Prep for MAF (Business Cards & Showreel)
This November I attended Manchester Animation Festival for the third time in what has become a sort of annual pilgrimage in which we are encouraged to mingle with industry professionals and absorb as much new animation as possible. One of the main attractions of the festival is the networking events which take place, and this year I decided I wanted to push myself to get my work seen by as many people as possible.
Before the festival I prepped a set of business cards which I felt accurately presented the best of my work up until that point. My initial plan was to print off a variation of different front pictures which highlighted different aspects of my practice (e.g: one that showcased background/layout design, one that showcased character design etc) and hand them out accordingly in much the same way one caters the contents of their CV to the job they are applying to.
Printed Business Card from VistaPrint (Front & Back)
The most important aspect of the business card however was ensuring the information on the back of the card directed people to my portfolio. In the summer I had purchased the domain jayfoster.co.uk until 2019, so I redirected that address to an updated version of my showreel which incorporated work I had produced over the summer of 2017, which was mostly pre-production work for my Extended Practice (character walk cycles etc...) and a LoopDeLoop depicting a bird puking into another birds mouth. Incidentally, I decided the bird puking animation would make a great bookend for my updated showreel and thus I let it play out in full with sound.
Motion North/ Networking at MAF
My attempt at networking at MAF went very well overall. At the networking event Motion North I spoke to numerous practitioners, both in the industry as well as fellow students from other animation courses casually over a couple of drinks. I tried handing as many of my personal business cards to industry people at the festival as I possibly could as well as leaving a small pile of them by the ticket desk, most of which had gone by the end of the festival.
'Networking' at Motion North
My business card did attract the interest of an animation producer from London who introduced me to Greg from Gas Tank Productions. They praised my showreel for its character animation and art style and I pitched them the idea I had for my Extended Practice project 'Monsieur Sausage' to which they offered their feedback in an informal meeting over coffee in the foyer of HOME. We exchanged contact information and business cards and they offered me work on a TV pilot idea based on their own IP which they were planning on pitching to some studios in Miami in February as well as the promise of more work in the future, to which I agreed.
MAF 2017
The Festival in general also proved useful in inspiring creativity with the various talks with industry professionals and screenings throughout the week. Most notably the talk from ex-Simpsons writer Josh Weinstein whose insight into his work on classic golden age Simpsons episodes proved both inspiring and something for me and Magnus to fanboy over; quoting scenes from episodes before characters had said them at the screening. I also attended various Masterclasses from Cartoon Saloon, Nexus and the studio working on 'Loving Vincent'.
Other favourites from the festival include...
Manivald: First seen at Annecy Animation Festival earlier in the summer. Really liked the art direction and humour.
Cops & Robbers: Animated in first person. Tense and well presented with a really visually striking artstyle.
Good Night, Everybuds: Visually striking 2D vector-based art style. Funny with incredible colour direction.
