Ever thought of working in animation and spending your days sketching ideas for new cartoons? Well, 23-year-old Nusula Nakayiwa dreams of just that. Having graduated last year in Animation, Nusula took her first step on the path of becoming a professional animator by working for Little Airplane Productions, Inc. in New York, which has created and produced top children’s shows on Nick Jr., Playhouse Disney and most recently the BBC. ORIGINS sat down and spoke with the budding artist about her journey so far.
ORIGINS: When did you know that you wanted to be an animator?
I’ve had a pure love and talent for drawing from as young as five, so that creative side of me had always existed. I realised I wanted to get into animation when I was about seventeen. It was my first year at six-form and I had taken Media for the first time as a subject. I wanted to combine my drawing skills with this newfound interest in media, so together they equalled Animation!
ORIGINS: How were you formally trained in Animation?
Before I went on to do a degree in Animation, I studied a Media Diploma for one year. The course allowed me to try out different aspects in media such as Photography, Film & Video and Animation. It was a great way of finding out what I wanted to proceed with as a major. After that, I went on to do a BA in Animation at the University of Westminster where I was taught various practices and approaches to achieving animated work. The course was mostly practical based, which was useful as I discovered employers judge you based on what skills you have to offer, so it was very important that technical skills and software was the main focus in the course.
ORIGINS: What made you decide on doing an internship, and why in America?
Because no one will hire you unless you have some sort of experience in the field, or have really good connections! Going to university is not enough, so it was important that I went out and found work experience. Luckily, I managed to find an internship in America. I decided to do my experience there purely because the animation industry is much bigger. Also, I find that there are a lot more doors open to people in the creative industry abroad than there is here. I find Americans to be more open minded than the British media industry.
ORIGINS: How did you go about setting up the internship?
I started looking at various American animation companies online, like Disney and Pixar. I came across Little Airplane Productions, Inc. and emailed them. Luckily, they emailed me back and asked to arrange a telephone interview. I was absolutely ecstatic when I received that email! I had my phone interview and they asked me to come and intern for them over the summer. So, I sorted my visa through a sponsorship program and finalised my travel and accommodation.
ORIGINS: What did the internship involve?
I worked as an intern for two months, five days a week, undertaking various tasks ranging from making coffee to storyboarding. They had a morning meeting everyday where the producers and directors would go through the schedule outline of the day, and what goals had to be met by each team. I was introduced to the rest of the team as the new intern. There were about ten interns a day! I got a chance to work on some amazing things that contributed towards their shows. Not many interns got the chance, but I pushed on the fact that I was interested and good at what was required. I worked on storyboards for two episodes - from looking at the final script to putting the directions into visuals. I also had the chance to do touch-ups on some designs, as well as helping with designs for pitch bibles.
ORIGINS: Was there anything that you learned while you were there that really surprised you?
I learnt that animators were in different jobs so much; it occurred to me that when being an artist work is not always guaranteed! But, if you stand out amongst the rest and always meet your targets companies are more likely to keep you on.
ORIGINS: After your internship you started working for their London branch. What was that like?
L.A.P. had got a contract with the BBC to create a new TV series. Before I left Josh Selig, the director and founder of the company, asked me to come for an interview with my portfolio. I was shocked and in amazement! I undertook an interview with him and three other senior staff and they asked if I would like to work for them in the UK office as a production assistant and handle the research in the UK for the new series.
ORIGINS: Do you think that the internship was worth it? Were there any downsides to the experience?
Yes, I definitely think it was worth it! I learnt so much, more than I could have imagined, and it gave me a great insight into the running of a production house. It was also great because I got to interact very closely with all the departments and learned about how well they all work together. I found that I learnt a lot more adaptable skills at my work experience then I could ever at university. There wasn’t really a downside. It was one that was worth my time and money.
ORIGINS: Now that you’ve graduated and have professional experience under your belt, what’s the next step?
I have professional experience under my belt, but at the same time I'm still finding it extremely hard to find work! What I can say is that I try to maintain a positive attitude, and the key is not to give up even when things don’t seen to be going the way you planned. Right now my plan is to get my online portfolio up and running - this would give me a far better chance of getting a job, because when you are applying for creative jobs having an online portfolio increases your chances of being hired. It is also a great way to exhibit your work and show off the skills that you have. I am even seeking a bit more work experience, as it would be a great way to continue practicing my animation in a professional environment and hopefully build up some useful links.
ORIGINS: What do you see yourself doing in the future?
Ideally, I would love to be working for a major production house like DreamWorks or Framestore. I would love to work on development artwork and character design. Just to be a part of developing and designing something that people will watch and connect with gives me goose bumps! The ultimate goal would be owning and running my own production house - one that provides students and young people with the chance to get into the industry and equips them with the know how of how to move forward with their talent and skill.
ORIGINS: What advice do you give for people who are currently thinking about pursuing a career in animation?
I would definitely recommend anyone getting into animation to do work experience. It is one of the hardest industries to get into and the best way in is to make good connections and continuously build a name for yourself by working with people. An internship is a great way of going about it, because when you do land a good one it can teach you so much and give you great insight into how the industry works. From there you can hopefully build up your own action plan and possibly start something of your own, or even just get you on the right track towards your dream job!
For more information visit:
Little Airplane Productions, Inc.
www.littleairplane.com
Nusula Nakayiwa’s sample show reel
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp2DScEqHOE
PUBLISHED IN ORIGINS MEDIA
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