Getting a Job in 3D and Games
One of the early panels focused on “Getting a Job in 3D and Games.” The panel was well attended and included several key hiring managers from several visual effects and game studios. The panelists included Ken Murayama from Sony Pictures Imageworks; Hannah Acock from Double Negative in London; Karen Sickles from Digital Domain; Jason from Microsoft Game Studios; Rob from LucasArts; Lori from Industrial Light and Magic; Emma McGonigle from Moving Pictures in London and others. The panel moderator was Rob Pieke of Moving Pictures.
Finding a job in the CG and Games industry involves completing an internship, having passion and experience, creating an effective demo reel and portfolio. Another good point is to know the company that you are applying with. Several panelists mentioned an internship as an important step.
It is helpful to match your portfolio to the type of job that you are applying for. So, if a company is looking for animator, then include your best animation pieces and not so many modeling projects. When making a demo reel, resist the temptation to pack too much into the demo reel. The manager will have about 15 seconds to evaluate your reel, not 3 to 4 minutes.
The stuff in your resume is also important. Try to keep your content so it is grounded in reality. One panelist responded that seeing a character walk is often better to see that some wild unique science fiction image. When asked what content makes a poor response, the panelists responses included anything with teapots, lens flares, or chess pieces. Also avoid anything that has incorrect lighting, even if built by a team. Make your reel so it shows that you have a understanding for the basic fundamentals.
If your reel includes content developed by a team, be sure to include a project breakdown that describes exactly what part of the project that you did.
If you post your resume on a web site, make the site easy to navigate and fast. Hiring managers don’t want to wait to see your reel. If you post your resume online, make it downloadable using PDF or Word. If you make the resume available using any other method, then it will need to be cut and pasted to be distributed and the resume won’t look too good when viewed by others in the company.
For resumes, be sure to include a three sentence paragraph describing your mission statement that describes just what you want to do. Be sure to include in your resume the keywords that the company can search on. This is especially important for technical programming positions where the toolset is more key than a portfolio. Try to keep your resume to a single page.
When asked about hiring generalists versus specialist, the panelists said that broad skills are important, but it is skill in a specific area that will typically get you hired and that the general skills are the versatility that will keep you working.
Another key point is to be willing to collaborative with a team. Most CG positions work with a team and it is important to be a team player.
It is often helpful to network with others within the industry. So often it is “who you know” that will help you get a job. There are plenty of ways to network including emailing other students that are working where you want to work; contact with others through user groups and web sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook; and conferences such as Siggraph are also helpful. After making contacts, it is critical that you follow-up. Be sure to respond to all the people that you meet and collect business cards from at the conference.
In response to the poor economy, several of the panelist responded that it could be tough to get into these companies at the current time, but the two panelists from London responded that they are actually busier than ever.
If you can’t get hired directly into a company, another way to try is to get hired for an internship or in the test department. Within most of the CG and game companies, there is a high demand for Creature TDs, Rigging and Technical Artists.