Rhedwyr mewn Animeiddio
Animation is a specialist industry employing around 2000 people in the UK. There are studios and important clusters of businesses around London, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Cardiff. People who work as Runners in animation have usually had some training and want to progress in this sector. The nature of the animation business encourages an 'apprenticeship' approach where new recruits learn from their more experienced colleagues.
Entry level is often as a Production Assistant, calling for some skill in drawing or model making. However, the largest companies, such as Aardman in Bristol, that deal with a range of clients - from corporate to commercials to feature films - employ full-time Runners and some of the larger studios offer on-the-job training to Runners. Runners are seen as an 'extra pair of hands' and spend most of their time in the office or delivering and collecting materials. Time spent as a Runner, especially during a busy production period, is an invaluable foundation for an animation production career.
There are also opportunities for Runners who want to work in animation post production with companies such as The Mill or Moving Picture Company, although opportunities to progress into more specialised areas, such as 3D, are rare.
The Animation UK Directory, published by Venture Publishing in association with BECTU, has more information about the companies working in this sector. They also produce a quarterly magazine Imagine. See www.animationuk.com for details.
The trade press that covers animation includes Televisual and Creative Review.
Employers say
- Our biggest problem is conveying the message that this is a business - we have to deliver, on time and on budget.
- Our best Runners have been real characters - but sensible and flexible. It's a very small team and anyone who joins has to be nice to have about.
- It's always best if someone has a real idea about where they want to get to - and the more realistic the better.
- One of the great advantages is that the Runners find out the difference between college and working in a real studio. It helps them decide which direction may be right for them.
- It's fantastic to work on a feature film - it's such an enormous project, and you start to see how everything fits together and find out about the different jobs.
- Everything has to be documented. I'm learning to be quite organised, but I realise that management is not for me.
- I started on a 3 month contract, with a few days handover, which was mainly dedicated to learning all the back routes in Bristol.
- I worked in the admin office of a department store on Saturdays whilst I was studying. It's proved invaluable.
- I loved the model-making side and spent more and more of my free time there. Now I'm hoping to get a junior assistant job.
- I've decided to do a scriptwriting course following my running experience - I learnt a lot about the importance of storytelling.