Interview with Steve Orsini

Steve Orsini

Where did you go to get your degree? 

The short answer is I don't have a degree.  The long answer is:

I first went to a regular brick and mourter college in the state i grew up in, New Jersey, but then dropped out after a year (I sat in the "advanced" animation class they had, to check it out, and I found out you didnt get to choose what discipline you studied that last semester [you drew straws for what you have to learn {one would pick animation, cause it's awesome or course, and the rest would be stuck with texturing or something else they didn't want to do}) Also, the seniors and juniors were asking me Maya questions, and not even difficult ones.  So I hightailed it outta there after a lot of praying, analyzing the situation, and asking my one friend who worked at Rhythm & Hues for advice.  

I left and went back home to study at Animation Mentor, as you know.  

What did you do right after you graduated? 

Right after I graduated, I went back to practicing and refreshed myself of the basics before I did more animation tests for about a year and a half.  I had gotten a job at a small game studio not far from home halfway through AM.  I was there for two years and after I was laid off I immediately got the apprenticeship here (although I had been applying everywhere that was a film studio since I finished AM).

How long did it take for you to get your first job in the industry?

Oh, oops, I kinda answered that one in the previous one, haha.  To get my job here, It took about a year and a half, I think. Hmm, maybe It was a year; i forget.  Either way, it wasn't immediate and I had to practice and work on my demo reel the whole time.  It was difficult since I was animating at work, and then would go home and animate more.  But it was worth it!

I noticed you have taken a part of Animation Mentor, how helpful do you think it was?

Animation Mentor is what I owe my career to.  100% helpful.  Being exposed to working animators and networking though it was a gargantuan help. I'm working with two out of the six mentors I've had. I wonder if that had any effect on my being hired here. My Rhythm & Hues friend had given me some personal critiques a lot through the early part of AM and it was just awesome.  I learned so much from him on top of what I was learning at AM. 

What steps did you have to take to become an apprentice at Reel FX and then an actual animator there?

The first part of this kinda goes back to what I was saying earlier.  Lots of practicing after school.  We never stop learning in this industry. Not after school, and not after we get a job.  

To get hired on after the apprenticeship I kept learning.  Being teachable and knowing how to follow directions very quickly and completely, even if you totally disagree, made me more desirable to them, I guess.  I was going pretty fast though notes on my own shots and I'd take on any fixes of other people's shots that they'd give me (which is the lame part of job, in my opinion), without pitching fits or showing negativity.

Do you notice any common mistakes people make while animating? For example, lack of exaggeration? 

I don't feel I'm able to make an overarching generalization like that about my co-workers, but I can say that in student work I notice that animation lacks character and entertainment a lot more than it used to.  Anybody can learn the principles, but being entertaining and having a sense of what's funny will make your work stand out.  It's also the toughest part to get right.

In my own work, I find that I often forget to build in texture to the movement.  So, like two fast movements, then one slow movement, then one fast movement, is more interesting then, four slow movements. Obviously it depends on the situation, but I hope that kinda explains what I mean by texture.  The action has to follow a rhythm, but not repetitively, and I am forget to plan for that often.

What advice do you have for me, since I am graduating soon. 

No matter what project or place you work at, find something to learn.  I was awfully grumpy for most of the two years at the game studio, but once I got here, I realized how much it had helped me.  I understood rigging way more than I would have otherwise, I had a better understanding of how to do cycles when the time came here, I gained a lot of speed, and I got to save up a lot while living at home.  Not everyone lands their dream job right out of the gate. Some do,  but just in case be prepared to do work on yet another lame mini-game compilation for the Wii, or a commercial for a product you hate, and know that there is a wealth of knowledge at any studio in this industry.

I hope that helped! If you have any more questions or need clarification, don't hesitate to ask!