Lunchtime Lecture #2

Today Dan Kanach came to speak about his career as a designer and animator. It was a completely different perspective of the art world compared to Noelani Jones's and I'm thankful for it. I'm not sure if it was planned that way, but it seemed like they were polar opposites. Kanach is urban, working digitally, and did not go to an art school (although he did double major in art). I don't mean that Jones's perspective was bad, but a) multiple perspectives is always good and b) Kanach's work is more similar to what I'd want to do in the future.

He talked a bit about the logistics and day-to-day of working in motion graphics. He did commercial work, such as logos and advertisments, and talked about getting customers. He said he recommended talking to people in person and having a good brand and portfolio. Once you get a client, you can go back and forth with them to make revisions on a design. Additionally, the price can be determined based on the amount of time spent, quality of the finished product, and who's paying for it.

He also showed some behind-the-scenes of animating. He showed puppets and explained that the features could be switched out for other features quickly. One example he showed had a guy walking funnily. He said the actual subject matter was kinda boring, but he made it interesting with animation. That resonated with me. I've made a lot of posters/banners for things that weren't very exciting, but I tried to make them pop with my layout and lettering. His talk made me feel like this career was more accesible. In my mind, animation is associated with studios like Disney, which are cutthroat and competitive places to work. However, knowing there is a company doing this work locally shows that there are many places and jobs available for motion graphics.