VCCP is hiring for entry level positions

According to our inside sources, advertising agency VCCP is hiring for some entry level positions, including Motion Graphics and Digital Design. The roles available - for which Bucks graduates are strongly encouraged to apply - are as follows:

Junior Account Director
Junior Data Manager
Motion Graphics - Midweight (After Effects, Nuke)
Digital Designer - Midweight
Digital Producer - Midweight
Midweight Planner
Midweight Creative team

For the midweight roles (especially Motion Graphics) a showreel or portfolio would be needed, so polish your demo reel and make sure your CV is up to date. Junior roles may be best suited to graduates with little or no work experience.

To find out more about VCCP and what they do, see what Bucks graduate Dave Berry had to say about VCCP when he completed an internship there.

And to see the official VCCP, website, follow this link.

---Alex

Tosin Oluyadi reports on the value of internships

Free Spirited Thinkers at work

Tosin Oluyadi, one of our graduating animation students, recently completed an internship at FST, a creative advertising agency who describe themselves as "free spirited thinkers whose sole purpose is to build, nurture and add value to your brand". We asked Tosin to talk about what the experience was like, and what she learned along the way.


Bucks: Tell us about your internship with FST - what was it like and how did you find out about it?

Tosin: During the Easter break I was interning at an integrated creative advertising agency called FST. FST stands for "free spirited thinkers". I heard about FST through a friend of a friend while I was working on a photoshoot. I found out he was actually a former Bucks student. Not only that, he had studied on the Animation, Games and Interactive Media course, just like me. He had a look at my work and showed me some of the work he does for the agency - and he recommended that I contact FST about an internship.

I put together a portfolio and a graphical CV and got into contact with them a couple of months later about having me in for a day or a couple of weeks during the Easter break, and they were more than happy to have me. I came in for a day and was introduced to everyone by the creative director and worked on a graphic design brief with one of the designers, and they were happy to have me in again for another three weeks during the Easter break

The FST team. Tosin is in the middle of the group.

Bucks: What did you learn?

Tosin: I learned so much during my Internship with FST. I was interning as a creative and was involved in filming, editing and compositing for them. I also learned about the various roles within the agency. FST is split into two parts - creatives and suits. Creatives are responsible for producing a creative outcome to a client's brief and the suits are responsible for managing the money, dealing directly with clients and allocating briefs to the creatives as well as making sure everything meets the deadline.

Bucks: What were the highs and lows?

Tosin: Fortunately, for me there were many more highs than lows. Everyone was really friendly and supportive - something you may not always find in other agencies. But if i did have to list a couple of highs, it was the opportunity to broaden and refine my skills. I had to learn a lot very quickly as I was helping them work on live briefs for big companies such as Canon and Avis.

Another thing that was very unique to the agency was "Lunch and Learn" every wednesday - a special guest will come in during lunch time to share something about their business.

A low I believe was getting into the routine of waking up early. Being at uni you don't really have that discipline but at work you had to be in at 9 on the dot. You could not turn up whenever you wanted because time is money.

Bucks: What advice would you offer to other students at Bucks looking to do an internship?

Tosin: My advice to Bucks students looking for an internship is to be yourself, do what you love and take hold of every opportunity. In my case, one small conversation led to another and this led to an internship - and now to me working for FST on a freelance basis as an editor and motion graphics artist.

So in other words - NETWORKING WORKS! But you should always be sincere and have a genuine interest in people and what they do. Another thing that I would advise students is this: you only get what you prepare for. So ask questions, don't be afraid to ask for just a day in the company - you may create a good impression, and they might ask you back for more days. Work hard and do plenty of outside projects, it will help build up your portfolio!

(Editor's Note: You can see more of Tosin's excellent work on her graduation film project here. For  practical advice on careers in digital media, read about what our graduates had to say at the recent Graduate Panel. Check out this post on how to set up an small business. Also learn about your first client project, read out our post on Portfolio Careers, and read this piece on Survival as a Freelancer. Study the nuts and bolts of freelance life by reading our guide to invoicing clients, and our guide to freelancers and taxes.  For more on careers in general, check out our guide to animation careers here, and also take a look at this map of digital studios - a great place to start your search for work in the business. Finally see our article on the jobs page at awn.com )

Dave Berry talks internships, advertising and jobs

Dave Berry, one of our talented students here at Bucks, recently completed an internship for the advertising company VCCP which, among other projects, did the animated meerkats for "Compare the Market.com". During Dave's time at VCCP he worked on and helped to complete the advertisement for O2 shown above. Here at Bucks we take internships very seriously - placing students in an industry environment is a vital part of learning to become a professional digital artist. We asked Dave to tell us a little about his experience.

Bucks: Tell us about your internship. How did it come about? Did you find it yourself or did the University approach you?

Dave: VCCP contacted the University, requesting an animator for a 2-week internship in London.

Bucks: What did you do, exactly? Just make the tea?

Dave: Not all all. At VCCP I worked alongside two motion graphics designers creating animated 3D assets for their client, O2. I also created some 2D assets in Illustrator, a sound effects library for the commercial, and chose the background music from a royalty free website.

Bucks: Sounds excellent. What would you say you learned from the experience?

Dave: This was my first taste of working within an industry pipeline, and I set myself a goal of understanding how that pipeline works. That is to say, learning who does what, who feeds back to the client and so on. As I was working alongside motion graphics artists, when I came home in the evenings I would open up Digital Tutors and follow some After Effects tutorials in case they needed me to contribute in that area.

Bucks: Nice one - it sounds like you really made the most of it. What was the biggest challenge you faced?

Dave: There were a number of challenges working at VCCP: particularly being a 3D artist in a 2D pipeline. The biggest challenge was creating assets that look 2D: the advert was designed to have a hand-made feel to it. I animated a 3D box unfolding which needed to fit in to the overall 2D look of the project. So the box had to be "toon rendered", to make it look flat.

Bucks: What would you recommend for anyone else doing an internship?

Dave: For others doing an internship, I recommend taking the time to understand the pipeline, and not being afraid to ask questions. Pipeline work can be very intimidating and confusing at first, but your role and what is expected of you becomes much clearer once you understand the whole process.

Bucks: Excellent work! Props to you for going the extra mile to understand the whole pipeline process, and many, many thanks also to VCCP for making it happen. Here at Bucks we hugely appreciate our partnerships with industry and encourage all our students to make strenuous efforts to find an internship that helps you to get invaluable real-world job experience.

---Alex

Vintage TV Commercials

Duke University has put their collection from the D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles Archives online through iTunes. You can access the animated commercials here. Lots of Post cereal and Beech-Nut gum and candy commercials.

iTunes is a clunky interface for quickly working through these TV spots, but if you have the patience, you can find some interesting work.

(link via Boing Boing)