Michael O’Brien Industry Report.
For my Professional Practice module we have been given a brief to look into the department in the field of animation in which we would aspire to work in. I have decided to look in the 2D background department of animation.
https://www.pinterest.ie/source/ctu-anim.blogspot.pt/, (2013),
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Figure 1. (Animation Pipeline)
Above I laid out an image of an animation companies department pipeline.
To start off my research I emailed a few different people from within background departments in the animation industry and asked a few questions regarding software’s, deadlines and the size of the respective background departments. I have outlined below my questionnaire I emailed.
.How did you get into background animation industry?
What software do you mainly use for your backgrounds?
What was your favourite animated series to work on?
What kind of deadlines would you have for your backgrounds?
How much of a role does a degree play when applying for background animation jobs?
What would the pros and cons of the industry be?
What difficulties did you come across when leaving college looking for a background job?
I also emailed people and asked some individual questions, for example I emailed Javier Pineda who is the lead background designer for Fox Studios who has been working on The Simpsons for the past 17 years and asked about his experience working on The Simpsons.
Javier Pineda, (2012), The Pubs
Also over the past month I have attended a few networking events and had a few conversations with some interesting people about the animation industry and the best way to get into the industry, I found these conversations quite interesting and helpful to find out some insider perspectives into the animation industry. Also in this brief industry report i will discuss my experience as a Bar manager and also my experience doing some freelance work for clients. Appendix C
I started my industry report by researching the different roles in the Background Department. The main roles in the department are Layout/ Key Background Artist and Background Artist.
“A layout artist primarily designs the raw backgrounds for the show or film. The artwork is primarily produced in Photoshop these days although some still use traditional methods.” Johnston, FJ, Franjohnston5@gmail.com .
The Kay background employee would would work with a lot of other departments to get a consistent style of the show, they would work with the storyboard department to get the composition correct and would also work with the animation department and art director to plan out the scenes to keep the consistent look of the show and to focus on the attention to detail.
“In modern animation it is the background artists job to produce the bulk of the backgrounds for the show based on the key backgrounds that have been produced. They will create work that is consistent with the show style so to hook up with the work which is being produced by all artists working on the project.”
A Background artist’s job is to work off the key background’s already created by the Key Background Artist and keep the style consistent while creating the bulk of the background’s for the production. As outlined by Fran Johnston, who is the lead background designer in Boulder Media, in the email i received by him “The work that they produce should also show good and proper knowledge of perspective, composition and colour theory.” noting that software files can become complicated in their structure. Fran goes on to say that a background Artist also has the role of keeping the background files structured and understandable so when the composition department receive the background file that it is easily understandable.
The first question i asked every person i emailed or had a brief conversation with, was how did you get into the animation industry. Each person i interacted with gave me a different insight on their experience getting started into the industry. According to Javier Pineda, the lead background designer for The Simpsons “after I graduated at Cal-Arts I got 15 animation offers, back then in the early 90's animation was in a blooming, I was offer to work as an assistant for a new show called Dilbert” Pineda, JP,
Javier Pineda is one of the most talented background designers I have ever seen so it comes as no surprise that he was offered 15 jobs straight out of college. I emailed a few other background designers to see which direction different people went towards, I contacted Katie Miller, The office manager of Boulder Media and she very nicely passed my questions onto their background department, according to Martin Connolly a hugely talented background designer working for Boulder Media on their remake of Danger Mouse, he wasn't offered jobs straight away and it was more a challenge to get a position “Before I graduated, I applied for the Animation Bridge program run through the Skillnet courses. A number of animation studios were interested in taking on interns through the program, and after looking over my portfolio I was contacted and asked for an interview by one of the Irish studios” He then proceeded on to say “I completed a pencil test for Boulder Media after they contacted me, and they were happy to meet me for an interview. While they did not have any openings at the time, they told me that they would be hiring background artists in the near future and would contact me when they had work available.
”Miller, KM, Katie@bouldermedia.tv, 2016.
Over the past few weeks what a lot of people have had to say to me is not to get disheartened by rejection letters i just have to keep applying and my chance will arise, i think Martin Connolly is a great example of this, he didn't have the opportunity Javier Pineda had straight out of college, but Martin used the tools available to him like the Skillnet to get an internship and worked his way to where he is now.
I would like to come out of college with as much experience as possible regarding my creative side and also work ethic, over the past two years i have worked my way up to being Bar Manager in TGI Fridays in Dublin which i believe will push my Cv ahead showing my commitment to work, I also have done some freelance design work , recently i have been working with Legit Coffee Co. (See Appendix C ) in Dublin designing a new coffee cup for the franchise which i believe will also boost my cv showing my experience working with a client, also recently in college myself and two other students in my group completed a professional practice module in which we designed an advert for the Peter Mcverry Trust.
When asked how much a degree can help get a job in the industry Martin Connolly replied “While a degree can help (particularly when applying for jobs outside of the country), it is not nearly as important as a portfolio of work which can show the studio that you are capable of actually completing work to a standard that they would expect.” Miller, KM, Katie@bouldermedia.tv, 2016. I have received this feedback off every person i have interviewed or had a brief conversation with regarding how important a good portfolio is and also how important it is to be nice in the industry. In a brief conversation with Rob Cullen , the animation director for Boulder media, I was told to show my skills of emulating different styles to show my capability of adapting to the style of the project i would be working on.
I feel the information i received from various background designers and other animation industry employee’s has given me a better insight into the background department in the animation industry.
Bibliography
References:
Pineda, JP, Pinedajavier12@gmail.com, 2016. Animation Background Industry. [E-mail] Message to MOB O'Brien (Michael.0127@hotmail.com). Sent 21/11/16 16:52. Available at: Outlook.com [Accessed 7 February 2018].
Miller, KM, Katie@bouldermedia.tv, 2016. Background Department. [E-mail] Message to MOB O'Brien (Michaelobrien@student.cdcfe.ie). Sent 21/11/16 17:50. Available at: Gmail.com [Accessed 9 February 2018].
Johnston, FJ, Franjohnston5@gmail.com, 2018. Background Industry. [E-mail] Message to MOB O'Brien (Michaelobrien@student.cdcfe.ie). Sent 30/01/18 18:40. Available at: Gmail.com [Accessed 6 February 2018].
Images:
Javier Pineda, (2012), The Pubs [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.javierpineda-animation.com/the-pubs [Accessed 7 February 2018].
https://www.pinterest.ie/source/ctu-anim.blogspot.pt/, (2013), Pipelines and workflows [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.pinterest.ie/pin/226657793722453333/?autologin=true [Accessed 4 February 2018].
Appendix A
- Original email i sent out containing my questionnaire from 21/11/16
My name is Michael O’Brien I am currently studying animation in Dublin. Ireland, I am in my third year of the course and as part of my professional practice module we have to explore the field of animation we would like to work in and also ask some questions if possible regarding some work and processes that go into the job. The field I would love to work in would be backgrounds or layouts. I am a huge fan of your companies work and would appreciate if you could take the time to answer a few questions for me regarding your role as a background animator.
How did you get into background animation industry?
What software do you mainly use for your backgrounds?
What was your favourite animated series to work on?
What kind of deadlines would you have for your backgrounds?
How much of a role does a degree play when applying for background animation jobs?
Kind Regards
Michael O’Brien
2. Email sent to Fran Johnston from Boulder Media sent this year from 30/01/18 18.40 P.M
Hi how are you?
My name is Michael O'Brien I am an animation student from Dublin, Ireland I am currently in my final year studying in Colaiste Dhualigh through the Wolverhampton Degree. I have to do an industry report regarding the department in which i would aspire to work in, which i have chosen the background department.
I was wondering would you answer a few questions for me regarding the work you do at Boulder Media and how you got to where you are in the industry today.
Looking forward to your reply.
Michael O'Brien
3. Email sent to Javier Pineda, lead background designer for The Simpsons, email sent on 21/11/16 at 07.01 A.M
My name is Michael O’Brien
I am currently studying animation in Dublin. Ireland, I am in my third year of the course and as part of my professional practice module we have to explore the field of animation we would like to work in and also ask some questions if possible regarding some work and processes that go into the job. The field I would love to work in would be backgrounds or layouts. I am a huge fan of your work and would appreciate if you could take the time to answer a few questions for me regarding your role as a background animator.
How did you get into background animation industry?
What software do you mainly use for your backgrounds?
What was your favourite animated series to work on?
What kind of deadlines would you have for your backgrounds?
How much of a role does a degree play when applying for background animation jobs?
Throughout your 17 years working on The Simpsons has the amount of people working in the background department decreased?
Kind Reagrds
Michael O’Brien
Appendix B
1.
Email received from Fran Johnston of Boulder Media on 03/02/18 at 14.32 P.M
Hi Michael.
Here is some paragraphs about what background artists do in the industry today.
The responsibilities of the background artist
Layout artist / Key background artists:
A layout artist primarily designs the raw backgrounds for the show or film. The artwork is primarily produced in Photoshop these days although some still use traditional methods. They will study the conceptual art for the show to come up with original locations based on the style that has being created for the project. Also they will follow the storyboards closely so that the shots are set up and composed well to provide for the animation and storytelling. They will have to work with the animation department and art director to plan out the scenes and focus on attention to detail creating a piece which stays within the style guidelines for the show.
Background artists:
In modern animation it is the background artists job to produce the bulk of the backgrounds for the show based on the key backgrounds that have been produced. They will create work that is consistent with the show style so to hook up with the work which is being produced by all artists working on the project. The work that they produce should also show good and proper knowledge of perspective, composition and colour theory. Because software files can become large and complicated in their structure it is also a background artists job to prepare backgrounds as an easily understandable and organised file or production piece to be used by the compositing department.
Hope that helps.
All the best
Fran.
2. Email received from Javier Pineda on 21/11/16 at 16.52 P.M
Michael first of all thank you for your nice words, I'm glad you like my backgrounds. I got to work on the background animation after I finish working in the prime time industry at Sony Pictures (Dilbert), after I graduated at Cal-Arts I got 15 animation offers, back then in the early 90's animation was in a blooming, I was offer to work as an assistant for a new show called Dilbert, so I took the offer, It was a great position at that time.As an assistant at Sonny I was doing almost everything, character design, boards, character layout, background etc etc was then that I became very interested in doing bg's, so when Dilbert finished I took a position as a bg designer/layout for a new WB animation series called "Mission Hill" produced at Film Roman Studios, since then I been doing Bg's all the time, and I love it.
Programs: here at Fox we use Harmony (Scene Machine) combine with Photoshop and Maya for CG.
By far my favorite series to work on are "The Simpsons", great people, great artist, fantastic crew and overall a fantastic show that I hope goes on forever and ever.
About the deadlines TV is always a little bit crazy as bg artist we have about 2 months and a half to finish a show and we work as a team of 4 or 5 artist, I am the lead one so I have to work with the director to be sure that everything is coordinated and has no problems with continuity, speed and quality. Background will always be important for animation, the important thing when you work in animation, specially TV, is to find a balance between quality and speed, and that is always very, very difficult.
The amount of people working in backgorunds did not decressed at "The Simpsons", actually it increased because shows are more and more demanding and complicated.
Anyway Michael, hope I answer all your questions, good luck and wish you the best luck. Regards from the yellow factory here at LA (California),
Javier Pineda.
Email received by Katie Miller on 21/11/16 at 17.20 P.M
Hi Michael,
Here are Martin’s answers on backgrounds.
How did you get into background animation industry?
Before I graduated, I applied for the Animation Bridge program run through the Skillnet courses. A number of animation studios were interested in taking on interns through the program, and after looking over my portfolio I was contacted and asked for an interview by one of the Irish studios. I also applied directly to a number of different studios, some of which I had the opportunity to meet during our graduate show. I completed a pencil test for Boulder Media after they contacted me, and they were happy to meet me for an interview. While they did not have any openings at the time, they told me that they would be hiring background artists in the near future and would contact me when they had work available.
What software do you mainly use for your backgrounds?
For backgrounds, in the studio we work exclusively in Adobe Photoshop. It is the industry standard and the most convenient for a larger company, since there are no compatibility issues between it and the other Adobe software that the studio uses for compositing. It also allows artists to share brushes and tools so that we can achieve a uniform look for the backgrounds in the show. For my personal work, I generally use Manga Studio from Smith Micro.
What was your favourite animated series to work on?
I have very much enjoyed working on the backgrounds for the Danger Mouse series. Part of that is because I used to watch it as a kid and now I get to actually make it, and also because we have a very talented art direction team here in the studio so there is a lot of variety in terms of locations and colour.
What kind of deadlines would you have for your backgrounds?
On the series we are currently working on, we generally complete the backgrounds for an episode within two weeks. This can vary depending on the art style of the show, for example backgrounds and layouts which include linework tend to have a longer turnaround than those without.
How much of a role does a degree play when applying for background animation jobs?
While a degree can help (particularly when applying for jobs outside of the country), it is not nearly as important as a portfolio of work which can show the studio that you are capable of actually completing work to a standard that they would expect. The ability to showcase a variety of visual styles in backgrounds is a big asset, since you will most likely be working in a variety of visual styles over your career as you work on different shows. The ability to adapt to the style used in thebackground is very important. You will rarely (if ever) be the only background artist working on a show, and so you need to be able to match the background keys you will be working from. Your work should not look obvious or out of place next to the backgrounds done by other members of the department, instead it should be relatively seamless.
A good way to show this off in your portfolio is to choose a number of animated shows that you enjoy the art style of and replicate their style in an originalbackground you have designed.
Best of luck with the rest of your project.
All the best
Katie Miller
Office Manager
Appendix C.
Below are a series of emails back and forth with Legit Coffee co. regarding freelance work. First email sent on 06/01/18 at 14.27 P.M
Hi Michael,
Thanks a lot for coming over today. Here are some picture that may help you with the design.
Also, the Template for the cups.
If you need anything just let me know.
Damien.
Email sent on 06/01/18 at 16.17 P.M
Hi Damien
No problem atall. Thanks for the pictures they will be very helpful .
i will keep you updated with any sketches i do and email them over to you to get your opinion.
Michael
Email sent on 09/01/18 at 12.30 P.M
Hi Damien
I did a couple of quick sketches of the stuff around the coffee shop and mixed it in with a few bits from the liberties area, this is a quick sketch I did I thought I'd show you this to see if this is the direction you are thinking of going towards
Michael
Email Received 09/01/18 at 14.24
Hi Michael.
Thanks for coming back to me.
I really like this one. Think you are off to something great 👍 with one.
Email sent on 09/01/18 at 15.11 P.M
Hi Damien
Glad you like it, I'll clean it up and add some more detail and do it up digitally and see how it looks, I'll keep you updated with the design
Michael
Email sent on 17/01/18 at 10.31 P.M
Hi Damien
Apologies for taking so long to get back to you, my thesis was due this week so i had a lot of work to get finished.
i cleaned up and vectorized the sketch i did and placed it on the template of the coffee cup with a cleaned up logo.
Let me know what you think.
Michael
