The Foundry - Life in London

About a month and a half ago or so, I had started writing about my experince at The Foundry and it was about my month working as an inten. I had then weighed my thoughts since then and what I have experienced so far since then and I must admit, it's a much more different view from before.

Though my initial goal was to become an animator I force this question to myself, "Do I want to animate?"

 
Glen Keanne - Was able to attend and see how Glen Keanne made Duet

Since working at Miller and Carter I enjoyed the aspect of working in a team, united we can achieve anything and  problem solve anything that comes our way, whether this was a customer needs or how we can improve our way of service. It's just the fact that I enjoy and relish working in a team, even when I played rugby back at school and though we may've lost as a team now and again, we would always bounce back together. This sense of bond really drives my mentality as, if I don't perform to my full potential, then I maybe letting my team-mates down.

The Colorway team at The Foundry is that new team that I play for, and even as an intern, I believe even the smallest person can make the difference. There is a sense of support for one another and believe me, we had some pretty rough times when we were trying to get a build stable enough to launch for a new beta version to the community; and though we sometime didn't hit our mark, we would always regroup and planned he best possible step that we can take.

Marira and Leandro - Two wonderful teachers where I have been learning Tango lessons

I really enjoy working as a QA Engineer, I mean sure, I need to knuckle down and learn more about the technical side i.e python and Mel scripting, which is something I'm learning now but overall, I enjoy working with the developers. Being able to look back at a particular old build and compare, how far we have come as a team to making Colorway a much better product, really gives that extra pinch of sparkle of what we have acheived together and make us wonder, what's the next step for Colorway.

What I had said so far, is an outcry of what my personality is like and I really love being part of a team. I can say however, this blog post is very biased as I have never worked as an animator before, and therefore can't throw in the towel of being an animator just yet. But the truth is, I want to contiune working as QA Engineer and maybe even pursue this path. I find that I may've walked into a forked road that I must take and in all honesty, I want to take that route that could be a bit more a gamble and could potenitally give me a future that I could be happy with.

I must admit they're other factors involved that is affecting my decision with all this such as, where I'm currently living, the potential of seeing that girl and the fact that I want to break away from my past and make a fresh slate here, in London. I would like to say that I should be careful but, I think I need to take that extra risk because what's more worst than not trying is, living with regrets and wondering what could've been.

Carpe Diem a new oppurtunity- for Robin Williams

Hiya guys, I have big news to share and its something that I feel truly excited about and at the same time  it hasn't really hit me yet of the opportunity that I was able to receive. So, unfortunately I don't have anything new to show but bare with me for a moment.

I was fortunate enough to have been messaged by my cousin boyfriend a couple of weeks ago and he stated that there was going to be an intern role at the place he was working in, The Foundry. I remembered that I kind of bowed out from this last year as I didn't feel that I was capable of meeting to their expectations, plus the fact that I was learning from an animation mentor at the time and wanted to really focus on just animation. My showreel wouldn't have stood a chance.

The Foundry

The intern role however would be more technical, rather than a creative position, though that's not to say that it wouldn't be beneficial to myself as it would be a unique chance for me to work at a place like The Foundry. Plus, you have to remember that like John Lasseter said "technology inspires the art, art challenges technology" and I fully believe without this equilibrium, we wouldn't have such dynamic industry.

So, receiving this news, I thought heavily about my future as, yes I do want to become an animator as that is my dream and in the future I would love to give back and teach my skills to future animators. But, what struck me most was what my animation mentor had once said from his experience and that was, "sometimes you have to zig-zag your way to where you want to be"- which is very true to how he eventually got to where he was.

After a few days sending my work and CV my mind never thought that I was able to get the position, let alone an interview. But then however I got one, an interview.  So I then headed down and prepared  to the best of my ability and with the great support of my family, friends and co workers.

It was so daunting walking towards the interview room as I was in such awe from the fact that these are the people that makes VFX studios like MPC, Blue Sky studios and so on, to fully utilise their potential and their ideas on screen from the softwares and tools that they are creating.

I messed up the interview so much and it left me feeling so stupid after a handful of questions were answered incorrectly, and in a manner that was embarrassing to think back on; that, I left a bit annoyed with myself and wishing that I had done better, and had the thoughts of just continuing at my part time job and slowly update my portfolio, to go back to where I was.

You may now be wondering as to how this may relate to Robin Williams himself, well the fact in Mrs Doubtfire, he faced not being able to see his kids again as he cared for them so much, that he never gave up on letting them go. Seeing that from a young age, to never give up on the things you love, really resonates to how I worked on showreel over the last year, to improve and believe for the future.

I got the internship.

I want to dedicate this post to the late Robin Williams as he was one of the very few people that I admired growing up and I genuinely believe that he contributed to my decision, of becoming an animator. From his heartwarming voice as Genie in Aladdin to portraying the most human being in Good Will Hunting. A person who inspired me to be different and not conform to what other people perceive to be the norm and live life in a quiet desperation only to wish, that they had seized the day. And I hope to emulate at least just one percent of his personality, so that I may never forget a wonderful person. You shall greatly be missed.