I decided to reach out to a few people who work in the industry for this post. I wanted to research directing, stop motion, and directing and producing your own work, as these are areas that I may be interested in trying to get into once my MA is complete.
I contacted Steph Marshall, former CSM and NFT graduate who is now working as an assistant animator at Aardman.
When did you first try stop motion?
So I’ve been dabbling with stop motion since I was quite young, just animating old toys in my room and then realised I can actually make a career out of it that’s when I went to csm.
What appeals to you about stop motion as a form of expression?
I’ve always loved animation in general just because I think it can tackle big topics without the use of dialogue. I’m not hugely confident with drawing so that’s why I lent more towards stop motion but then realising how you can just bring life and emotion to an inanimate object really fascinated me and I just rolled with it.
What do you find challenging/frustrating about stop motion?
I think all forms of animation are challenging so it’s just about being patient with the process, having an understanding of what you want to do in the industry and focusing on that. So if you wanna be an animator, I would really focus on keeping things short and simple and going over animation principles over and over again.
What projects have you worked on, and what are the key responsibilities in your job as an assistant animator for Aardman?
I’ve been at Aardman for 2 years now and I’ve worked on the new chicken run, second season of very small creatures and now I’m on the new Wallace and gromit. Our job is predominantly sculpting all the plasticine for any replacement animation but we also get to pose all the puppets for any promotional stills, we also get to test and figure out how different things are gonna get animated and we also get to animate shots, especially if your tests impress directors.
Have you any tips for graduates trying to get into the industry?
Hardest part though I’m afraid to say is keeping work consistent after graduating.Don’t be afraid to go for junior positions or even things like being a runner or reception. You wanna get an in basically. Maybe even having a part time job on the side. But little by little you start becoming part of the circle and it makes it easier for you to be the first person they wanna hire when another project happens.