It's Tough Being A Chinese Animator

Vancouver Film School recruiting reps were in Beijing this past week talking to potential applicants for their film, television and animation/vfx programs. While their time in Beijing was limited, one recruiter described an applicant's animation portfolio (completed as part of her master's degree at Beijing Film Academy School of Animation) as "the best she had ever seen".

Sigh. Let's just assume that this is an accurate indication of the calibre of local talent and not merely an attempt to flatter an aspiring animator into shelling out additional tens of thousands of dollars in tuition fees. What are we to make of this dicovery that some of the world's finest young animators live in a country where the state of the animation industry is so enfeebled that it can barely string together a 5 minute demo reel? Is it any wonder that a woman with an advanced degree in her art would even consider investing in additional training abroad?

But let's look at her options. On the one hand, a school like VFS is well-versed in the "real-world" standards and requirements of industry employers and could very well prepare her for an interview with a North American studio. But on the other, what are the odds of this student being able to find a job with a Canadian or US-based studio right out of school in such a competitive marketplace? Failure to do so means only one thing: a return to the China market and the prospect of making 5-6,000RMB per month (if she's lucky) in a studio she was probably over-qualified for in the first place.

It's tough being a Chinese animator. It's even tougher being a good one.