XMG Studio

Hello Group Aers all,
These folks just signed a deal with Spin Master, a Toronto based toy company. In case you haven't noticed, the animation business is mostly about toys. (See Cars 2.)

They're looking for folks to help. I think you all could qualify.

It will be worth an email to get your name in if you're looking for work. IMHO, this is where the future of most of animation production in Toronto lies.

Here.

Freelance Life Talk

From the talk on Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Ani bizbasics 2011

View more presentations from James Caswell.

Google Ideas on Innovation

1. Ideas come from everywhere
2. If you’re brilliant, we’re hiring.
3. A license to pursue dreams.
4. Cheer everything you can.
5. Innovation not instant perfection
6. Data is apolitical
7. Creativity loves constraints.
8. It’s users, not money.
9. Don’t kill projects, morph them.

Brad Bird Quote

I found this quote from Brad Bird that relates to the dailies we show in our meetings. It was made during the start of Iron Giant production.

“As individual animators, we all have different strengths and weaknesses, but if we can interconnect all our strengths, we are collectively the greatest animators on earth. So I want you guys to speak up and drop your drawers. We’re going to look at your scenes in front of everybody. Everyone will get humiliated and encouraged together. If there is a solution, I want everybody to hear it, so everybody adds to their toolkit. I’m going to take my shot at what I think will improve the scene, but if you see something different, go head and disagree. I don’t know all the answers.”

Zen and The Project

“The Zen master taught him to focus on the pleasure and tiny nuances of breathing properly, attaching the string setting the arrow in the bow, drawing it back, and releasing it, rather than hitting the target. By focusing on these actions, Herrigel and fellow archery students were rewarded in two ways: they took more pleasure from doing each task, and since learned to master the nuances, they hit the target more consistently as well.”

Robert Sutton, notes on Zen and the Art of Archery: Eugen Herrigel

In our projects, if we can devote ourselves to incremental steps of the process-boards, lecia, layout, poses, colour script- rather than the broad target of getting the project done, we will increase our odds of completing the work successfully while enjoying the ride.