just rambling
So, well into the 5th month at DreamWorks. I can say it has been on a whole new level in many ways at work but also outside of work. Were enjoying California as much as we can and now that we have a car we can get around allot better and cruise down to the coast and that sort of goodness. Family life is going great at the moment.
At DW I feel its taken some time to get settled in.. this has to do with the proprietary software they use and me having learned everything in Maya, which I had become extremely comfortable in to the point that I was just animating... no longer thinking or worrying about controls, work flow etc.
Nothing like learning new software while on the job (uhum) and now it seems I have to re invent the way I animate, the DW software is very unforgiving and time consuming which has resulted in me banging my head several times.
The other thing is the big studio environment and having come from Tippett and Rare where there were 200-250 people or so to a campus with 1200 people and tons of departments and other good stuff. One of the things I always enjoyed at smaller studios is the direct contact to the entire pipe line which results in quicker problem fixing etc. In a big studio there seem to be more channels to go through and the result being sometimes you will have to wait a few days for what would be a quick fix at a smaller studio. In that essence I think you have to be more aware and plan up front more at the big studio.
That said I am glad to have gone through all the different types of work and studios that I have as it gives me a better insight to the industry and what all the pro's and cons are to me on a personal level.
DW is an amazing studio full of talent and something is always happening arround campus seems... its is extremely inspire-ring to see all the production work evolve and all the stages the movies go through from up close, this is definitely something I had only seen in games but not for film as in VFX your main job is to animate to the plates given to the studio by another studio and as freelance remote you really just dig in and follow the plan thats laid out for you to get you your work done a.s.a.p.
posted by Peer Lemmers @ 10:10 PM
4 Comments
4 Comments:
ah, great post. Now my question is... dailies! Do you go to dailies everyday or only when your shots are up for critique and what is a usual schedule at work? Do you have time for the 3pm coffee break at the cantine or for the walk around the campus at lunch time ;-)
Heya Dude!
Very interesting to hear about the inner workings of DW! Great to hear you're keeping a good family/work balance. So DW is pretty good at respecting people's time for family then?
Learning new software must have been a drag, ah well! At least the rigs work ;-). I remember when you were doing the Kung Fu Panda short remotely, was that using Proprietary software? Had they sent you a copy?
Great to hear how life has been dude, sorry I haven't been in as much contact as I should :-S. Thanks for stopping by my blog!
-Dan
Dan: No the remote short was all in Maya as they had outsourced it to ReelFX. Yes there are frienda and family lunches at work once a month which is great.. the lunch is free and since its always nice weather you sit outside and Annika looks at the fish in the lagoon.
Olivier: Dailies al depends at what stage the film is in.. on KFP2 we have them once a week at the moment the rest is done with rounds. Other shows that are further along have dailies pretty much daily. If your work is not up you dont have to go but its a good way to keep up to date with the film and what is requested from the directors etc. We had the same at Tippett but we could leave after our shot was up if we wanted to...
As for schedule its pretty flexible as long as you make your hours and get the job done... its a hard thing to pass up the cantine at DW, free slurpees, ice cream, sodas, juice and coffee's
Changing the way you work based on the software. I would have thought tools would have less influence. Is it that big of a difference leaving maya behind?
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