Bobby Beck
AnimationMentor.com
Bobby Beck was an animator and character developer at Pixar
until September 2004, when he left to launch an online animation
school,AnimationMentor.com , with partners Shawn
Kelly and Carlos Baena. Beck’s professed goal is not only to train new
talent, but to help working animators fill gaps in their own education.
"A lot of students from our school already have jobs," he says, "but
they are getting the formal training they never had."
until September 2004, when he left to launch an online animation
school,
Kelly and Carlos Baena. Beck’s professed goal is not only to train new
talent, but to help working animators fill gaps in their own education.
"A lot of students from our school already have jobs," he says, "but
they are getting the formal training they never had."
F&V: What’s missing from the skill sets of working animators?
A lot of junior animators move things around, and there’s a very
big difference between moving something around and bringing it to life.
When students start animation, they look at animation in films or
online and say,‘Man, that moves really great!’ And they focus on
movement, which is key. You have to have the basics. But they try to
leapfrog to the end result without learning all the basics first. So
they stumble and find a hybrid solution that gets them to a point where
they have some stuff and their employer thinks it’s pretty good- and
then they may get stuck and not progress anymore, depending on where
they work. What we’re trying to address is that you have to have the
fundamentals first, and then they become ingrained so you can rely on
them in any situation. And then you develop a personal style, because
that’s what’s lacking in your work.
big difference between moving something around and bringing it to life.
When students start animation, they look at animation in films or
online and say,‘Man, that moves really great!’ And they focus on
movement, which is key. You have to have the basics. But they try to
leapfrog to the end result without learning all the basics first. So
they stumble and find a hybrid solution that gets them to a point where
they have some stuff and their employer thinks it’s pretty good- and
then they may get stuck and not progress anymore, depending on where
they work. What we’re trying to address is that you have to have the
fundamentals first, and then they become ingrained so you can rely on
them in any situation. And then you develop a personal style, because
that’s what’s lacking in your work.
F&V: What do you need in your portfolio to get good animation jobs?
For me, making something good for the demo reel is about spending
some time up front to come up with good ideas. If someone jumps in and
starts animating a given line of dialogue, it’s going to be a clichà©
But if somebody sits down, acts it out, closes their eyes and listens
to the line over and over again and gets unique ideas on what it could
be- that’s the difference nowadays. It’s the difference between really
bad acting and something that really moves you. Dive into yourself and
pull something unique out. That’s what recruiters are looking for, the
unique take.
some time up front to come up with good ideas. If someone jumps in and
starts animating a given line of dialogue, it’s going to be a clichà©
But if somebody sits down, acts it out, closes their eyes and listens
to the line over and over again and gets unique ideas on what it could
be- that’s the difference nowadays. It’s the difference between really
bad acting and something that really moves you. Dive into yourself and
pull something unique out. That’s what recruiters are looking for, the
unique take.
