Careers for Freshers

Animation

Whoever said you can't mix work with fun obviously hadn't heard about animators. If you've got talent for drawing and love nothing better than cartoons, you've probably got what it takes to becoming the world's greatest animator!

• Job Profile
Animation as a medium can range from Clay Animation and Puppet Animation, to Two and Three Dimensional Animation which give us classics like The Lion King, or the path breaking Stuart Little.

Animators create sequences of motion picture art that tell a story or communicate a message. Though animators do the acting, gestures, mouth shapes, they are not responsible for every single drawing in the scene.

Animation isn't as daunting as it seems. One second of 35-mm film can consist of 24 frames, but lots of people work on it.
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• Eligibility
Traditional animators used to draw each picture individually on paper which were then transferred onto film and when played back rapidly (about 25 frames per second) gave us the effect of motion. Today, nearly all animation work is being done on computer. Computers and software such as 3D Studio Max, Alias, etc make the job easier for an animator.

Computer animators rely less on traditional graphic design expertise and more on proficiency on using the animation software. However good drawing skills are always an asset.

• Institutes
Various multimedia academies have mushroomed all over the place. It is imperative that you check the credentials before enrolling in the institute.

One of the most commonly used animation package is Macromedia Director for two dimensional animation and 3D Studio Max for three dimensional animation. For more sophisticated animation like that of a full-length movie the commonly used software tools include Soft Image, Alias Wavefront, etc. Check out if the institute you enrol, train you in using these packages.

National Institute of Design (NID), Paldi, Ahmedabad-380007, offers a course in Visual Communication. The minimum qualification is SSC and the duration of the course is 4 years.

Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai offers a 5-years Masters in Visual Communication. The eligibility is a Bachelor in Fine Art (applied art), or a NID diploma.

• The early years
Once you have bagged the requisite expertise to handle animation softwares, the next step is to approach any advertising agency to work as a trainee. You will be working under a supervising animator who usually gives out the scenes that are shorter and works on the longer ones himself.

Animation scenes are denoted by number of feet, so as an animator you're responsible for certain amount of footage..

Hours are long, recognition takes long and the remuneration is initially low.

• Prospects
These days more and more television advertisements use animations for effect. As a result there is a growing demand for talented animators with the right software skills. This trend is expected to continue in the future.

• Money
Initially as in any other profession, you will need to work hard. However once you have acquired the skills in using high-end animation software the salary increases rapidly. There is scope for freelance work once you have established a name for yourself.

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