A Blank Canvas, and Endless Possibilities for an Animation Studio

We are in the last weeks of our second Toys”R”Us project, and when it is done we will have made around 40 commercials for them.  These have been amazing first two projects for my company, and very fortunate to have had this opportunity.  A big thanks to Hashi for thinking of me, and brining me on board to help with it back in July.  Earlier this week after finishing one of the very important commercials we got a very nice email from the agency letting us know how happy the client was with our work.  This is the kind of late night emails I actually enjoy getting.  Hopefully we will get to work with this agency again on other future projects they might have.

As this project is coming to an end I have been kicking the search for my next projects into full speed.  I’m currently in talks with a company that asked me to do some CG animation work for them that.  I’m actually really excited about this project, since it is the kind of project I have been wanting to do.  I will know more in the next couple weeks if I will get to be involved with this project.  It would be perfect timing for me as I start to ramp down from the Toys”R”Us project.

I have also been doing a lot of thinking about how far my company has come so far, and where I want to go with it.  When I left DreamWorks Animation 5 months ago I was expecting that the first 2 years I would not have any clients.  I figured I would need at least that much time to put together a portfolio, and to build a brand for my company.  I feel I’m already ahead of the game, so I could not be happier with how things are going.  With that said though, I feel I have not done anything extraordinary.  I’m positive that anyone that took a chance, and spent the time could be doing the same thing that I am doing.  If I want to make my company great I will have to find a way to make it stand out from the rest.  I will need to find what is unique and special to my company, and expand upon it.  This of course is easier said then done, and I’m still trying to figure out what will set us apart from the crowd.  Luckily this does not have to be figured out at this moment, and it might end up being a more organic discovery as the company grows.

What excites me about where I’m at with the studio are the endless possibilities, like an artist with a blank canvas.  I have the opportunity to guide this studio in any direction that is seems best.

“The sky is a canvas, so paint your own life.” – Jada Berglund

 

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.

900 Facebook Likes! Why Social Networking is so Important for an Animation Company

It is a little after 4am, and I thought… “what a great time to write the blog post that I was not able to get to on Friday”.  I took a quick power nap earlier, so I’m full of energy now.

I will start off by saying Thank You for all of you who have supported me in so many ways since I left my job at DreamWorks 5 months ago.  Our company Facebook page now has over 900 Likes!  I’m getting closer to my 1,000 Likes goal, and I will need all your help to get there.

You may ask why I care so much about the number of Likes I have on Facebook, but a strong social presence is extremely important these days.  There are several reasons why I feel this is important.  First off it gives me a direct line to people who are interested in what I’m doing with the company, and the work we are doing.

There are a lot of people doing some amazing work out there, and on occasion something goes “viral”.  It is not always clear why one thing goes viral and another does not, but having a large social following certainly can help.  It all depends on the right people seeing it at the right time, and sharing, and then it getting shared again, and again.  If you are not reaching enough, or at least the right people your work may never be seen more then your own social network.  The more people that I have a direct link to show our work the greater chance I will have of it being seen by the most people possible.

Another reason is that I would love to one day create my own content, and a popular way of raising money to do that is crowd funding.  I have mentioned before about some very successful campaigns where the people raised far more then what they needed.  I feel like having a way to communicate directly with people that are interested in your work is a great place to start in raising money, or getting the word out there.

Working in the commercial world it is important to always be bringing in new clients, but finding clients is not always easy.  Often calling clients up directly does not seem to get a very good response.  I think they have people calling them all the time trying offering their services, so they often put up these walls.  A more natural way is for them to “discover” your work.  When they find something they like they will reach out to you.  Sounds simple enough, but if they never see your work, then don’t expect this to ever work.  Once again, having your work being seen by more people you have a greater chance of an agency seeing your work.  It also helps if they see that people are interested in your work, and you already have a large following.

So for my small company that does not have much of a marketing budget a strong social network is important.  Of course this is only part of the puzzle, but it is not a part you should ignore.  So once again thank you for Liking our page, following our blog, and supporting us in any way.

You might be saying “Eric, I have already liked your Facebook page, subscribed to your blog, and following you on twitter, so how else can I help support your company?”  Well, I’m glad you asked!  You can share with anyone in your network that you think might be interested in what I’m doing with the company.  If you like a blog post, please share it on your Facebook wall.  If you like a video we made then tweet it to your followers.

In all seriousness, I can’t thank you all enough for reading my blogs, and following along on this journey.  It is hard to believe it was only 5 months ago that I left the port of DWA, and set sail on my own.  It has been such an exciting voyage so far, and can’t wait to see what is on the horizon.

Last Monday I was invited to attend the DreamWorks Animation’s Home Leadership Dinner.  They have these dinners when they are nearing the completion of a film to thank the show’s leadership for all their hard work.  I actually was a little shocked when I got the invitation, but was excited that I was able to attend.  It was really nice catching up with everyone, and sharing with them my experiences since leaving DWA.  Many of them had no idea I started my own company, and were very surprised to find out.  Some even thought I was still working at DWA.  It was a very fun evening full of stories, reminiscing, and laughter.  I really appreciated that they still including me in the celebration.  I can’t wait to see how much the movie has changed since I left in July.

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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.

An Amazing Experience at CTN Animation Expo

I had a great time at the CTN Animation Expo this last weekend.  Not only did I get to see a lot of industry friends, but I also got to meet a lot of new people.  I also got to hear a lot of great discussions, and meet some of the animation legends.

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Ken Duncan

I had the pleasure to hear Ken Duncan talk about his studio that he started 8 years ago, and was excited to get to sit next to him in a “Meet Ken Duncan” discussion.  Ken worked at Disney for many years, and is best known for his female characters that he was supervising animator on.  This includes Meg from “Hercules”, and Jane from “Tarzan”.  I learned of Ken and his company Duncan Studio while working on the DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda DVD featurette.  We were doing the CG bookend animation, while his studio worked on the 2D animation part.  I’m hoping for a chance to get to meet him for lunch sometime, and to see his studio.  Fingers crossed.

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L to R: Eric Goldberg, Ron Clements, Bill Kroyer, Jerry Rees, John Musker

On Saturday morning I started my day out going to a tribute to the Late Robin Williams with film directors John Musker, Ron Clements, Jerry Rees, Bill Kroyer, and supervising animator Eric Goldberg.  They have all worked with Robin Williams, and they wanted to honor him by sharing their experiences working with him.

It was really great to hear them talk about their memories of Robin Williams.  When Jerry Rees was talking about his experience he talked about directing “Back to Neverland”.  For anyone that remembers the Animation tour at Disney/MGM Studios at Walt Disney World where you get to go on a walking tour through the animation studio you will have seen this.  Sadly the animation tour and the Florida animation studio is no longer around, but it was one of my favorite attractions.  It is also one that I worked at when I did the Walt Disney World College Program Internship my 2002 spring and summer semester in college.  The tour started out by everyone coming into a small theatre where they played “Back to Neverland”.  It had Walter Cronkite, and Robin Williams, and they turned Robin into an animated character to show you how animation works.  If you have not had the privilege of seeing it on the tour, I will include an extremely poor quality version I found on YouTube.

Working as a tour guide I had to introduce the film, and then watch it around 4 to 5 times a day.  I loved it and never got sick of it.  When I learned that Jerry Rees was the director, I was overly excited.  Later that day I ran into Jerry and John Musker, and told them about my animation tour guide days.  They were very nice, and I had a great conversation with them.  They were also kind enough to take a photo with me.

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The rest of the weekend was a mix of going to different workshops, some of which were ones taught by friends of mine, and walking around on the exhibition floor.  It was really nice getting to make a lot of new contacts with artists, and meet some extremely talented people.  It was interesting that majority of the people I met were trying to get jobs at one of the major studios, and I’m the crazy guy that had a studio job and left on my own free will.  Maybe that is a sign that I’m a little crazy, but I’m okay with that.

One of the best things of the week was seeing these amazing projects everyone was working on.  It really inspired me to want to try and pull a team together, and make an animated short.  There were several people there that got their projects entirely funded by crowd funding.  I met animator James Lopez that did a Indiegogo campaign to raise money to make an animated short.  He raised almost 1/2 a million dollars so far which is enough money to make 4 animated shorts if not more.  I’m sure that is the exception to the norm, but it is still a fun thought to play around with.  In closing I had a great time at the conference, and I’m looking forward to going again next year.  Who knows, maybe I will get a booth for my company next year.

 

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.

I have been a bad blogger!

I have not been a very good blogger lately, and try and post every Friday.  I missed last Friday, and this post won’t really count as an actual post.  Things have been crazy busy, and this weekend I will be at the CTN Animation Expo.

Wikipedia says:

“CTN Animation Expo is an annual three day animation convention that focuses on putting “the talent” center stage. It is held at the Marriott Convention Center in Burbank, California during what is officially proclaimed by the City of Burbank to be “Animation Week” for this event.”

With me being out for the next 3 days I’m afraid I’m going to miss a post this week as well other then this quick update.   I actually should be leaving now for the conference, but waiting to get on a conference call.  The Toys”R”Us project is getting very close to the end, and after that I will have much more time to write my blog posts.

Follow my Twitter account for updates these next 3 days for CTN tweets.

 

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.

An Animation Company that can always Improve!

This week we are still moving at full speed on our current projects.  Toys”R”Us posted the first commercial of their Holiday Campaign on their YouTube channel that we have been working on.  We work on all the individual shots, so it is nice to see them all edited together with final SFX.  I included it on this post so you can watch it here.

I enjoy meeting with other professionals in the industry, and I always feel like I walk away from those meetings knowing so much more then before.  I learn so much from talking to these people, but at the same time it can also stress me out.  Learn about things that I feel I should have known, but didn’t always makes me worry about all the other things I might not know about.  This week I had one of those experiences after meeting with a very knowledgeable proffesional.  I left the conversation thinking about all the things I need to do to make my company better.  These things include, but are not limited to legal protection, advertising, and security of our data.  I think we are doing a pretty good job with all of these, but I also see ways we could make it better.  This is something I really want to look into, so the company can be the best that it can be.

This also got me thinking about the company and its culture.  At first I was thinking strictly about finding work, and doing the best job that we can, but I feel there is so much more then that.  For example, what do our clients think of working with us, and how do the artists feel about working with us?  I want people to enjoy working for the company, and truly want to be a part of what I’m trying to build.  I don’t want to be looked at as simply a place to get a paycheck from.  I want the company to be known for doing great work, but I also want a culture that is something to be proud of.  So these are some of the things that I will be spending more time brainstorming.  Please let me know in the comments of what you think makes a company a great place to work, or a company you want to do business with.

FullSizeRenderOn Wednesday, I went to an event for any who has earned the BSA rank of Eagle Scout in the Los Angeles area.  It was nice to get to talk with other Eagle Scouts about their scouting memories, and meet some really amazing people.  Scouting has always been such a great part of my childhood, and I hope that my son will get to have similar experiences in scouting.  At the event we had former Boy Scout, actor, and environmental activist Ed Begley, Jr. as our guest speaker.  I got a chance to talk with him, and he is a very interesting man that makes you really think about ways that you can be more environmentally minded.  This guy has a 10,000 gallon grey water tank under his house, and wind turbines on his roof for electricity.  I met a lot of other people that are in the entertainment industry, and had a conversation with a producer that has an animation project that he wanted to talk to me about.  He has a fun exciting project, and I look forward to our continued conversations.

Yesterday I went back to DreamWorks to visit some of my friends.  It was great getting to see everyone and getting caught up with how everyone is doing.  DreamWorks is such a great company, and there are some crazy talented and amazing people that work there.  I’m still very happy with my decision to leave, and go off on my own. Maybe one day DreamWorks will ask my company to do some work for them.  Wink-wink nudge-nudge for any DreamWorks executives reading this blog.

 

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.

Have a happy and animated Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

I hope you are all enjoying your Halloween today.  It is my wife’s favorite holiday, so we always have a great time celebrating it.  This will also be my son’s first Halloween, so this year it is extra special.

This has been a pretty eventful week for the company.  Our biggest client has asked us to deliver some commercials earlier then we originally planned, so we had to start staffing up.  We now have a team of 9 after effect artists(maybe 1 more), and 1 CG animator.  This team is now bigger then my modeling team I had at DreamWorks Animation.  I’m excited about bringing on our first animator, since my company has not actually done any animation work yet.  So getting to do some animation is really exciting for me.  I’m also really enjoying the VFX world, so it is great getting to work on something that combines the two worlds.

Also because of the size of the team I’m bringing on a production coordinator to help support the growing team.  I met with one of my interns from when I was at DWA, and she agreed to come on and help until we finish the project for a month or so.  It will be a huge help having her on the team, and she will help free up some of my time.

I also talked to a good friend of mine that is interested in doing more producing for animation.  He loves the creative part of producing, and working with artists, but not as excited about the business side of things such as dealing with contracts and taxes.  We talked for a while, and came up with an idea that would help both of us.  He will work as a producer for my company, and will help find new clients.  When he brings new clients in he will produce and manage the project. My company will hire all the artists, deal with all the contracts, and provide production support for the project.  It will also be done under my companies name, and when looking for clients he can use my companies name and reputation to help bring in bigger clients.  Then after all project expenses are paid we will each take a percentage of what is left.  I think we are going to give this a try to see how it works.  I’m excited for the opportunity to work with such a smart, driven, and genuinely great guy.

Well, that is pretty much it for this week.  I currently have the one big project that we are about half way through, and two other projects that are still in the negotiation stage.  Speaking of if you are or know any great motion graphic artists please send me a message.  I’m looking for couple motion graphic artists for one of the projects I’m bidding on.

I have a new comment system on the blog, so please take advantage of it, and leave me some comments.  Let me know what you think, and give me any advice you might have!

I hope everyone has a great Halloween.  Stay safe, dress up, go to a party, or watch some scary movies.

 

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.

Another day in the exciting world of Animation and VFX

I’m starting to run a little behind on my blog posts.  Finding the time to write these are becoming harder and harder to do lately.  It is important to me to continue writing posts, so I will keep trying to find the time.  This week more then other weeks I have had a lot of people mention to me that they enjoy reading my blog. I sometimes forget people are actually reading them.  Sure the site will tell me numbers of how many people have read them, but it is easy to look at that as just numbers.  When people tell me they are reading my blog it makes it seem more real.  So thank you everyone for taking the time to read my words.  I promise I will keep getting better at this writing thingy.

I do have to say that even though I work way more hours then I used to I love what I do.  I sometimes feel like the only time I’m not working is when I’m sleeping.  I have the one client that takes up 90% of my non-sleeping time, and the other 10% gets filled up by trying to find more projects, thinking of ways to grow my business, and eating(often eating happens at the same time as work though).  Everything is new and exciting right now, and I hope to find ways to keep things that way.  It will be a challenge for me to constantly find ways to take my company to uncharted waters.

Last week I was bidding on VFX work for a low budget horror movie.  They had almost 200 shots that they needed some work done on ranging from turning eyes black to removing wires.  You know your typical horror movie stuff.  I thought things were going really well in the negotiations, and there was a price on the table that was low, but still doable.  The gentleman I was talking to said he needed to check with the director and would get back to me. A few days later I heard from him, and he told me that they decided to split the work between my studio and another.  The other studio got more shots, but the easy stuff, and I got less shots but the harder stuff.  Work wise he was offering my studio around 75% of the work, but was offering 23% of the total budget.  As much as I wanted to take on this project I knew it would be very difficult to find artists that would help me on the project for the rate that was being offered.  So unfortunately I had to turn down the offer.  Hopefully in the future I will get to work with this guy on another project, but it was not going to be this one.

On Tuesday of last week I finally got to meet up with Manny Fragelus.  Manny used to work at DreamWorks Animation(DWA) as a modeler, but eventually left DWA to focus on his newly started company Cgma Art Academy.  The company is a provider of online digital art education.  They offer online classes and workshops for anyone wanting to learn how to do Concept Art, Illustration, or Entertainment Design.  When I heard about what Manny was doing I wanted to meet with him to hear all about it.  We originally made plans to meet the first week after I left DWA, but I ended up getting so busy with the Toys’R’Us commercials and watching Kelton that I was not able to meet up until last week.  Manny is a very bright guy, and has done a lot of great things with his company.  His company seems to be doing really well, and now has a good amount of students and growing.  All his professors are industry professionals, and if you are interested in learning any of these crafts I recommend checking out his website.  Within the first few minutes of talking with Manny it was very clear how much he cares about our industry and the people in it.  He has dedicated a great deal of his time and effort in teaching students what they need to know to be successful in this industry.  Things they don’t always learn from the traditional schools that many of them are still in financial debt to even years after graduation. It was great getting to talk to him about his company, and reminisce about our days at DWA.  I look forward to watching what this guy does, and if I’m lucky we can find a way to work together.

This week Hashi, and one of my artists came over to the house to shoot toy characters on green screen that we will be adding into some of the commercials we are working on.  This was a new experience for me, and we had a lot of fun doing it.  Well at least I did, and hope they shared in my excitement.  I hope it all turns out once we get it edited into the commercials.  It is just another day in the world of animation and VFX!

 

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.

The Art of Bidding on Animation Projects

I mentioned before that when starting your own company you end up wearing a lot of different hats.  I thought I would talk about one of the hats that is very important, and that is my bidding hat.

Bidding is the process of looking at the work a client needs to get done, and giving a price to them that you are willing to do it for.  Seems pretty simple, but it actually is very difficult.  If everyone was willing to pay a fair price for the work then maybe it be simpler, but the truth is everyone wants it cheaper, faster, and better.  So you have to be creative to find other ways to make your bid work with your clients goals.

In an ideal world we would be able to get what we want immediately, in perfect condition, and for free.  Unfortunately the real world of business does not operate this way.   Have you ever heard of the project triangle?   It is a simplified way to show how things work in the graphic design industry, but also holds true for many other industries.  It shows how at best you can expect to have two of the properties, but not all 3.  For example you can have it fast & good, but that will be more expensive.  Or you can have it good & cheap, but it won’t be done very fast.

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This approach makes it seem very straight forward, but this is only a part of the bidding process.  I work with very creative people every day, and as the “business guy” I’m often not looked at as a creative person.  Which seems to make sense since I’m not the one creating the artwork.  I still feel that it takes a lot of creativity to run the business.  Sure there are those administrative duties that don’t take a lot of creativity, but there are also a lot of decisions I make on a daily basis that does require creative thinking.

Not every bid is the same, and you often have to think outside the box to craft an agreement with your client that creates a win win for both of you.  You can agree on a set amount for the entire project, or you can set it up on a day rate with no limit.  It all comes down to what both parties are comfortable with.  I have seen some bids that work on a day rate, but it is capped at a certain point.  For example they will say that the project won’t cost more then $2,000, but they will only charge for the actual work done.  They might have a day rate of $100/day, and if it takes 10 days it will only cost the client $1,000.  On the other hand if it ends up taking 30 days the client will only pay $2,000, and the animation company will loose $1,000 worth of potential pay.  This is one reason why bidding is so important.

If you bid to high then you might not get the project, but if you bid to low you risk loosing money.  If you are working alone you only loose time and potential income, but if you are a business and hiring people to do the work your risk is greater.  Lets say I have 3 artists that I pay $100/day, but in order to close the deal with the client I bid the whole project at $2,000.  If it takes my artist less then 6 days I will actually make money, but if it is over 7 days I will be losing money.  If the projects goes for 10 days I will end up paying my artists $3,000, and will have lost $1,000 on the project.

As you can see the limitlessness of designing these deals with clients has a great deal of creative freedom.  Trying to craft a deal that will get your client to agree with, and will also be beneficial to your business requires a great deal of creativity.  This is also why bidding is one thing I often worry about, because if done incorrectly it can cost you a great deal.

This is not only an art companies should master, but also for anyone who needs to negotiate for anything.  Whether it be talking to your boss about a raise, or when buying a car from a salesperson you need to be skilled at this art.

I’m still learning the art of bidding, but here are some tips I would give to someone starting out.  Get as much information as you can from the client, so that you can give the most accurate bid possible.  Also try and build in some safety nets.  For example you can include a limited amount of notes, and anything over that will increase your bid.  Or you can make it very clear that any additional work added to what was previously agreed upon will increase the bid.  Work with your team to double check your thinking.  You don’t want to miss a small detail that can cost you a great deal. It is not all about money.  If you really want to work on a project because it would look great on your demo reel then offer to do it for less, but make sure you get them to agree to letting you use the work in your portfolio.  Think outside the box, and be creative when making a bid.  It can be a scary world out there, but if you are smart about it then it won’t seem as frightening.  Like with any art form,  it requires skill and a great deal of practice to get good at it.  Don’t give up, and continue to fine tune your skills.  Don’t be afraid to step away from the traditional way of doing something, and taking a risk by being different.

“When I’m old and dying, I plan to look back on my life and say ‘wow, that was an adventure,’ not ‘wow, I sure felt safe.’ ” —Tom Preston-Werner, Github co-founder

Best of luck to anyone that is out there bidding on projects, or negotiating pay for their time and services.  Please share your experiences in the comments below.  I would love to hear about both bid successes, and biding disasters.

 

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.

Shooting Week Done, Now We Add The Magic

The week of shooting is now over, and I think it went really well besides my feet being a little sore from standing all day.  We shot Monday thru Friday, and the hours were roughly 7am to 7pm each day.  So that is a lot more standing then I’m used to, since lately I have spent a lot of time on my butt in my office chair.  My office now looks like a toy store from the toys we brought back to use for the VFX work, and I have a lot of paperwork to sort through.

Although it was very tiring, being on set was a lot of fun, and I learned a great deal more about the live action side of things.  It was also a very productive week, and from what was shot they will be able to make somewhere around 40 different commercials using different combinations of the vignettes we will be making.  We are now waiting for edit to finish the first few vignettes for us to get started on with the VFX work.  Hopefully we will have something as early as the end of day Monday to jump on.

We have some pretty intense deadlines this time around, and I have been working all weekend trying to rough out a schedule.  There will be a lot of moving pieces, and they all have to fall into place to make sure we deliver everything on time.

I’m excited to see how this round of commercials go, and I expect they will turn out even better then the last round.

In addition to shooting all week I was also able to make it to the Producers Guild networking event that was on Thursday evening.  With being tired from the week, and between babysitter drama, and having to wake up early the next morning for the final day of shoot I did not stay very long.  It was still nice to get out for a little, and meet some new people.

This week will start our post work, that we are expecting to last until December.  I’m excited to get a start on everything, and still a little stressed from the tight deadlines.  I just want to do the best job we can, so everyone is happy, and proud of the work.

 

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.

Parent’s Visit

My parents were in town this week, so I did not have time to write a full blog post, so this will be quick update.

The Toys”R”Us project we have been working on has finally come to an end(for the most part).  Not all 15 commercials are posted yet, but if you missed any of them you can watch them all here.

This project started the week after I left DreamWorks Animation in July, and went on for about 2 1/2 months.  It could not have come at a more perfect time for me, and gave me a great head start for the company.  It was a great experience, and had a lot of fun working on them.

I’m very excited to announce that I have already started another project this week, and will go until the middle of December.  It will be commercials for the company’s holiday campaign.  Hopefully this will be another fun project, and it should keep me busy for the rest of this year.  I’m always looking for additional projects to take on, so please let me know if you have anything for me.

It was great having my parents out here this week, and getting a break from the routine of everything.  The timing worked out well since the Toys”R”Us project was pretty much finished.  We were able to go to the beach, the Autry National Center, and just hangout.  My son Kelton also really enjoyed his time with his grandparents.

Next week everything goes back to normal.  Except we will be starting a search for a nanny.  When I first left DreamWorks I thought I could watch Kelton, and running the business at the same time.  That was when I thought it would take me some time before I had a project, and it would be a slower start.  With this new project picking up I’m going to need help, since this last project proved to be difficult to work, start the business, and watch Kelton at the same time.  We will be looking for help during the times I have active projects, so if you know a good nanny please send their info our way.

 

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.