WELL, MAYBE YOU DON'T HAVE TO LIVE IN
L.A. ANYMORE...
By Shannon Muir
Currently
exclusive to this site
***
The state of the
animation industry changed a lot coming into the 21st century. The very first column I ever wrote, in early
2001, spoke to how crucial it was to be in Los Angeles to make it in the
business. Now, a little over a year
later, I'm not entirely sure I can say that's true.
It's not even as
simple as saying Los Angeles or New York will do. Successful projects such as Jimmy Neutron (film and
series) came to life in Texas. Work
also is going on in Chicago, as well, I understand. Don't forget Northern California with Pixar and PDI. That's just talking animated television and
film. Once you start looking at console
games, the scope widens further to areas like Las Vegas and North Carolina.
Then I have
friends, American by birth, regularly getting gigs in Asia and Europe. Largely artist jobs seem to fall in this
category, but I have one friend who has spent most of his time in Asia the last
several years as a writer and story editor. This was not the world I was introduced to in the mid-1980s when I first
started making contact with people in the industry, or when I first entered the
industry professionally in the mid-1990s.
Kids, it's a
whole new ball game out there. Why, you
ask? It's become cheaper to do the work
in areas other than Los Angeles and even New York, especially once you factor
in standard of living and all that.
The key thing is,
you have to start in a major center where the work is in order to build key
relationships. Just because I say
"it doesn't have to be Los Angeles" doesn't mean you can telecommute
your scripts from home or express mail your freelance timing. There's still a level of personal
interaction required, especially if you want people to keep you in mind for
later jobs.
So this is both
good and bad. Maybe the place you can
start is closer to home. But, if
required, be prepared to leave it all behind.
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All content copyright 2001 - 2011 Shannon Muir. All rights reserved.