A lot of your development should be about rebelling against prescribed ideas!
3 types of short animations I hate... 1. urban or post apocalyptic environment, with a vaguely environmental theme, usually a tree grows at the end. 2. films about a single depressed character (Corpse Bride style) usually stopmotion, usually watered down versions of Tim Burton. 3. My most hated of all - 2 characters doing two or three minutes of 'acting against each other'. Maybe mutually assured destruction or maybe role reversal or maybe they become best pals in the end.
A warning - film can end up being successful, but end up saying nothing!
The film school brat model of becoming a Director has become normalised! Find ways to make your work UNIQUE!
A lot of things are made in animation which should not be made.
Sometimes you don't have to animate it - you can do clever things with editing.
Green Porno 2008 Isabella Rossellini and Jody Shapiro, utterly brilliant. 'You can say important things but still have a sense of humour'.
I learned as a Production Assistant how much detail you could and should get into a HD frame. I overdesigned everything in the bgs, overworked everything. I HATE George Lucas, but I totally did a George Lucas on this one...
A lot of animators think they can do illustration, but they can't. They're too much locked into spartan film visual language and the literal aspects of film. Illustration can be learned.
Irish illustration is too twee - because that's what sells here.
Animated gif projects really play well on social media. There is a market for this material. It's the hit of animation but you don't get locked into a project for a long time.
A tip for illustration work - birds, fire and smoke all work to give an 'illusion' of activity. And trees work as framing devices.
Twitter is invaluable, not just for 'networking' but for getting to know people.
Learning how to finish a piece is so important. It really matters.
Irish people have an amazing capacity for apathy. Turn your Irish apathy on your anxieties!
Thank you Matt!
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