
http://www.insomniacgames.com/
http://www.moves.com/

I have kept in touch with Dan Chisholm, the director of a music video i made with him using after effects Animation. I will be persuing freelance work as well as looking for long term employment.

A recent release was nintendo's 3DS, which is a hand held console that has a 3D touchscreen. Sofar to my knowledge, Frontier games has a partnership with Nindendo, and develop motion sensor games for the Wii. So, it is likely new job opertunities will open up, developers looking for tech savy people to aimate for these hand held games. Or possibly games that make the most of 3D tv screens in the home.

Thursday 14 April 2011

Landing your dream job

The type of job i am looking for is a career in the games industry as a 3D character animator. I have been looking at some job recommendations here and there. but since the short film we need to have done by July is keeping me very occupied, I haven't been thinking much about the future.

I can put up a site called skillpage, where you type in a job you are looking for and it recommends people who put a similar tag, such as animator, or lighter, or director etc. Seems like a great way to make some contacts.

http://www.skillpages.com/Welcome


What i have been looking into recently has