Thank you, 2000 Times!

Eric Miller Animation Studios Facebook Page has reached 2,000 Likes! Thank you to all those who have liked us, and have joined me on this journey.

26th Annual Producers Guild Awards

This weekend I attended my first Hollywood awards show.  It was the 26th Annual Producers Guild Awards at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel.  I imagined it would be an unforgettable night of hanging with celebrities, and dressed impress.  It was an unforgettable night, but I would throw it more in the learning experience category.

Eric PGA Tux

I have a lot to learn before I can consider myself a veteran awards show attendee, but overall I was still glad that I went. Let me share with you some of my experiences, and what I have learned.

I think it all started from the moment I got the invitation.  It said that it was a “creative” black tie event.  I knew what a black tie event was, but it was that word creative that stumped me.  So I did what anyone of our generation would do… I asked the mighty Google.  I found as I expected that it is a black tie event with a sense a whimsy.  Think of the red carpet on oscar night, and all the variety of outfits you see there.

I headed to the mall to find a tux for the event, but one that would not break the bank.  Luckily I was not worried about anyone asking me “who are you wearing”, since I’m not a big time movie star. After looking around I finally found myself in JCPenny’s looking around.  With someone of my limited expertise on fashion I found it very difficult to be creative.  I have a new appreciation for stylists, since everything I tried looked horrible.  I decided to play it safe and go with the standard black tie.

After finding a jacket and pants in my size I was halfway done.  Then I found this cool box that had a white shirt, black clip-on bowtie, and black cummerbund.  All this was a great price, and it made everything a lot easier.  I think this is where things took a fashion downturn.

Everything was in a sealed box, but I thought what could go wrong? When I got home I tried everything on expecting to feel debonair, and sexy.  Instead it reminded me of when I worked at Glenmoor Country Club as a food runner. The collar was the wingtip style, and one side was bent down, and the other was bent up.  The french cuffs were to large and did not fit nicely through the sleeve of the tux jacket without some squeezing.  The shirt was a little big, and the clip-on bowtie looked like it was deflated, and would only face the ground.  I convinced myself that after washing the shirt it would shrink a little, and I could iron the wingtips into shape.  And that was my second major fashion mistake.

I washed everything and ironed it, and although it was a little better it still was not perfect.  I was limited on time, and I decided it was good enough.  On the night of the event I got all dressed, and I was not feeling very confident.  I decided that my biggest issue was this clip-on bowtie.  With this style of collar there was no hiding the clip, and it looked embarrassingly bad to me.  I left a little early so that I would have the time to run to a store on the way to buy a real bowtie.  Luckily across the street from the event was a mall, so dressed in my tux I setoff on a mission to find a bowtie.  This proved to be more difficult then I expected, but was only the start of my difficulties.  Finding a store that sold bowties in the appropriate style for the event was challenging, but was easy in comparison to what came next.  I found myself sitting in my car in the mall’s parking garage watching YouTube videos on how to tie a bowtie.  They made it look so simple, but it was IMPOSSIBLE!!!  I tried for over a 1/2 hour trying to fold the elephant ears and take the fish through the hole before I finally gave up in a fit of rage.  I was now late to the event, and I thought to myself “maybe some there can help me”.

I pulled up to valet and it was a mad house of people arriving to the event.  Of course everyone was perfectly dressed, and here I was looking like a monkey in a cheap tux.  I jump out of my car and headed straight to the bathroom to continue my battle against my archenemy… the bowtie.  Many guys come in and after seeing me wished me luck.  None of them actually tied the bowtie themselves, and could offer me no assistance.

I was finally about to give up when a guy walked in, and said he might be able to help.  He gave his best effort, but was not able to tie it on someone else.  At this point my self-esteem was exhausted, and I completely gave up on the bowtie. I left the clip-on in the car that valet took, so I did not even have a backup.  I decided to go without any bowtie, so into my pocket it went. Luckily this was an acceptable option, since it was a “creative” black tie event.  I undid the top button on my shirt, and walked out into the lobby.

I took a quick look at the red carpet before continuing to the ballroom where I found my seat at the table.  After we finished eating the awards show started with the category I was most interested in… Best Animated Feature.  The Lego Movie won, and the producer Dan Lin came up to accept the award.  I never met Dan, but as he got up on stage I recognized him.  He was the guy that tried to help me with my bowtie in the bathroom.  I think I sank a little in my seat in embarrassment.

The rest of the night was better after I accepted my defeat against the bowtie.  I went to this event by myself, since my wife had prior engagements that she committed too.  Which worked out since I wanted to check it out first to see if it was worth going to again.  Besides my fashion folly I think it would be worth coming again.

IMG_0174It was interesting to see all the big celebrities, and the excitement that they bring.  I think this was the most movie stars that I have seen in-person at one place.  I saw Brad Pit, Reese Witherspoon, Bryan Cranston, Adrien Brody, Matt Bomer, Kit Harington, Eddie Redmayne, and Felicity Jones to name a few.  My favorite of course was Jennifer Lawrence.  She stole the show when she got up on stage.  She was very entertaining, captivating, genuine and of course looked amazing.  She has a great personality and a presence that people gravitate towards.  I’m now a bigger fan.

Normally I thrive in these kind of social events, but with my confidence shaken I was much more reserved.  It reminded me of the first cast and crew party I went to at DreamWorks Animation.  It was before I knew many people, and I walked around feeling more like a spectator then a participant.  In a odd way I found comfort in this.  There has been many times in my life where I have had to start at the bottom, and work my way up.  Where you have to meet new people, and build relationships.  Life is full of these moments from your first day at school to the first day at a new job.  I may have had more of these moments then the average person, since I constantly pushing myself beyond my comfort zone.  When I first got to Los Angeles I felt like an outsider, but I have come a long way since then.  The last DreamWorks party I attended was a completely different experience then the first.  Instead of feeling like a spectator I felt at home surrounded by all my friends.  I feel like this is my next new beginning, and as in the past I will find my place.  It is not a bad circle to be at the ground floor of, and I look forward to making it my home.  I think my first step is learning how to master the bowtie.

I know this post has already gone longer then I planned, but I still have one thing I wanted to touch on.  Last week was a sad time for both DreamWorks Animation, and the animation community.  The closing of the DreamWorks/PDI studio was shocking, and I feel for all my friends that have considered it home.  Many of them have been there for years, and are now being asked to leave.  It is a reminder of the challenges of our industry.  I hope after all the dust settles that all my DWA friends will find themselves in better places.  Maybe one day that place will be Eric Miller Animation Studios.

 

If you have not already, please join me on my journey by subscribing to my blog.  Also, 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.

Animation Industry is Feast or Famine

Today we got the last shot of the Toys”R”Us project approved, so we are finally 100% finished with that project. It was a great first project to have, but now I’m ready for my next challenge.

I did not get much done on the business front last week.  I’m still struggling with updating my website, and trying to get that in working order.  I’m currently working on the design while I also try and figure out how to do the coding. Once I get my website updated I will use that to try and find my next clients.  I plan to go back to figuring out the government contracts, and trying to get some animation work through the government.

I have also been using this time to meet up with a lot of my business contacts.  Checking in with them to see how they finished out the 2014 year, and to see if there is anything either of us learned that might help the other out.  I found this to be a great way to accelerate your learning without having to make all the mistakes yourself.

I’m currently in talks with a few different people about projects they need help on.  They all seem like fun projects, so hopefully everything will work out. It seems like the number of projects out there is rather limited.  Feast or Famine.  I have been seeing a lot of Facebook posts by my artist friends that where busy at the end of the year, but are all now looking for work.

Other then that there is not much to talk about this week.  I wish I could tell you about some amazing new things that are going on, but this blog is about the real life journey I’m on to start my studio.  The truth is that sometimes the real life is not always that eventful.  If this was a “Lord of the Rings” movie this would be one of the many walking scenes.  Hopefully things will get more exciting soon for all of our sakes.

 

If you have not already, please join me on my journey by subscribing to my blog.  Also, 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.

Creating Our Animation Website & Demo Reel

This last week I have been doing a lot of work on updating my website, and putting a demo reel together.  It has been a while since I have used DreamWeaver to make a website, and it is proving to be much more difficult then in the past.  Granted I normally did not try and do anything special or overly complicated with my website design as I am doing now.  I want my website to be simple and clean in the design, but I want it to have some more advanced features under the hood.  For example I want it to look great on all platforms, so no matter if you are looking at it on a desktop or mobile phone you will still have a great experience.

I have been trying to watch YouTube videos to learn coding for fluid grid website designs, and I think my head is ready to explode from trying to understand it.  I was working on it for several days until I eventually had to start working on something else to keep me from going crazy.  I have a new found respect for web designers and programers.  I won’t give up, and will soon be going back to it.

On a more productive note I finished editing the company’s first demo reel which includes some of the work we did for Toys”R”Us.  I included it in this post, but if you want to watch it in HD you will have to watch it on Vimeo.

Currently I’m 6 away from having 2,000 Facebook Likes on my company page.  The momentum I had in previous weeks has slowed down, but I’m still moving towards my goal of 10,000 likes by the year’s end.

As far as outside work, I currently don’t have any new projects lined up, but from what I hear that is typical for the beginning of the year in the commercial world.  The calm is refreshing after the last 6 months, and allows me to get caught up with other things.  I feel in a few weeks I will be ready for my next projects, but I will have to figure out how to get those projects.

 

If you have not already, please join me on my journey by subscribing to my blog.  Also, 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.

New Year’s Resolutions for an Animation Studio

It’s a new year, and a fresh start. In the past a new year was simply trying to remember to change the last digit or two when writing the year, but for the most part little changed. With the business it seems to be much more abrupt of a change, because of the way things are setup with the IRS. Closing out your books for the year, sending out 1099’s, and getting ready for taxes.

Last year feels like I was just testing the water, since it was only half the year. 2015 will be my first full year in business, and that is both exciting and scary. I did not have any downtime last year, since as soon as I left my day job I had a project to work on. This is the first time with the business that I’m not making any money. There is a good chance that January will be the companies first month in the red. Hopefully there will not be to many months this year in the red, but only time will tell.

I plan to use this month to lay some groundwork to hopefully set the company up for success the rest of the year. I feel the most important thing is to get my website updated and looking professional. This includes getting my demo reel edited, and uploaded to the site. I will still mostly be focusing on client work this year as I don’t feel I have the money or reputation yet to start my own projects.

It being a new year I thought it would be appropriate for me to set some goals for the year, or New Year’s Resolutions if you will.

New Year’s resolution: From Wikipedia
The ancient Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts. The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named. In the Medieval era, the knights took the “peacock vow” at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry.

Below are some of my resolutions I make that I hope to accomplish in the next 12 months. Some of them are a stretch, but why set goals that are to easy to achieve?

Work-Life Balance:
These last 6 months have been crazy busy, and that was only dealing with 1 client at a time.  I need to find a better balance between the demands of the company, and my personal life and family.  I realize that the business will always take a lot of time, and these first few years might be the most time consuming.  That is why it is even more important that I find a way to balance my time between it and my personal life now.  After all, one of the reasons I wanted to have my own business was so I could enjoy life more.

3 new Major Clients:
This might seem counter productive to the previous goal, but that is why it is even more important to find a balance now.  Most companies want to continue to do better and grow their business, so growing my customer base should not come as a surprise.  My goal this year is to get 3 new clients with large projects to work on is going to be challenging, but I feel is important for the success of my business. Ideally I would like to have more animation projects, but I also enjoy VFX projects.

Grow Team:
Right now the company is just me, and when I have projects I bring on Freelancers to help out.  This is great in keeping costs down, but I want to bring on others that can help me grow the business.  People that are invested in the idea, and share my passion to grow the company.  This needs to be the right person, or persons that can add something to the team.  With Strengths that compliment my weaknesses.

Develop my own IP:
I know I’m not at a point to produce my own content, but I would like to start developing our own content.  Who knows if we get a great idea we might be able to find funding for it.

Continue to learn:
One of the best parts I experienced in running my own business is that I learn something new almost every day.  I want to continue to learn this year.  I want to continue to try new things, and push myself out of my comfort zone.  This keeps things interesting, and makes all the hard work worth it.  I never want to be stuck in neutral.

10,000 Facebook Likes:
At first this sounds like an unrealistic goal, but I feel this is actually attainable.  This week alone I have gained 512 new likes on my company Facebook page.  I’m currently sitting at 1,450 likes, and growing quickly.  I know this week is not the norm, and if it was I would achieve my goal around May or June.  Some weeks I don’t get any new likes, so I feel this goal is challenging yet attainable. I could use your help to reach this goal.  Share my page with your friends, and help me spread the word. Facebook Page  I also hope to grow my other social media sites, but I will focus on Facebook for this goal.

Do Good:
I want to find a way to give back to the community, a charitable organization, or help a cause.  I have not figured out the best way to give back, but this is something that is important to me.  It also does not have to be only one way.  I have always wanted to make an animated video to help kids that are bullied.  I know there are a lot of kids that struggle with bullies, and I want to show them how they can get help.  Even if it is just educating the kids that are bullying to make them realize what they are doing.

Government contract work:
I want to figure out how to get on these government contract lists.  I was way to busy last year to take the time to make sense of all the paperwork that is required to get on these lists to obtain government work.  Now that I have more free time I would like to figure it out.

Wikipedia Approval:
This might seem like an odd one, but hear me out.  I have this fun game I like to play with Wikipedia called “Lets see how long I can have an article on Wikipedia for”.  I play by adding a new article for “Eric Miller Animation Studios”, and see how long it takes them to remove it. They normally send nice uplifting messages like “The article Eric Miller Animation Studios has been speedily deleted from Wikipedia due to no sign of real notability.”.  Normally it is removed within seconds, but this last time I was able to keep it up for 7 days.  Progress!!!  So my goal is to do something that Wikipedia considers noteworthy enough to get my company in the “modern version” history books we call Wikipedia.

Well, these are just a few of the goals that I have for my business this year.  I will keep you updated on my progress on all these goals as the year goes on.  I expect all of you to hold me to these goals, and if I’m slipping on any of them to call me out on it.  Heres to an amazing 2015!

 

If you have not already, please join me on my journey by subscribing to my blog.  Also, 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.