OUAN502 - Animation Studio Research

The aim of the animation studio research task was to enable us to look into and think critically about how to analyse a company that we would like to work in. Based on what they produce, the companies background, ethics and a variety of other factors. The task was given to us with an aim to work for one particular company, and during the process where it applied it was expected that we attempt to contact the studio, asking about potential employment options and opportunities there. To do this we were recommended the approach of finding a contact or contacts to connect with through social media. Beginning an engagement with the studio at this stage means that we are creating contact and forming relationships with the industry that can be furthered at places like festivals for example. Any conversations had with companies should also be evidenced in your presentation or demontrarting the proactive approach towards the goal of getting a placement or job when we graduate. The companies looked at could be anything from 'Disney or Dreamworks down to the small and quirky studios producing innovative IPTV or YouTube Channel output.' The research should also include information on the history and key people in that studio, so who the owners of the studio are perhaps.

The presentation itselt must be 10 minutes long and presented on 1st December 2015 and above all we should show an interest and an enthusiasm. For my presentation I chose the studio 'CoMix Wave Films'. CoMix Wave Films is actually a Japanese animation film studio and distribution company based in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. I didn't actually realise until the day of the presentation that we were meant to choose a more viable option in terms of the company we want to work for. I acutally chose one that I liked the style of in order to demonstrate the type of work I'd like to do and give an example of the size of the studio I would like to be part of. In particular, the studio is known for its anime feature films, short films, and television commercials. The most famous of which would be those made by director Makoto Shinkai, a director I'm sure that most of the class would know of and if not, would be able to recognise his work. I did allocate a portion of the presentation to discussing exclusively Makoto Shinkai's work as he is a very prominent figure within the company and his style is unique. The company itself was 'founded in March 2007 when it split from CoMix Wave Inc., a company initially formed in 1998 from Itochu Corporation, ASATSU (now ADK), and other companies.' Aside from the main figures, the work they've produced and the history of the company I also talked about the process they use to create their feature films. I was surprised about how much information was available on the process of the company so I made a point to include as much as I could about that as it's quite insightful for people to know about. The process involves storyboarding, rough scenes and refining the scenes further with a mixture of background and character drawing too. I finished the presentation by talking about the future of CoMix Wave Films and where I thought they would go - I think with Makoto Shinkai involved the company will continue to grow with him at the forefront.

Below are the individual slides that I created for the presentation: