Owain Elidir
What films/projects/programmes have you been working on?
I help run the Bait company in Cardiff Bay. We do motion graphics and title sequences for TV and New Media, and we're involved in developing web sites.
What are the hours?
Normally 10am to 6pm but occasionally we might work from 9am-2pm or 80 hours a week on a special job to meet deadlines.
What are the qualifications or skills you need?
You need to be able to multi-task and respect and appreciate business and creative needs and standards.
How did you enter the industry?
I took a degree in politics and economics at the University of Manchester and later, while doing a part-time job, I was employed as a runner and trainee editor at Barcud Derwen and later became an editor there. While there I did an NVQ course and later attended a very short editing and training course at Ravensbourne College, Kent. I also did some DJ-ing and was in the Acid Casuals group of DJ's working all over Wales. Rob Giles ran the Acid Casuals website and I became involved with this and worked with Rob and Paul Nicholas in doing a sequence of menus for a Super Furry Animals DVD to accompany their album Rings Around the World. It gained a BAFTA UK Interactive award nomination, won a BAFTA Cymru prize and an award from The DVD Association. The three of us then formed our own company, in 2002.
Have you done training since entering the industry?
I did a course of eight-10 days last summer run by the Cardiff Business School. It dealt with various aspects of business, such as how to sell yourself, communication and psychology. I thought it was very useful.
What advice would you give to people who want to broaden their range of work?
Do market research, establish the market and where your products or skills can be sold and then target those people. Be careful not to spread your work or talents too thinly and don't try to do too much at once, especially with New Media. Make sure you don't lose focus.
What advice would you give to someone starting out?
Work hard, show enthusiasm and commitment. At Bait we look for good attitude and character. Some potential recruits think they can do any software packages but often they can do quite a lot of packages not very well, so would-be recruits should be wary of making claims they can't back up. Our packages, by the way, are After Effects and Illustrator but we're a very small company and require specialised recruits. .
