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Watched the DVD Zathura today. Actually watched it yesterday and then
continued watching the special features portion of the DVD today. Stan
Winston, famous for the Terminator film effects and more, did a lot of
work on Zathura. I Googled Winston's name and then visited his
website.

The site has an FAQ section with a question and answer that has a lot
of applicability to those artists looking for work in the bodyart
community. From his FAQ:

Q: So once I'm out of school, then what?

A: Once you have a small portfolio put together, you need to be
willing to work for free for a while. Make yourself available as an
intern or apprentice a few days a week at a special effects studio in
your area. If there aren't any effects shops, look into local
theaters, colleges, haunted houses - anyone who could use your help
and artistic talents. Meet people, make contacts, learn about business
and prove yourself to be an invaluable asset to the company. This is a
great way to get your foot in the door. Keep in mind that when sending
your portfolio, it should be neat, professional, organized,
informative, and most of all visually interesting! You should also
know that companies may not be able to send your work back to you.
Don't send originals. Figure out a way to re-create your portfolio
inexpensively that you can send out.

Also on the portfolio... If you're a well-rounded artist, you should
showcase a little bit of everything. A lot of people contact us and
say they can do "everything." If so, then you should show it. One good
idea is to come up with a character or a concept and show all the
stages of creation. Think of all the steps involved in creating a
character and document the entire process with photos and photocopies:
some quick thumbnail sketches, a finished, more detailed concept
rendering, a sculpted maquette (don't forget to take photos of your
armature), all of your molds, your castings, and finally the finished
painted maquette. Some artists even go a step further with full sized,
mechanized creations. Take photos of everything and have fun!

If you're still building your portfolio but you want to go ahead and
get some of your work out there, you can put together a simple
"mailer" with a few "sample sheets." A sample sheet is usually a color
Xerox with a number of pictures scaled down on one page. This way you
can fit a lot more work onto fewer pages (it saves on the money as
well). Make these look nice and slick. Your name and contact number
should be on every page in case they get separated. Do you hard work
justice by photographing your samples with some style and reproducing
them on good photocopy machines.

When sending out submissions, you have to think of yourself as an
actor. Every sample sheet you send out is your audition. Make the most
of it. Don't photocopy a doodle from the back of your notebook. This
is your shot to make a great impression.

Now... the downside. You need to know up front that this is a very
competitive business. How competitive? Think of it this way: You've
sent in your sample sheets. Your resume and/or cover letter is
attached. "How could they miss?" "This is really going to get their
attention." Here's the part you don't see. Your sample sheet is one of
hundreds that we get throughout the year. We look at them all and flag
the top percentile that we feel meet the professional criteria that
we're looking for. If you want to be considered in the top percentile,
take your time and work hard on your craft. Don't put more effort into
your presentation than your art. Your work will speak for itself.

Here's the other bit of reality. Out of those hundreds of submissions
we get every year, we may only have a handful of positions at any
given time. The odds aren't great. So, what should you be doing?
Increase your odds of getting a job by sending out your stuff to as
many people as possible. Every shop - be it big or small. Just because
we may not be hiring doesn't mean another great effects shop isn't
looking for people. This is the attitude you need to have. To really
have a career in effects, you have to take the jobs where you can find
them. Holding out and waiting for the perfect "dream job" just isn't a
reality.

The bottom line is this: You have to be passionate. We get many
letters from people who are "interested" in our line of work.
Unfortunately, mere "interest" won't get you very far. You literally
have to live, eat, breathe character creation. Like any profession,
that's the only way you're going to get anywhere.

Part of being passionate is learning everything you can on your own.
Take your garage Halloween experiments as far as you can. Go to the
library. Find books on special effects and stagecraft. Surf the net.
Rent movies. Watch and tape behind-the-scenes specials when they air.
Read special effects movie magazines. Read the articles. Study the
pictures. Hold your own work up to the work that you see on screen and
in photos. How do you compare? Be honest regarding your own work.
Don't be scared to make mistakes (and then learn from them). Analyze
the areas where you need to improve. Find your strengths - then go for
it!

/from Stan Winston's FAQ - see http://www.stanwinstonstudio.com/

--
Curt

On Jul 16, 12:36 pm, Curt <curtja...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Watched the DVD Zathura today. Actually watched it yesterday and then
> continued watching the special features portion of the DVD today. Stan
> Winston, famous for the Terminator film effects and more, did a lot of
> work on Zathura. I Googled Winston's name and then visited his
> website.

And missed the bit about not allowing links to his site.

Stellar.

Kavin

Kavin Taylor wrote:
> Curt wrote:
>
> > Watched the DVD Zathura today. Actually watched it yesterday and then
> > continued watching the special features portion of the DVD today. Stan
> > Winston, famous for the Terminator film effects and more, did a lot of
> > work on Zathura. I Googled Winston's name and then visited his
> > website.
>
> And missed the bit about not allowing links to his site.

Cool!

> Stellar.

Yeah, stellar *and* interstellar. Zathura!

You catch on quick. ;o)

--
Curt