The big news is that I have secured my first official job! About two weeks ago, one of my professors told me about an opportunity at XLT (extra large technology). Apparently, they tried to hire her first, but when she decided to stick around SCAD, she pointed them in my direction. One of her former students (David Bokser - creator of "The Old Man and the Fish") has been there for a number of years and offered me a position as a Character TD and Animator. XLT is a small company that is most notable for its direct to DVD animated films, but what really sold me is that it seems to be a really good fit for what I do. I wasn't getting any love from the bigger studios (Pixar finally got back to me with the bad news - surprise, surprise) and I hadnt heard anything from the promising companies we met with at the job fair (LucasFilms, Framestore, Charlex, etc.) so I started looking at video games. I have nothing against video game work, but my best skills and interests are in animated film, so I wasnt all that excited about doing global tool development or pipeline work for interactive stuff. The cool thing about XLT is that they still make films, and since they're small I can wear a lot of hats and do the things I like to do. I'm not so worried that I'll show up at their door and not have a clue either, which is a really good feeling.
The catch is that this job is contract work, so I'm only hired until January - and I'm paid by the week instead of a salary with benefits. Don't get me wrong, the pay is very good for a first job, even in California where everything is more expensive (9.3% in state income taxes!? are they insane?). That's right, I'm moving to Hollywood. The day after Graduation I'm driving my little Volkswagen convertible across the entire United States (Savannah and Hollywood are two extremes). It'll be quite the adventure. I still dont have a place to live, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I start work on June 8th and if I make it past January, they're likely to hire me on for longer. However, I'd also have the chance to go somewhere else, since there's so much work out in LA. I just hope it doesnt fall into the ocean when I'm there.
So that's the news. I'm working for my dad while I'm home and finishing up writing my thesis paper. I'll see some of you back in Savannah for Graduation on the 2nd!
I've also been prepping a new Andy release:
