Companies and Studios

Being a final year student I need to be prepared for once I finish uni, where do I want to work and in what area? My main goal is to be an animator but to get to that, there are a few different routes I could end up taking. Depending on the area of work whether it's games, animation or vfx can change the entry roles. Ideally a junior animator position would be a good starting point, however it seems to be more common within the vfx industry to get started as a runner. It's a good way to get your foot in the door and you can also get a wider knowledge of the industry and see how the studio works. Over the past couple of years I have been building a database of different studios in the UK and abroad of where I would possibly like to work. One site that has proved really useful is CGStepInside, it shows a vast number of animation, visual effects and cg studios around the world and is always expanding. What's interesting to see is the widespread of these companies around the world, and many in places I would have not even thought about.

The CG industry is huge, and I've already found out that for what I want to do specifically, that is character animation, my opportunities may be better outside of the UK. I know that for the next few years I plan to establish myself and get experience within the industry here, but long term I would like to move abroad and try and get a job in Canada or America. With those countries though, there is a lot of competition for jobs so only when I feel ready would I go for it (also have to consider money and visas and possible sponsorships, it's no easy feat!)

Even though I'm wanting to work more within animation or vfx, there is a site for the gaming side of things, similar to CGStepInside, GameDevMap. This too shows many games companies around the world and splits them into different categories, developer, publisher, mobile/handheld, online developer etc.