I started this blog by saying that I have a job at a dream company, and that I planned to leave that company. Well, that time is upon us, and next week will be my last week working at DreamWorks Animation. I have been keeping the name of the company I was working at a secret until I made them aware of my intentions. Now that they are aware, and my end date is official there is no longer a reason to keep it a secret. I have worked at DreamWorks Animation for over 6 years now, and in that time I have worked on the movies Monsters vs Aliens, Kung Fu Panda 2, Madagascar 3, Home!, and several shorts. It has been an amazing experience that gave me the opportunity to work for a great company with some of the most talented people in the industry. It is these amazing people that I will miss the most… closely followed by the free lunch. I’m currently working on the feature film Home! as the modeling and surfacing production supervisor. Home! was scheduled to be released this November, but was pushed out to March of 2015. I knew when I started on Home! back in March of 2012 that it would be my last film I would work on at DreamWorks, and have been planning around that these last few years. It always seemed so far away, and it’s hard to believe that I only have 1 week left.
As I was getting closer to my end date I was thinking they would most likely not have a position for me to go onto after Home!. This would have worked out nicely for me, since I would not have any hard feelings about turning down a position. In the past when the movie I was working on was getting close to being finished I would start talking to other shows that were staffing up to see what positions were available. This time I did not talk to anyone about my approaching end date. I thought that by flying under the radar that they would forget about me, and fill all the open positions with other people. Also with some of DreamWorks Animation’s projects getting pushed, and my contract expiring I was sure this meant I would be asked to leave. I played in my head many times how the meeting with HR would go. They very professionally telling me that unfortunately there was no positions and I would have to leave the studio at the end of my current project. Me trying to resist the grin forming on my face would say “I understood”, and that “it was a pleasure working here for as long as I have, and thank you for the opportunity”. Yup, that was not at all how it happened. They actually offered me a position on one of the upcoming films, so I ended up having to turn it down. I would be lying if I said I was not a little happy that they wanted to keep me even though I was planning on leaving anyways. My last day at the studio will be July 3rd which means on July 4th I will also be gaining my own independence. I will leave the security that DreamWorks has provided me for so many years, and risk it all for a chance to make my dreams come true. It’s exciting, invigorating, and scary all at the same time.
” While it’s tempting to play it safe, the more we’re willing to risk, the more alive we are. In the end, what we regret most are the chances we never took. And I hope that explains a little about this journey on which I’m about to embark.”
~ Frasier
I do want to say thank you to DreamWorks and all the people I have had the privilege of working with over these years. Everyone one of you inspired me in more ways then you know. I have never worked at a place that had so many people that are such an inspiration. You made going to work each day so enjoyable, and I hope to work with all of you in the future.
If you have not already, I hope you will join me on my journey by subscribing to my blog. If you have any thoughts or advice I would love to hear what you have to say, so please feel free to leave me any comments below. Otherwise, be sure to stay connected with me on Twitter (@MillerAnimation). Only Time Will Tell.
