Interviewed.

A few months ago an art student from Otis College asked to interview me. Here are my dumb answers:

Whats your name?

Michael Carr

What company do you currently work for?

SCEA Studios Santa Monica

How long have you worked there for?

A little over 3 and 1/2 years.

What is your job title for that company? (animator, storyboarder, ect.)

Senior Animator

Where have you worked previously? (be specific)

THQ(tester)
Paradox Development(concept artist, camera designer, FX designer, level designer, animator)
Midway L.A.(animator)
Neversoft Entertainment(animator)

How did you get the job you currently have?

I started in game development as a quality assurance tester at THQ. Eventually I became a concept artist for a small company called Paradox. There I tried my hand at several positions, staying an hour or two extra for a few weeks learning 3DStudioMax and animating. About a month later I was an animator. After trying to go back to school, dropping out and returning to Paradox(which had become Midway L.A.), and then moving on to Neversoft, I was looking for projects better suited to my interests.
I had previously worked with many of the designers and animators from SCEA at Paradox. There was just a ridiculous amount of talent at Paradox, and several of us eventually ended up at SCEA on the God of War team. I applied through the Sony website for an animator position with just a resume. SCEA sent me an animation test for Maya, with versions of their character rigs to test animation skill, timing abillity, and technical knowledge. After completing and passing the test I interviewed with members of the team and was hired on as an animator. After being there for one year and working on several key moments in God of War III I earned the title of Senior Animator.

Did you graduate? If so, where?

While working at Paradox I decided I might go back to school and learn more about animation so I quit and attended CalArts for roughly six months. I dropped out after realizing I would be competing for my old job if I had stayed enrolled there and went back to my old job. CalArts also doesn't teach the kind of animation needed for games.

What is your work environment like?

Our work environment is a relatively laid back studio, with many of the industry's top talent working across all of our departments. Work days are normally 10-6:30, allowing for some people to come in and leave earlier if they choose to. The studio has an open floor plan, without many offices or cubicles. This helps allow our departments to communicate and collaborate relatively frequently depending on the scheduled tasks at hand. The studio is also in Santa Monica, CA, where the weather is usually perfect.

How many hours do you work weekly?

For the first 75% of most game projects the work hours are usually normal, meaning 40 hours a week. Towards the end of projects teams usually go into some type of "crunch" mode, where employees might find themselves working 60-80 hours a week, and some working even more than that. On the last project most of the team was required to come in during some weekends, though I rarely did. While I don't think crunch has ever helped a game's development it seems to be the norm for most developers, and most companies work far more hours than we do.

What are you currently working on?

I can't really speak about what we are working on at the moment, but we are trying to utilize the team's strengths (game play, animation, presentation) to build upon and expand the foundation of things we have established in the past. We are also doing a lot of experimenting right now and the animation team in particular is strong in their creation of visual development for new ideas.

Are there currently any Internships/Job opportunities at your industry?

There are many jobs/internships/opportunities in gaming. Several websites devoted to achieving a career in games exist, including many for individual companies. As far as I know SCEA is currently looking for animators and programmers.

Do you have personal time to do side projects?

I do have time, but under contract with SCEA anything I create away from work is technically theirs. Outside of that it's very tough to come home and want to sit in front of a computer and work at something similar to what I already do all day. My time at home is largely spent looking at other forms of entertainment to keep up with the industry or cultivate ideas.

Did you end up where you thought you would be?

I never had any idea where I would end up in life. As a kid I loved playing games and had a ton of ideas for them but didn't know anything about how they were actually made. Working as a tester made me understand how to problem solve but still didn't offer much insight into the creation of actual game assets. Even after ten years in the industry I still don't know a terrible amount about the technical side of things(e.g. programming), but I do feel like animation is where I fit best right now. Our team recently won a few animation awards so I guess that's some kind of validation for belonging where I'm at.

Where do you see yourself in the future (Do you want to work somewhere else)?

Ultimately I would like to become a creative director, whether at SCEA or somewhere else. I feel that as an animator with a background in anatomy and life drawing I have the knowledge to invent a game world, its creatures, characters, stories, and visuals. Unfortunately, that title is hard to come by. As far as wanting to work anywhere else I don't really know. SCEA is the best company I have worked for so far and it would be hard to imagine working anywhere else, especially considering the large amount of friends I have there.

Who are your typical clients?

We are an internal division of Sony so we work exclusively on Playstation titles, most notably the God of War series.

What are your sources of inspiration?

Why things are the way they are in life is huge for me and I always seem to need to know the underlying structure of anything I see. Our team often speaks to each other with references to moments in movies, other games, and television, but nothing compares to videos of animals on Youtube. The National Geographic channel is the holy grail for animators. Framepool is also a great website for reference that I often go to, as well as the Gobelins school's videos.

Can you give any advice on a student entering the industry?

Have a great demo reel that shows understanding of game animation for the company you are applying to. If you are applying for a realistic game don't submit cartoony or exaggerated animation. Also, understand hit presentation. This means knowing how to really sell a moment that "feels" good when a player pushes a button and the corresponding action. Play as many games as you can afford to and study what you like as well as what you don't and why.
We receive an absurd of amount of reels that show typical Animation Mentor studies in acting that don't present much in the way of actual animation skill relative to gaming. Movies and games are completely different beasts and knowing the difference is important for getting your reel looked at seriously. Also, understanding games and game language in general is paramount to landing a job. If you don't play games, you'd probably have a hard time making them well.
One other thing to consider is how you interact with others. If you aren't sociable, easy to work with, or clear in your language it's very hard to work in games. I've seen at least two people in the last year with great reels that didn't land the job because of their personalities.

What programs do you typically use?

SCEA uses Maya for animation. In the past I've used 3DStudioMax, Photoshop, and Motion Builder.

What would a typical salary of a new employee look like?

Starting off at a small company as a 20 year old kid with no degree who was kind of like an intern I made minimum wage at the time(7.25/hr). Within a few months I was making 35k/yr, then a few months later bumped up to quite a bit more. That was ten years ago, so I'd have to guess that there is no reason an animator with little experience couldn't make as much as 50k if you have the talent and the drive .