[moh]

Hey, I need some advice about how to get a job, or what to do otherwise. Any help or advice would be appreciated because I don't know where I stand.

I didn't feel comfortable posting this under the Jobs sub-forum since it seemed most of the postings in there were direct job seeking/offers. (Feel free to move it mods).

Let's start with my reel: https://vimeo.com/41321509

I graduated from the University of Central Florida in May of 2011 with a degree in Art - Animation and haven't been able to find a job since. I'm finding it very hard to find any jobs that I even qualify for since most require 3-5 years experience or even at least 1 year.

Where are the entry level jobs?

I'd kill for a roto/paint job; but my reel doesn't really show that I can do that. How do I put together that kind of a reel? Stock footage or go out and try to shoot something even if it's goofy?

I've given up on big studio recent graduate programs or internships like Disney, Pixar, or LAIKA since they're so competitive and my reel isn't strong enough to get me hired there.

I've also tried targeting smaller VFX, commercial, animation, etc houses but they seem to be more interested in generalists (or at least a reel that reflects that ability) and my reel is specific to lighting and compositing. And again, the required experience is more than I have.

Is the job market for our industry tough right now or is it always this competitive? Am I targeting the wrong companies for a job? Does my work just suck, or does my reel suck? Tell me straight up.

I'm so bummed out, what do I do? Thanks.

[Zentrope]

I really liked your showreel...Amazing indeed!

Pros- >Nice sense of storytelling in each work.
>Nice lighting and compositing.
>Fullfills the purpose of a compositing reel.

Cons- > missing the description regarding passes and layers etc
>It's not for roto and paint work.
>Show the lights without textures and show wireframe as it shows your modelling skills.

For starters, it's good to show some roto skills as it's the foundation for a compositing job.
Along with that add some tracking, wire removal along with some basic clean plate creation of the bg and some color correction.

For roto showreel, either use your own footage or you can use some online stock footages from websites like Artbeats, Digital juice drops, Corbis ,Go Media, Digital Vision Video...(These are paid ones)

Free Stock Footage for non commercial use -

http://www.stockfootageforfree.com/
http://www.hollywoodcamerawork.us/index.html
http://www.footagecrate.com/
http://www.openfootage.net/
http://www.bbcmotiongallery.com/gallery/home.do

Be more active on relevant forums and start showing your work and skills. And start working on some little commission works and look for some internship as well.

If they are hiring for a compositors position then you need to show your compositing skills and not your modelling skills.
So good luck

[moh]

Apologies for the delayed response.

Thanks for the advice and the kind words. And thanks for the links to the resources. I'll try to be more active in the community in the future as well.

Much appreciated.

[Rizo]

There are TONS of studios working for film and tv in Vancouver, Canada, well one thing is in this line of work is that more often than not you'll have to move to where the work is... From the top of my head I can remember that Gener8 in Vancouver is always looking for roto artists, they work converting movies into 3d.. good luck!

[happyfish]

your show reel is very awesome .and i really like it .hope you can stick to .
as for job ,i think you can find yourself in the process of practice .i believe you must be able to become a success animator in the future . come on !

[AlexTLe]

Great showreel, and the chances of getting the job depends on where you were looking. Try some different places and maybe someday you'll find a perfect fit.

[ImpeccableBaron]

Very Impressive showreel.


Although I found you didn't use a lot of variety. Maybe you should make it more dynamic with many environments and involve some movemente.