May 18, 2006

Over the last year, Imageworks had over 700 computer graphics artists working on a record number of films. The huge volume of work meant that roughly half of those artists were recruited from a global pool, with a wide range of experience, from entry level up to Visual Effects Supervisor. How, and just as important, why those recruited artists land at Imageworks is the focus of an intensive effort by Stan Szymanski, Senior Vice President of Digital Management, Ken Maruyama and Diane St. Clair, both Directors of Digital Production. Maruyama handles administration and operations of the department (the company's largest), while St. Clair is in charge of crewing and scheduling. The close-knit trio recently described their process for bringing artists into the company, and what it takes to become one of those talented people who make the cut in a staggeringly competitive field.

Sony Pictures Imageworks is in a singular position in the film industry as the only facility which offers artists the ability to work on four different production pipelines: visual effects and character animation for live action films (such as Spider-ManŽ, Spider-Man 2 and Superman Returns), all CG animated features (such as Sony Pictures Animation's Open Season and Surf's Up!), performance capture films using the ImagemotionTM performance capture system and technology (Monster House) and the 3D stereoscopic pipeline (such as The Polar Express in IMAX 3D and Monster House in Real D).

"To not have to choose one type of project over another, like they do at many other studios. That's unique," says Szymanski. "We've find ourselves in the enviable position of having a [boat]load of really cool projects. That's what really motivates artists to come work at this company. Competitive salaries are nice, but it's the projects that draws them." St. Clair explains, "In terms of recruiting, Imageworks really sells itself. We're fortunate to have a studio behind us that's creating content for us to work on, number one, and number two, we have a partnership with Sony Pictures Animation, and they're creating content for us as well. Then there's the for-hire visual effects work that we get from other studios," all of which add up to unprecedented versatility and variety at one facility. Maruyama states simply, "Today is a great time to be a computer graphics artist in the film industry. There's so much opportunity, all over the world."

The current escalation in hiring really "started in 2003, when a couple of things happened," says Szymanski, a funny and fast-talking New Yorker who has been at Imageworks since 1996. "We were awarded some 9-1-1 work on "Matrix Reloaded" and the second "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," and at the same time, two visual effects companies were closing. There was a real feeding frenzy amongst all the companies to be the first to talk to these artists, and around that time, [Imageworks president] Tim Sarnoff knew what kind of growth we were looking at. He told me he thought I was specifically good at recruiting artists, and asked me in my copious spare time to take over artistic recruiting, in addition to running the Digital Production Department. I totally revamped the recruiting process and started recruiting new recruiters."

One of the first of these recruiters was St. Clair, who is smart and to the point, but with a sly sense of humor. Maruyama, who is relaxed and philosophical, joined the Imageworks Digital Management team a year and a half ago, after a long stint at ILM. Szymanski says, "The first step is to work with Ken and Diane to find out from the productions exactly what type of artists they're looking for, what type of skill levels they'll accept, what specific technology and aesthetic requirements they have, and then, because part of what we do is act as agents for the artists here, is to make sure that the people currently in-house cannot fill those positions, so we're not just shoveling new people in on top of people who are here. So we define that first: what types of artists, when they start, on which types of productions, and then you start to undergo the process of finding out where they are."

"Where they are" can be literally anywhere around the globe. Szymanski and a team of recruiters, including the Digital Character Group's Robin Linn and Andy Jones, Imageworks' HR Director Sharon Berlin, and Digital Effects Supervisors Peter Nofz, Rob Bredow and Computer Graphics Supervisor Max Bruce made trips in the past year to 6 major cities on 3 continents, "We track ending dates of projects around the world, and go to London, Toronto, San Francisco, Wellington [New Zealand] and Sydney several months before those projects end up to get in there first and talk to artists about coming to Imageworks," says Szymanski. "We count on the opinions of our Supervisors and Senior Artists to tell us which artists we've interviewed are best suited for each position." St. Clair is careful to say, "We're very specific to say to candidates 'we're not trying to take you off this production, we'll see you after you complete your current commitment.' I think because we recruit globally and do go out and meet the candidates, there can be a perception that we're trying to poach, but that's absolutely not the case."

The necessity to recruit in such far-flung locations is made clear by the fact that, as St. Clair says, "This industry has always been fairly nomadic, with people moving from facility to facility, because they're chasing interesting projects." Maruyama agrees, saying, "That's more so today than ever before. People who want to work on "King Kong" go to New Zealand, or people want to work on "Happy Feet" go to Australia. They want to be here at Imageworks, or at ILM, at Pixar, at Dreamworks, or at Moving Picture Company in London. It's all over the place." Maruyama notes that Imageworks' own stable of artists includes representatives from six Asian countries, as well as New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Great Britain, France, among many other countries.

What types of artists they're looking for covers a wide spectrum, but the process for candidates begins with a thorough screening of resumes and reels. St. Clair credits their own recruiters for their skills, saying, "They come from a production background themselves, and they understand very clearly what an artist needs to do. They're vetting that resume at a high level to begin with." The subject of reels provokes passionate responses from the team. "In terms of the reel, less is more," says St. Clair. "It can make the difference between flying you out for an interview, or not. Do the thing that you do really well, get that interview with the best thing you have, and let us find out in the interview that you have a fabulous secondary skill." Maruyama grumbles jokingly, "We don't want to see a director's cut, special edition DVD."

Szymanski, who does a lot of hands-on recruiting for the more high-level, experienced positions, "tends to focus more on resumes and the written experience: their educational background, as well as their professional history; what projects they've worked on and how they did on those projects. We're matching up the skill sets and interest level and experience of the artists, who we represent, with the technology and aesthetic requirements of the producers, who are our clients, so we love to put those deals together, but if the right artist is an internal or external candiadte, it doesn't really matter."

When asked for advice they'd give Imageworks hopefuls, St. Clair says, "It's true that you only get one chance at a first impression and it should be your absolute best work; don't water it down with things you don't do well. And be very specific: if you didn't do the modeling on your reel, for example, state that on your reel or resume." A pet peeve of St. Clair's is the number of people who actually neglect to put their phone number on their resume - "You would not believe how many people are so focused on the information in their resume that they forget the most important thing: how to contact them," she says - or to leave a phone number when making follow-up calls. Her final piece of advice speaks more to an artist's reputation. "Keep your commitment, and that means all the way through the show," she says emphatically. "If you have accepted a job somewhere, take that job. It's a snapshot in time of your life, and your work means a lot to that production."

Szymanski's advice is, "I think they should know what they're good at and be very focused about it; to have researched what the company is, how it functions and what the positions are: and be a bit more tailored in your presentation, whether that means editing down your reel to a minute and fifteen seconds, if that's all you have of the good stuff." All three of them emphasize that the competition is fierce and not to get discouraged. "Don't give up," says Maruyama. "You're going to get rejection, but keep after it. There are people here right now who are really great computer graphics artists who tried 3 or 4 times to get in here. It's all about timing. Don't sell yourself short, and never tell somebody 'I just want to get my foot in the door.'" St. Clair concurs. "When you're rejected, it's not always because you're bad. It could be, what are the needs of the production at that time?"

While most of the candidates joining Imageworks have experience, the company also monitors IPAX schools for potential new talent, which is sometimes so obvious that there's no question. "There was one candidate we hired right out of Ringling, because his reel was absolutely beautiful" says St. Clair. "Very well put together, very cinematic quality to it, and his lighting was beautiful. We all said, this kid just gets it. He wanted to be a shader writer, and he's turned out to be one of the most sought-after people here over a couple of years."

Training can extend to IPAX professors and even to artists already under the roof, when needed. Maruyama says "The IPAX Fellowship program is great, because we bring instructors here for four weeks where they're attached to a production, given a desk and work station, and they attend dailies. Hopefully they're going to go back and impart that information to the students, like this is really what you're expected to do and this is how it works." Regarding some of their more experienced artists who could benefit from specialized training, Szymanski states, "The ideal TD [technical director] is 50% artist and 50% software engineer, and we're always working toward getting people experience and training to bolster whatever half of their skill set needs the most support."

This team relishes the challenges of recruiting skilled people, under pressure and with millions of dollars riding on each choice they make. Szymanski says, "The thing that I like the most is when you make those connections between what a production is asking for and what a candidate can bring. It's the creative art of crewing, matching that stuff up, that's the fun part."