Opinion: So You Wanna Be In Charge?

[In this reprinted #altdevblogaday-opinion piece, 5th Cell's Tim Borrelli looks at how some ambitious animators -- or developers in other fields -- are trying to advance their careers the wrong way.] "It is a well known fact that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it." - Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy OK, animators. I know the deal. You guys want to be the next Brad Bird, the next John Lasseter, the next Jennifer Yuh Nelson, or the next Glen Keane. Well, don't we all. But here's the problem. Instead of concentrating on the craft that you so passionately want to blaze a trail in, some of you are concentrating on figuring out how to become the next amazing director. While some of you are going about this endeavor in a respectful and proper manner, some of you are doing it wrong. In fact, by my completely unscientific count, there are 99% of you doing it right, and 1% of you doing it wrong. It's not just animators, either. It's just about every discipline in this and other industries. So to the rest of you, when you read "animator," fill it in with your specialization! The 99%, Part 1: The 85% I've interviewed many of you. I've asked many of you the stereotypical "what do you want out of your animation career while working here" while trying to fill entry to senior level positions. Almost all of you have responded with "learn game animation, contribute the best I can, and be a part of a great team." You guys and gals are the easy hires. If you've got a positive attitude, a killer demo reel, and the position is open, you've got a good chance of being picked up. If the position is filled, your reel will stay in the pile for future positions. You're going to work hard at improving your craft, no matter what your experience level. You'll soak up as much information as you can, learn to give and take constructive criticism, and build positive relationships with many of your fellow animators in the trenches. You are going to excel in animation and be the people that everyone wants on their team. You probably don't need to read on, but I bet you will, because you want to learn. The 99% Part 2: The 14% Some of you want it all, and want it now. When asked what your short-term goals are, you answer "To be an animation supervisor!" When asked why, you answer "Because I have great ideas!" or "That's how I feel I can make the biggest impact!" That kind of ambition is great when expressed and executed respectfully, and many of you understand that. You guys and gals are a little harder to hire. Your enthusiasm to excel may be off-putting to some potential employers. Others may see a little bit of themselves in you and want to give you a chance. In some cases, the position you are interviewing for just won't match your goals, and in others it will. Out of your smaller group, many of you realize that you aren't going to just be handed the responsibility you want. You work your way through the ranks, learning like sponges, waiting patiently for the opportunity to prove your ability to lead your peers. You step up in team critiques. You seek out opportunities to speak at conferences or start podcasts or conversations to talk about the future of your craft while embracing its past. You may not all excel at animation as well as the 85%, but many of those 85% respect your leadership. You should probably read on, I promise it'll help you achieve your goals. The 1% Then there are the rest of you. You have a sense of entitlement that is mind boggling. Not only do you want it all and want it now, but you proclaim you have great ideas and scoff at those who disagree with them. You routinely criticize other disciplines, proclaiming you could do their job better than them. Whether or not your beliefs are true, you have little respect for the path already laid (and those who laid it) and even less patience for earning a shot to prove you can improve that path. You guys and gals are usually excellent at manipulating people to your side, which can be misconstrued as leadership. Hence, you tend to talk yourselves into getting hired and promoted. Some of you will force people out of the way to move up, others will simply move on to the next studio when a higher position opens up. There are a few of you who can animate to the level of the 85% or 14%, but not many. You've spent more time trying to LOOK good and less time trying to BE good -- good at animation, good at teamwork, good at being a leader. You seek praise, not feedback. You are quick to blame, but quicker to take credit for a job well done. You are on a team, but not always a team player. You probably won't read on, even though you should. The 100% No matter what your goals are with your animation career, and no matter what group you fall into, there are some things you all need to learn. Some of you will listen, some of you won't, and that's fine. These things will work themselves out over time. This isn't so much a checklist of what to do as it is a guideline on how to behave in a professional and social environment. More importantly, this is my priority list of what I'd like to see in a person looking to become an animation lead, supervisor, or director. Most of this stuff is fairly common knowledge, but unfortunately not common practice:

Above all else, treat teammates like human beings, not like resources. If their work is suffering, maybe something in their personal life is distracting them that you can try to help them work through professionally. If someone has the potential to exceed your abilities, encourage them instead of setting them up for failure. If someone pays you a compliment on your work, pass it on to the others who had an impact on that work. If you feel the need to shout to the rooftops about how awesome YOUR work was on a game, remember there are teammates who don't seek that recognition who worked just as hard as you did, if not more. Doing it Right If you want to be a director, supervisor, or lead, you'll need to learn to let go. Let go of being the one who animated the cool thing. Let go of believing that you are the only one that can act out those moves from that passion of yours. Let go of trying to be the best animator on the team. Instead, learn to direct the cool thing and allow the animator you directed to shine when it comes out well. Learn to trust and direct your mocap actors. Accept that you aren't in the spotlight on your team anymore. You are no longer the producer of content, you are the ENABLER of those who DO produce the content. It's not an easy transition to make, especially if you were the go-to guy for a long time. However, if you follow the guidelines above, and find that the transition is right for you, it's definitely a rewarding one. [This piece was reprinted from #AltDevBlogADay, a shared blog initiative started by @mike_acton devoted to giving game developers of all disciplines a place to motivate each other to write regularly about their personal game development passions.]