The animation sector is recruiting with a vengeance

More than a hundred young graduates from the prestigious Gobelins took part in a “speed recruiting” session this week, exchanging 10 minutes with the studios. Netflix, Illumination (“Minions”), Nickelodeon … Representatives of almost 40 companies linked meetings in a hubbub. Julien Motto, 24, who specializes in 2D animation and storyboarding, spent a day at Xilam, the studio of Marc du Pontavis (Oggy and the Cockroaches, I Lost My Body).

“I showed what I was doing, they told me what they were looking for at the moment, they gave me contacts, everything went well, very friendly,” sums up a young man in Bermuda shorts and a floral print shirt. Despite the stress during the interview, “it’s still a pretty calm environment,” emphasizes his fellow Mathieu Jazzi. “No one is in white shirts, not the recruiters, not us,” he smiles.

Amid the pandemic and the explosion in demand for content, there is no shortage of work: animation in games, live action (live action), motion design (graphic animation), on phones “and on all possible screens,” notes Cecile Blondel, director of international development of Les Gobelins.

Students don’t necessarily need Annecy to find a job before graduation, explains Benedict Duhamel, head of business relations at the Rubik’s School in Valenciennes. “Last year, 3/4 majoring in 3D were placed after graduation” upon graduation, she adds, referring to “a placement rate of 90% in one year.”

According to Cyril Le Pesan, director of animation at Gaumont, the “great hype” in the market continues even as the platforms “slow down their order books in the context of increased competition.”

Return 2D

Netflix still releases “nearly a dozen animated series in France” a year, one of its executives, John Derderian, points out, referring to Fortiche (“Arcane”) or Blue Spirit (“Blue Eye Samurai”) studios. “France has great schools and a love for animation,” he adds.

The festival, which brings together over 15,000 participants, is “an interesting mix of super talented young students who (…) know that here they will see people who love this craft more than anyone,” concludes Karen Toliver, director of animation movies on Netflix.

“One of the best things about the animation boom is the sheer number of opportunities in the industry for young people,” said Orion Ross, vice president of animation for Disney Europe. For studios, this boom can be difficult because “the best” talent is “always busy,” he says, but because animation projects typically take two years, young recruits have time to gain the experience they need.

The golden age of animation is also accompanied by a return to the grace of 2D (faster to produce), as evidenced by the growing success of La Cachette, the creator of the Star Wars short film for Disney+.

And this despite the fact that its founders, former tapestries, were told 10 years ago that “2D is not the future,” according to one of them, Osama Buacheria. Specializing in 3D, the Rubik School created a 2D animation training program three years ago.

“Doing 2D becomes a lot easier because there are tools that allow you to work much faster, suddenly it’s profitable again,” analyzes Angele Legra, a Gobelins student. Also, “Japanese animation has really infiltrated French culture, there’s a demand.” “Japanese animation often feeds our passion,” confirms Manon Dulas, 20, a 2D student at ESAAT Roubaix, who is looking for a work and study contract.