At Annecy 2022, School of Visual Arts (SVA NYC) brought together Angie Wojak, Director of Career Development at SVA, Camille Eden, VP, Animation Recruitment and Talent Development at Nickelodeon, Anna Kvorning, Head of Staffing, L&D at Laika and Sabine Heller, Global Head of Character Animation & Rigging at Mikros Animation in a panel discussion moderated by Lotte Marie Allen, Academic Advisor & Curriculum Coordinator at SVA.
They discussed during this exclusive session the path from school to working in the animation industry, and the power of collaboration, creativity, and community. Representing different studios, the panelists shared insights on the great variety of projects and positions that are available in animation, their career path and the evolution of artists’ careers.
They also stressed the importance of seizing opportunities during studies such as participating to other students’ films, networking outside of one’s class, asking for feedback from advanced students or even professionals… Learning from others is key in the animation industry.
They also shared valuable tips for reels, such as :
- Keeping the demo reels short (less than 2 min)
- Ensuring to show the best of one’s work right from the start
- Clearly demonstrating in the showreel what one wants to do – be intentional
- Crediting people if some assets or animation produced by others are used in the reel
Indeed, the panelists agreed that a showreel has to be built as if it was an audition without the candidate in the room. To that point, Sabine Heller shared two concrete examples of reels submitted by Mikros Animation future interns and commented on what raised her interest and what she found differentiating in each of them.
Found out more about Mikros Animation by visiting our People & Culture page and discover all the opportunities to join us through our careers page.
