What we look for in Shot Creator/Animator reels:

First and foremost, all of our Previs work is 3D animation, not 2D animation. So think Maya, not Photoshop. Think Unreal, not Flash! Secondly and possibly the most important the 12 principles of animation apply heavily when we’re reviewing reels! Know your principles; they are the backbone of what we do!!

We want to see camera animation. This position is appropriately titled: “Shot Creator/Animator” - meaning you need to know how to lay out a shot’s cinematography. That also means you need to know how to animate a camera. Think like a camera person; how would it happen in the movies? If you’re not sure how to think like a cinematographer start doing some research! Learn, learn, learn. We don’t want to see static cameras that have no life and never move. We’re in the business of making movies!

We like to see amazing keyed character animation (not mocap) - both action and subtle scenes are great and animated in Maya. If you’ve been working in the industry and aren’t able to show your current work because of a NDA, we understand. Do a side project so we can see your current skills (and please animate that camera!!). It doesn’t have to be long, but don’t just rely on stuff you did years ago that doesn’t show us your current amazing skillz. We want to see where you’re at now!!

For those of you who just graduated or are still in school, show us something other than a push pull, walk cycle, or a lip sync. As I mentioned before, make a side project or two! It doesn’t have to be long but we want to see your current abilities and that you’ve progressed beyond assignments from school. Often times I like to refer people to the 11 Second Club if they're looking for an idea of something to animate. And PLEASE, please only show us your best work!! If you’re not proud of it don’t include it in your reel.

We’re in the business of Visualization and we want to see animation that is realistic in nature (not super cartoony) as most of the projects we work on are realistic. We also happen to work on a lot of action movies, so if you can show us some sweet action animation we'd love that! If you’re still not clear on what we do or what we’re looking for, please take a look at our demo reels! Study them, that is the quality that we're looking for in candidates.

Oh, and one more thing. Please provide a reel breakdown of exactly what you animated in each shot!!! It's even better if you bake it into your reel (and be sure to tell us when you've animated your camera in the breakdown)!

Now that you've completed all of that be sure to apply!