One of the main things that I am realising as I do more research into the animation industry, as well as different studios and commercial animation frameworks, is that a lot of my favourite animation and many of the animators that I most admire actually work outside of commercial animation studios as independent animators. Coming to realise that there are ways to live as an animator and create your own art, without necessarily having to work for an animation studio I find very refreshing and also reassuring.
I found that attending the 2024 British Showcase screening at LIAF really exemplified this for me. There was a contribution from Blinkink – a commercial animation studio, but there were also films made by independent artist animators who either found funding through grants or other means, or who otherwise earn their living doing something else and animate on the side. I was lucky enough to know firsthand two of the filmmakers who were screening which also was really helpful in gaining an insight into the different practices of filmmakers. One of these filmmakers being our course leader Shaun Clarke, I know that Shaun’s film ‘And Then They’ was at least partially funded through Arts Council England funding. It is helpful to be able to see for myself examples of filmmakers getting films made through many different avenues. It’s also really helpful to have a reminder that making films can be one part of many different aspects that might make up my future career, and that I may find that I prefer a similar work model to animators like Shaun who may have several jobs at any time and balance making films with other roles such as teaching.
A friend of mine, Harry also had his film screening in the British showcase, which gives me a really important insight into how filmmakers who are of a similar age and point in their career to me are working and what ways they find to earn a living whilst creating animation. Harry generally makes his films through either applying for grant funding, or simply working on these projects in his own time, whilst primarily making his living with other jobs, such as working as a freelance photographer and videographer. This enables him to be able to create his own films and work completely independently, making exactly what he wants to make. This freedom and independence really appeals to me, though I know there are also challenges to working in this way, such as often having to be entirely self-reliant, not having access to the resources and equipment that a large and well funded projects have, and also often lack of stability in your work and income if you’re working freelance from job to job.