Firstly, the decision to fly across the world to attend a conference during the teaching period of your one year Honours degree, was a decision that I really had to think about. If I went, would I have enough time to finish everything when I got back? Would I ever get an opportunity like this again? Would it be worth it? Well...goddammit I hope so, probably not and yes. The tipping factor for me was the opportunity not only to attend the conference, but attending as a student volunteer would force me to network. Secret about me, I'm pretty shy, I bluff well, but I'm shy. So having a purpose and an equal footing with other student volunteers really helped me connect with like minded artists and animators. Plus having an Aussie accent was a novelty in LA so I already had an ice-breaker.
I arrived a couple of days before the conference began and although I had jetlag I would recommend to anyone who is going to do student volunteering, if you can do shifts prior to the conference starting- do it. This takes some of your 30 hours of shifts and will give you a greater chance of seeing more of the conference once it cranks up in the final 3 days. One of the first things I noticed about my shifts was that 30 hours (31.5) didn't leave a lot of spare time and I was really going to have to be organised to see what I wanted at SIGGRAPH. Through shift swapping I was able to see the Brave Panel which was fantastic and there were some panels and presentations that I chanced upon due to an early shift, but overall there were a lot of things that I missed due to working. And that's to be expected and I'm certainly not complaining, but it is something that you have to be prepared for as a student volunteer. Working 30hrs was part of my deal in return for free accommodation and full conference entry.
Accommodation was well swanky, we stayed in the Sheraton Downtown LA. I say 'we' because it was share accommodation. I shared with two other animators who were fantastic company and I now count them as friends. It was great to find two talented people who had great senses of humour and loved to be sarcastic and take the piss out of all things. So yeah, we fitted well and it was fun. Nat has an online folio and you can see that here, still waiting for Sarah's. Both the girls had been doing internships with studios and that was something that I found was much more a priority in the States with animation education.
The conference itself was awesomely inspiring and it sounds dicky but it was great to actually see that the people who work in the animation industry are just people. Highly talented and generous people, but still people. One of the things that I think is great about this industry is that most people are willing to give students and noobs a chance, some advice or a reassuring word about how to get into the industry itself. The opportunity to meet people is the thing that makes the 30 hours of shifts all worthwhile. From industry leaders to students about to break into studio positions to technology artists and retailers with new software and hardware; the chance to be immersed in this experience is something that I am glad I took a chance on during one of the busiest years of my life.
All of this networking also forced me as an artist and animator to verbalize my preferred role in the industry. It wasn't enough to say that you liked animation or liked to draw, given that the American education system focuses on specialisation you really had to seek out and decide what area/s most appealed to you and then forge connections in that area. For me as a 2D animator I was an oddity at a computer graphics conference, but I found that it sure-d me conviction in my desire to work in the art development- preproduction phase of animated films either in background concept, environment creation or storyboarding. Listening to the Pixar panel on Brave and hearing the process of taking an idea and making it come to life on screen I was inspired by the work of the visual development department and how instrumental they are in directing the overall look of the film. I have never wanted to be an independent film maker, that's just not my thing, but I do want to be a small part of something bigger and visual development is that area for me.
That's why when I went into the folio reviews, I was really focused on getting feedback on whether I have any hope of getting into the field of visual development or backgrounds. The two folio reviews that I did do were excellent in providing me with the opportunity to have my work seen by someone completely removed from university and from a purely professional standpoint. It was also good after the reviews to talk to fellow Student Volunteers who had also undergone reviews to get their perspective. The job fair in the exhibition also provided invaluable opportunity to talk with employers and find out their ideas on what they would want from new animators and artists. Swapping business cards and making connections with people was perhaps the most valuable aspect of the conference.
In addition to the networking, attending the panels and seeking out resources was really inspiring and even though the jobs that you do on shift range from pedestrian (counting people in a room) to interesting (working in the gallery) they do give you an opportunity to meet new people and learn new things. During the conference I was able to attend the Pixar Brave Panel and Disney's Paperman but I also by default of working a shift in the lecture theatre I was able to listen in to new research in the areas of photography, animation and CGI films such as Brave, Wreck it Ralph and Sesame Street computer games. The Student Volunteer program also organises a series of presentations that are perfect for students and focused on making the transition from university to workforce. Unfortunately for me, many of these were on whilst I was on shift- which is why I recommend doing shifts prior to the conference start. There were also other programs available such as the Autodesk student night which was great and had presentations by Animation Mentor, Disney and Autodesk; And the 'birds of a feather program,' about visual development (although this one was oversubscribed for the pitiful size of the room at the Marriott).
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| Counting people |
All in all now that I've done it, would I do it again? Yes it was definitely worth meeting people and learning new things and just being exposed to the industry was an awesome experience. Would I do things differently? Yes, I would do as many shifts prior to the start of the convention. Would I recommend others to volunteer? Absolutely.
