Feature Film or Gaming Industry

[HenryA]

:banghead:Hello just have a few questions. I dont know if you guys would be able to shine some guiding light.I have a passion for both types of animation from feature film or gaming. I plan on taking courses from either iAnimate,AnimSchool or save up a bit and aim for Animation Mentor.

 Im so undecided just need some guiding words.. Shouldn't I be able just to take the regular Feature film courses and mold my animation towards gaming if I am good enough? I like the mass amount of jobs there are for the game industry. But I do like the appeal of being a part of a movie that a lot of kids love and enjoy.

  For gaming I was aiming towards iAnimate, and for feature film I was aiming for AnimSchool or Animation mentor. I would have to save a little a bit more for AM but I would be able to start right away with AnimSchool.

[taxguy]

I am not the expert in this industry. I have a child who is however. I asked her, and this is what she said.

Although there are some overlapping skills, game animation is very different from movie animation. Movie animation requires a lot more pixels than what is used in games and thus has very different software applications that you need to know. She said there were other differences too,but I can’t remember what they were.

[leigh]

I am not the expert in this industry. I have a child who is however. I asked her, and this is what she said.

Although there are some overlapping skills, game animation is very different from movie animation. Movie animation requires a lot more pixels than what is used in games and thus has very different software applications that you need to know. She said there were other differences too,but I can’t remember what they were.

Errr, I think you may have misheard or misunderstood what your daughter said, because that makes absolutely no sense.

To the OP, game animation is very different to film animation. With games, most animators are very focused on making cycles, like walking/running cycles, fighting moves, etc. Film animation, on the other hand, is more performance-focused, with a lot more facial animating and bespoke movement. While, in broader CG terms, there are many overlaps between the gaming and film industries, I’d say animation is one of the disciplines that has the biggest differences between the two. My advice would be to decide which one you’d rather do, and focus on that.

[HenryA]

Errr, I think you may have misheard or misunderstood what your daughter said, because that makes absolutely no sense.

To the OP, game animation is very different to film animation. With games, most animators are very focused on making cycles, like walking/running cycles, fighting moves, etc. Film animation, on the other hand, is more performance-focused, with a lot more facial animating and bespoke movement. While, in broader CG terms, there are many overlaps between the gaming and film industries, I’d say animation is one of the disciplines that has the biggest differences between the two. My advice would be to decide which one you’d rather do, and focus on that.

Thank you for the informative reply, I will try to do some more research. I just feel like if I did want to go lets say game industry route. The only school I know about is iAnimate but I dont know how their community is. I know Animation Mentor has such a large community and I believe member only Job boards.

But I thank you for the reply, I will try to keep researching.

[taxguy]

Yes, Leigh, I could have misunderstood what she said. I did understand though that game animation and film animation are different things.

[JeffB]

Leigh’s answer is a perfect summation of the differences. I would add though a note about what your preferences are about being in a creative area; as both types of animation differs in how you get to use your creativity.

In games the creative emphasis is on making good GAMEPLAY cycles. These types of animations often make the choice of good play over a good emotive, performance. You will spend most of your time doing animation that will be of a “smaller” performance type. Also, especially in the sports game area, alot of time is spent cleaning up mo-cap animation data.

In movies the creative emphasis is on performance. However due to the nature of the movie making process, you will have to answer to a host of supervisors for all creative choices. That means that you will almost certainly be compromising your creative input for that of a multiple level of supervisors.

So when you decide, base your decision not just on what is cooler or more fun to do; but think about the fundamental nature of how each job will use or not use your creativity and artistic skills.

[AJ13]

Obviously I know little about animation, games, or films, but aren’t high budget modern games incorporating more lengthy cut scenes? I saw an hour or so of GTA V game play footage on youtube, and it was like watching a TV show. I’m guessing the real time characters have much less complicated rigs, but the idea of animating a performance would seem to be the same as in a pre rendered animated film.

[mje11even]

The cut scenes are not necessarily made by the same studio that made the game. And even if made by the same studio, they may not be done by the same animators that handle the in-game animation.

[Buscat]

Just start. Choose a course that is accessible and that interests you. There are differences between film and gaming animation, but everyone needs to start somewhere. Choose any one of those courses and get some basics - the basics are the same for both industries. They diverge when the level of detail becomes higher. Just start, and do, and post here, and other places that give feedback, and get that feedback and then improve. But get in there!