tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post4029634487544103890..comments2024-03-26T22:42:06.412-07:00Comments on TAG Blog: The Animation Industry SqueezeSteve Huletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05537689111433326847noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post-59140196704407175882009-04-29T11:48:00.000-07:002009-04-29T11:48:00.000-07:00On taking "tests" the Bitter Animator gets it on ...On taking "tests" the Bitter Animator gets it on the nose: <br /><br /><A HREF="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_p-iM_8YhEfM/Se2-vw7I34I/AAAAAAAABJQ/L1g4c7YHikc/s1600-h/Tests.jpg" REL="nofollow">The client needs to see a test</A>the whole article here:<br /><br /><A HREF="http://mymedicatedlife.blogspot.com/2009/04/because-i-have-nothing-better-to-do.html" REL="nofollow">Because I Have Nothing Better to Do - on taking tests</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post-4096387483869308292009-04-27T20:16:00.000-07:002009-04-27T20:16:00.000-07:00Steve, I know one too many "union members" telling...Steve, I know one too many "union members" telling me they've been putting in more hours than they should ( free overtime ).<br /><br />I'm frustrated beyond belief. I don't know what to say to these people because they are too afraid of losing their jobs. <br /><br />My head's gonna explode. What do i tell people like this without smacking them upside the head?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post-30061500048179810372009-04-27T10:28:00.000-07:002009-04-27T10:28:00.000-07:00Could you post a source for the WildBrain info?Could you post a source for the WildBrain info?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post-85237245346978834402009-04-27T09:19:00.000-07:002009-04-27T09:19:00.000-07:00WildBrain San Francisco is shutting down May 1st. ...WildBrain San Francisco is shutting down May 1st. There's some squeezin' for ya.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post-50481657940463805132009-04-25T23:25:00.000-07:002009-04-25T23:25:00.000-07:00If their HR department can't figure out an artists...<I>If their HR department can't figure out an artists abilities from their portfolio -then they should hire new human resource people.<br /><br />Here is an idea off of the top of my head: hire some out of work artists to handle portfolio submissions instead of the dunderheads facebooking away in that department right now(Cartoon Netwrok I'm talking to you).<br /><br />No one should take tests. Ever. Just walk away.</I>Another idea...see that piece of paper on top of the artwork samples? That's called a <I>"resume"</I>. Tear yourself away from the computer screen for five minutes, make some phone calls based on the information on that <I>"resume"</I> and see what the applicant's abilities are. <br /><br />Another thing: I've heard the excuse from producers and directors that when they're recommending a particular artist to a studio, the HR dept. will STILL put that applicant through a test. <B>WTF?!?!</B> If a director/producer/whomever is willing to put THEIR reputation on the line for a potential hire, shouldn't that say something considering that if the applicant doesn't work out, that could reflect on the person who recommended them?<br /><br />When will HR have to take tests to justify their jobs? SRSLY.Aniranterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08611669982399792683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post-25083418048570461632009-04-25T13:34:00.000-07:002009-04-25T13:34:00.000-07:00I just worked on a pilot with a shoe string budget...I just worked on a pilot with a <B>shoe string</B> budget. We also started with a fraction of the time any studio production would have. We were behind the eight ball from the get go. One of the color guys we hired completely misrepresented his abilities to us and after a few weeks we had to let him go and get someone else because he wasn't up to snuff.<br /><br />It hardly slowed us down. It was a slight pain in the ass sure, but it wasn't a bug hurdle at all.<br /><br />Now, tell me again how much sympathy I should have for the horrible hardship an established studio endures if someone they haired has misrepresented their abilities. Help me out here Steve...<br /><br /><br /><B>The above poster is 100% correct.</B>There is a HUGE disparity between what artists endure by toiling away at tests(working really hard for <B>free</B>) and the minor, trivial, inconvenience that studios glide by. You've been sold a line - and I know from experience. <br /><br />If their HR department can't figure out an artists abilities from their portfolio -<B>then they should hire new human resource people</B>.<br /><br />Here is an idea off of the top of my head: hire some out of work artists to handle portfolio submissions instead of the dunderheads facebooking away in that department right now(Cartoon Netwrok I'm talking to you).<br /><br />No one should take tests. Ever. Just walk away.robiscusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post-79198676293117619112009-04-25T11:30:00.000-07:002009-04-25T11:30:00.000-07:00"A couple of days ago, TAG held a meeting with art...<I>"A couple of days ago, TAG held a meeting with artists from various studios to strategize how employees should push back ..."</I>=====<br /><br />Great idea. This is a positive , proactive approach.<br />Glad to see it. <br /><br />If we could do one thing to help the business it would be to push back the climate of secrecy and paranoia that rules in most studios today. This is all about (re)forming the "culture" of a studio : will it be a positive , creative, open atmosphere or the kind of place where everyone is always looking over their shoulder and forced into taking an attitude of "looking out for No. 1" ? <br /><br />Just getting everyone to consistently stand together and show some backbone in honestly filling out time cards and not letting the studio management settle into a permanent mindset of planning their production schedules around "a 60 hour week while only paying for 40 hours" would be a major step. A little honesty and openness goes a long way. <br /><br />(Forgive the literary allusion if you've not read the books, but if you've read the "Harry Potter" series you'll understand the comparison: it often seems as if the studio culture is formed by the <A HREF="http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Dolores_Umbridge" REL="nofollow">Dolores Umbridges</A> of this world. )<br /><br />And that most of us feel the need to post anonymously on a blog that is probably scanned by such studio management says a lot.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post-55101842732335908142009-04-25T02:28:00.000-07:002009-04-25T02:28:00.000-07:00"Short tests are fine. They're needed.. "
I have ..."Short tests are fine. They're needed.. "<br /><br />I have always disagreed with you on this. Some producer sold you a bill of goods once and your accepting the premise that phony portfolio art was such a pervasive problem and threat to the production process that you allowed the floodgates to open until we got the situation that we are putting up with now; the world's cruelest reality show.<br /><br />I'm not saying that it never happens, but the amount of job applicants that have to endure these sometimes lengthy but always stressful tests is geometrically out of proportion to amount portfolios which contain bogus art samples. <br /><br />Really, what's the worst that can happen? Artist gets hired. Artist gets fired. New artist gets hired. Big deal. Is that enough of a justification to put us all through hell every time a new show gets sold?<br /><br />It would be different if there was some kind of guarantee or quid pro quo involved, like a suspension of probation, for example, but no- it's a one way street. I know several artists who were fired shortly after passing their tests or never hired despite passing them. There is a reason why some of the older studios still don't test. They are pointless and useless as well as exploitive.<br /><br />They test us because they can. They test us because it's currently a buyer's market for talent. They test us because they are clueless, and they test us because that little morsel of rational you are clinging to opens the door for it. As long as the door is open, it will be impossible to control the abuse. There is only one option- close it!Been Therenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post-54624575509248589122009-04-25T01:05:00.000-07:002009-04-25T01:05:00.000-07:00Long tests--each one different--done by multiple a...Long tests--each one different--done by multiple applicants and then used as layouts for the actual SHOW is criminal.<br /><br />That's precisely what DIC used to do.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post-15427353006637631072009-04-24T23:25:00.000-07:002009-04-24T23:25:00.000-07:00TAG's stance on tests:
Short tests are fine. The...TAG's stance on tests:<br /><br />Short tests are fine. They're needed to ascertain that portfolio art was done by the applicant.<br /><br />But long tests are exploitive.Steve Huletthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05537689111433326847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post-88604979631263919042009-04-24T23:03:00.000-07:002009-04-24T23:03:00.000-07:00The third point there is SO important that it can'...The third point there is SO important that it can't be stressed enough. It really bums me out to think of not only how many people that are out of work, but of how many of them are uselessly exerting themselves over ridiculous storyboard tests in hopes of procuring one of the few studio openings available. Union members have to take a stand against this naked and useless exploitation of its members.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com