Credibility: the quality of being trusted and believed in. Getting my first client will be one of my biggest challenges due to a lack of credibility. Most people want to see what you can do, and in this field that normally means your portfolio of past work. Starting a new studio I won’t have a portfolio to show prospective clients. Yes, I have 6+ years of experience working at a major animation studio, and in that time have worked on 4 animated movies and 3 animated shorts in different production capacities. The problem is I can’t use these projects to show what my studio is capable of. Sure, I can use them to give credibility to my experience in managing a project, but I won’t be able to show what we as a new studio can do artistically. I will either need to get a client to blindly take a chance with my studio, or find a way to create a portfolio. I like a challenge, but I’m not going to set myself up for failure by believing anyone will blindly take a chance on me. I have talked with some artists that know of companies in this situation that had used work from the artists they will be working with to make a demo reel from the collective body of work. After all if the studio finds work that also means work for those artists. This brings up a new set of challenges, but this seems to be my best option. I will need to check with the artists I’m working with to see if they are comfortable with this idea. After the studio creates its own work we will be able to update the demo reel with work done through the studio.
Credibility will be extremely important in getting the studio up and running, but it will always be important. We will constantly have to prove our ability to deliver high quality work with the best customer service. I feel this will be one of my main responsibilities that will help in building a positive reputation for the studio. When people hear our studio’s name I want them to trust and believe in us.
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