A theme we have seen time and time again in our Interview Series is that the most successful people in the business have creative-albeit-somtimes-twisted minds, brilliant business acumen but most importantly—they find a niche for themselves within the industry.
Mark Farinas, owner of the bay area's Bad Monkey Studios, provides another anecdotal success story for our readers looking to break into one of the country's most cut-throat industries. As Mark puts it, “I try to fill a very specific niche for low cost animation to people who don't think they can afford it. I work primarily with small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and independent film directors.”
We picked Mark's well-spoken, yet self-titled “aphasic”, brain on how he found his niche and success in the industry, and how others interested in freelancing and working at boutique studios can emulate his venerable career path. He came up like doozies like this one: “I have always been completely independent of the animation industry. I can only tell you about what goes on at my desk. It often involves alcohol.”
What is your firm's focus within animation and what led your firm to have such a focus?
I try to fill a very specific niche for low cost animation to people who don't think they can afford it. I work primarily with small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and independent film directors. One of my major strengths is scaling the amount of animation - and therefore the hours billed - while still creating an extremely high-quality product.
Fill in the blank: The future of animation is _________.
The future of animation, like all film, is now in the hands of the one-person operation. It's no shock that powerful, cheap computers and software can turn anyone's office into a studio. Sure you're going to get a lot of garbage, but it's still an opportunity for the unrecognized talent among us to have a chance at being seen where it it wouldn't have been possible before. I know I don't have the personality or patience it takes to convince a bunch network execs that my work has merit. That's too exhausting. I want to work on my art not sell it. And when I've got something to show I post it and - like in the case of my independent Net Neutrality PSA "The Internet You Need" - 120,000 people wind up seeing it on New Grounds, YouTube, Funny or Die, etc, etc.
What are the best and worst aspects about working in the animation field?
Animation still gets looked down on as something only for kids. It's hard to be in a field where you may have something serious to say, but people can shrug it off as childish because it's "just a cartoon". But everything else is great. To be able to create an entire film without sets, props, cameras, lights, and sometimes actors is an amazing freedom. Putting something straight from your head on to paper without relying on others to translate it is a narcissist's dream come true. Animation is also a constant learning experience. You're always becoming more and more skilled at your craft and, therefore, always have reason to be impressed with yourself. Again, narcissism.
Among your firm's achievements, which one(s) are you the most proud of?
I did a three-episode sex education series for a local group that had received grant money to make videos on sex myths, condom use, and AIDs prevention for urban teenagers. I came up with the concept of an anime style space epic. With their notes I wrote the scripts and designed the characters. I'm not a huge anime fan, but I felt that's what would have had the widest interest in that age group. It can be tedious working in a style you're not into. In the end I wasn't sure I was happy with the end product even though the client was ecstatic. A few months later I got feedback from schools who were showing the films to their students. One of the kids was homosexual and commented that for the first time he saw a gay person on screen that was professional, respected, and not singled out by his peers as "the gay one". The character was just a super-cool fighter pilot who happened to have a boyfriend - which is exactly how I hoped I wrote him. It still get a little faklempt thinking about it.
My other favorite project was for the 2006 Florida gubernatorial race where I got to work with the late Doug Friedline. Doug had been Jessie Ventura's campaign manager and came up with the original action figure commercials. Together we put together a couple of movies and comic strips that portrayed the candidate as an old fashioned movie serial super hero. Pulpy, raygun gothic is a kind of style I really do enjoy. That was the most publicized project I ever did. The press couldn't seem to talk about it enough.
What skills/qualities does your firm seek out when hiring new employees?
The most important skill an animator can have is the ability to draw life, with paper and pencil. No amount of computer know-how is going to help you learn the basics of movement, shape, color, light, and proportion. Even the craziest cartoon takes are based on the reality of how objects move and interact in the real world. Even the most abstract cartoon characters are based on the characteristics of something in nature. Cartoons may be free from the confines of reality, but without some sense of reality they have no life or weight. There may be a fine line between someone choosing to drawing in an abstract, stylized way and someone who simply doesn't know how to draw from life at all, but I can see it.
What particular schools, if any, does your firm recruit new hires from? If none, where do you recruit new hires?
I don't hire people often, but I do collaborate with other artists. Schools never matter to me. I've seen very good work come from people who went to schools I've been traditionally prejudiced against. If your portfolio has the look of someone who knows what they're doing it will shine over anything written on a resume. But just for the sake of your wallet and time don't go to a school where they don't require a portfolio. A school that has no standards for who they take in has no standards for what they teach either. They're going to take vast amounts of your money and then train you to use a single piece of software as if you were a mechanic learning to use a wrench.
What advice would you give to aspiring animators?
Watch a lot of cartoons. Go to a lot of museums. History is important as an influence and as a deterrent against repetition. Gravitate towards other animators. Make lots of friends in your field. You can learn a lot from other people's successes and failures. It's also a lonely process sitting at one kind of desk or another day in and day out if you're a freelancer and not part of a team. Discussing your work and sharing your ideas with others keeps you from rolling into the kind of depression isolation can bring.
What were your most challenging projects, and why?
Every project is a challenge. I usually work in situations where money is tight and deadlines are short. I need to make something that not only the client will be happy with, but that I'll be proud to put in my portfolio. At the same time I never like to do the same kind of thing twice. It doesn't benefit my client to have a movie that looks exactly like what I just gave the last one, even if that's what they say they want. So every project is a problem-solving exercise. I'm constantly starting from scratch.
What kind of education did it take to get you where you are today?
I went to the University of Florida and got a degree in traditional drawing along with a minor in art history. That's where I took a lot of courses from professional painters, sculptors, and even photographers on quality of line, color theory, and composition. The observational skills I learned there translated into the animation skills I taught myself after school ended. Animation was a hobby. I was originally prepared to go into illustration and design.
What animation software packages does your firm prefer to use? Which one would you recommend to beginners?
Even though I publish nearly all of my work straight to video format- whether its streaming or Blu Ray, I still work in Flash. Flash is dying out as a platform so I wouldn't advise it as a starting position, but it is a good authoring program. Many of my peers that were trained in traditional animation with real live page-flipping and painted cells use Toon Boom software since it closely mimics that experience. What you're comfortable depends on what you start with. Flash was easily accessible when I started so that's what I use. I do a lot of drawing in Illustrator because it's paint and line tools are much more refined than Flash's.
Could you share with us your best story about working in the animation industry.
I have always been completely independent of the animation industry. I can only tell you about what goes on at my desk. It often involves alcohol.
Has the trend of outsourcing animation overseas affected your firm, if yes, how have you dealt with it or compensated for it?
Outsourcing was in full swing by the time I started in 2003, so it hasn't changed the way I work. It certainly could have influenced my approach as a small, niche studio that works with clients and not with big producers. Not a lot of small business people are going to be able to contact and work with a large overseas studio. They need someone close by who's going to do everything for them from script development to publishing and that they can get on the phone at a reasonable hour.
Do you think that there is an increasing or decreasing demand for animators overall? Why?
There is definitely more demand for it in the area I work in. More people who didn't know they could afford broadcast quality animation are excited about taking advantage of it when they realize they can.
Check out more interviews at The Animation Career Review Interview Series.