ACR Staff
Our fine staff of contributors at Animation Career Review includes:
Shawn Harrell
Deanna Thompson
Jen Lampton
Brad Prescott, Founder
Our fine staff of contributors at Animation Career Review includes:
Shawn Harrell
Deanna Thompson
Jen Lampton
Brad Prescott, Founder
Although the entertainment and media industries in Sweden are not growing as fast as the industries in the U.S., growth is steady. A recent PwC report showed that the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the entertainment and media industries overall in Sweden is 3.1 percent for the 2014-2019 period. This is promising news for the industry as a whole, but guess what? The animation and gaming industries are already thriving! This is especially true in the happiest city in the world—Stockholm.
Though there will always be more undergraduate programs in animation than graduate options, advanced degree programs in this growing industry are becoming more common. Some of the most prominent programs include UCLA Animation Workshop, the MFA in Studio at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), the MA and MFA in Animation at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), the MFA in Animation at DePaul University, the Film and Animation MFA at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), and University of Southern California’s (USC) MFA in Animation and Digital Arts.
Have you ever wondered why animators who live in California or New York earn more than those in say, Florida or Arizona do? Demand, competition, cost of living, and industry are just few reasons. Though salaries vary by state, animators are doing very well nationwide. The mean annual wage for multimedia artists and animators was $72,200 in May 2016. In 2012, the mean was $69,560. The lowest 10 percent of animators earned less than $38,520 in 2016, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $115,960.
So you want to be an animation director, huh? Well, congratulations! You’ve chosen one of the coolest careers in the entertainment industry, and we’re not just talking about the creative part. Animation is a growing industry with expected employment growth of six percent for the 2014-2024 decade. Add “director” to the title and growth increases to nine percent over the same decade. This is faster than average for all occupations.
The Netherlands is home to one of the hippest cities in the world—Amsterdam. The capital city has a population of more than 813,000, with close to 1.6 million living in the greater metropolitan area. This city, with its live-and-let-live attitude, attracts more than 5 million visitors each year who travel here to enjoy gorgeous scenery (Amsterdam’s parks and canals are world-famous), historic sites such as the Van Gogh Museum and Anne Frank House, cool coffee shops and restaurants, and upscale shopping. Other major cities such as Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht have their fair share of attractions as well.
Our eighth seasonal contest received almost one hundred submissions with more creativity and high quality animations than we’ve ever seen before in a single season! Every season keeps getting better and better. Thanks to everyone who participated for making this contest a success. Below you will find our 2017 Film Parody/Tribute Short Animation Contest winners.
New Zealand is one of the most beautiful island countries on earth. This small nation of less than 5 million people attracts more than 3 million visitors annually. This contributes billions of dollars to the economy. Another booming area that might surprise you is the film industry. According to Stats New Zealand, total revenue in 2015 from all screen industry businesses here was $3.22 billion. Collectively, these businesses employ an impressive 14,200 people.
The animation world is extremely competitive, so it may feel like you’re fighting an uphill battle when it comes to getting your work in front of the right people. If you’re a student, well let’s just say it can be even tougher to get noticed. The industry will always be competitive, so it’s up to you to find ways to compete.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could earn an animation degree for less than $10,000 a year? What if you were an out-of-state student and the cost was less than $15,000 a year? In the past, we’ve compiled lists that consist of some of America’s most affordable animation schools, the most expensive to least expensive animation schools, and more.