Calling all Bucks graduates - become a Jedi in Singapore

Lucasfilm are looking for Jedi masters to serve an apprenticeship in Singapore. Their "Jedi Masters Program" offers talented digital artists "the chance to learn from the masters in a variety of creative disciplines -- from visual effects on live-action films to animated feature films."

I worked myself in Singapore a few years back and can personally recommend it. The Singapore Government is highly motivated to bring in international talent, so acquiring a work visa is rarely a problem. And once you are there, you have the chance to explore South East Asia on your weekends, or just hang out at the Raffles Hotel in downtown Singapore and pretend you're Ernest Hemingway. Plus, it's nice and warm all year round and the local cuisine is seriously delicious.

Me and the gang at Sparky animation

I worked for Sparky Animation, a great little studio making animated TV series and hoping to break into feature films - which is where I came in. One of the most fun parts of the job was the challenge of working in an unfamiliar environment, in a small studio where you could pick up almost any task you liked - from character design to editing. If a job needed doing, you just got it done. Deadlines were tight and the evenings were long, but the work was fun and rewarding.

The feature film they were hoping to get off the ground never got made (most don't) but I had a blast working there. Working overseas helps you to realise that there are many ways of getting a job finished, and the way you are used to doing it at home is not always the best one.

Best of all, I even managed to slip away from the studio, hop on a ferry and get to the beach in Indonesia for the weekend.

Living The Good Life

So, back to the point of this post:

What are Lucasfilm looking for?

• A combination of Technical and Artistic-minded individuals (right brain + left brain) 
• Engineers with an interest in art
• Artists who are comfortable with technology 
• Proactive problem-solvers 
• Resourceful, with the ability to find answers without being given instructions
• Self-guided learners who are passionate about what they do 
• Great Communicators with Teamwork skills 
• Able to work well with others in a fast-paced production environment 
• Comfortable and confident presenting work, and giving and receiving feedback

How should you apply?

• Apply at jobs.lucasfilm.com 
• Submit a letter explaining your motivation for joining the Jedi Masters Program.
• Submit your resume (personal background, and academic and career histories) and indicate the track you would like to apply for.
• Submit your portfolio and/or demo reel (a selection of your best work), eg, a website link to your portfolio (preferred), a color copy of your artwork, or a DVD of your best computer graphics work. Do not send original materials; submitted materials will not be returned to applicants.
• Basic spoken and written English language skills are required.

Click HERE for more application tips.


How does the Selection Process work?

The Jedi Council (a panel of senior artists and instructors from Lucasfilm in the US and Singapore) will review every resume and portfolio received from candidates. Final candidates will be selected by Lucasfilm Singapore at its sole discretion.

Once accepted, you will be asked to sign an Apprentice Agreement as well as a Non-Disclosure form since you will be privy to confidential materials.

While actual padawans are asked to build their own lightsabers to complete their training, you will get the chance to work on actual projects. Your mentors will regularly evaluate your performance based on demonstrated talent, artistic skills, technical competence, teamwork, effective communication, and problem solving abilities, as well as passion. The first few months is a probationary period where the apprentices and mentors will evaluate whether this is the right match and if they should continue.

Upon successful completion of the program, students will have a graduation ceremony and receive a certification. Hiring decisions for full-time positions in the studio will be based on the overall performance/skills of each Apprentice, as well as the number of open positions in the studio. Successful completion of the training does not guarantee a full-time position within the studio.

For More Information:

If you are interested to learn more,
Check out the Upcoming Tracks page
Take a look at the FAQ page
Register your profile at jobs.lucasfilm.com 

---Alex

Disney Buys Lucas

You can read the details everywhere, so I won't bother with them here.

I have no doubt that Wall Street and investors will see this as a good move, as all they are concerned about is money.  However, I'm concerned with artists and Disney's trend is not artist friendly.

Why not?  Well, if you happen to be somebody working in computer animation in the San Francisco bay area, there is now one less employer in the market.  Pixar and ILM have been charged with collusion, cooperating to make sure that they didn't hire employees from each other.  Now they're the same company and they can do what they like with hiring policies and pay scales.  As neither studio is union, there is no floor to pay or benefits.

The problem goes beyond that, though.  While Disney and Pixar continue to turn out some original films, Pixar has already been strong-armed into making sequels because Disney needs to pay off the purchase price.  There will be many, many more Star Wars and Marvel films to pay off those purchases as well.

That takes money and oxygen away from original projects that potentially could become as big as Star Wars or the Marvel Universe.  The company is clearly committed to milking existing intellectual property and acquiring more of it than creating new intellectual property.  And so much of what Disney is buying is from the last century. 

Robert Iger is clearly looking backwards more than forwards.

But don't forget that the Muppets started out as a small troop of puppeteers on local television, Marvel started out as a handful of creators working out of their homes, and George Lucas got turned down by everyone until Alan Ladd, Jr. took a chance (but didn't realize the value of sequel or merchandising rights or he would have kept them).  What Robert Iger doesn't see is that great creations don't come from large companies, they come from people committed to their own ideas who work out of basements, garages, warehouses and other out of the way places.  Sort of the way Walt Disney started.  Remember him?

Which means that while Iger is busy grinding out Muppets, Marvels and Star Wars, the great creations of the 21st century will be happening elsewhere.  Seek them out.

Dirty Tricks

The United States Department of Justice has found Pixar and Lucasfilm guilty of restraint of trade.

"Beginning no later than January 2005, Lucasfilm and Pixar agreed to a three-part protocol that restricted recruiting of each other's employees. First, Lucasfilm and Pixar agreed they would not cold call each other's employees. Cold calling involves communicating directly in any manner (including orally, in writing, telephonically, or electronically) with another firm's employee who has not otherwise applied for a job opening. Second, they agreed to notify each other when making an offer to an employee of the other firm. Third, they agreed that, when offering a position to the other company's employee, neither would counteroffer above the initial offer.

...

"Lucasfilm's and Pixar's agreed-upon protocol disrupted the competitive market forces for employee talent. It eliminated a significant form of competition to attract digital animation employees and other employees covered by the agreement. Overall, it substantially diminished competition to the detriment of the affected employees who likely were deprived of information and access to better job opportunities.

"The agreement was a naked restraint of trade that was per se unlawful under Section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1."

At the same time that Pixar was making Toy Story 3, where the villain hid behind an agreeable facade in order to manipulate others for his own selfish ends, the company was doing the identical thing to its employees. If you have a taste for wading through legal jargon, you can read the official documents here.

(Link via VFX Soldier)