Thinking about freelance?

Dutch freelancer Joost van der Hoeven (www.animotion.nl) says that when you have a stunning showreel, you are ready to live with the uncertainty that your calendar is never filled more than 4 to 6 weeks, but you want more variation and (maybe) more pay out of your work, then you could consider a freelance career. “Never go freelance if you are uncomfortable with administration or the uncertainty of having an income next month,” he says.

 “I think one has to have a certain level of experience working in the industry before going freelance, so I wouldn’t make that move straight out of school,” says Mikko Martikainen, Head of 3D at Finish (www.finish.tv). “The main challenge would be making the initial push for finding your clients and building up your name and reputation.”

David Raitt, creative director of Plastic Milk (www.plasticmilk.co.uk) says freelancing can offer you the opportunity to work on a broad variety of projects, which can be very rewarding.  “The main challenge to freelancers is managing workload,” he says. “It’s very difficult to strike the balance between being overworked and stressed out and not having enough work, especially in an industry where working long hours is the default.  You need to try to keep as efficient as possible, and enjoy life when the balance is right.”

“The pros are obviously a certain level of freedom on choosing projects and the feeling of being your own boss,” says Martikainen. “Less job security and always having to look for the next gig would be the cons.”
Van der Hoeven agrees that there’s always an uncertainty about jobs. “You also need to do acquisition, you need to have discipline to do administration, you’ll need someone to do or help you do taxes, and you’ll need to have a financial buffer for ‘bad times’ and for clients that have bad paying habits.” However he says as a freelancer he enjoys many benefits, such as flexibility and long holidays at his own planning. “There’s also better pay, lots of variation, and the fact that all costs that are work-related are tax deductible.”

So what qualities should you have as a freelancer? David Raitt stresses the need for quality and good communication, especially if you are working remotely.  “You need to have high levels of quality control, if you can consistently produce high level work without being asked to revise things, you’ll be top of the list next time a freelancer is needed.”
Director Ubik at Not To Scale (www.nottoscale.tv) says that it is important to remember that when you applying for a freelance or project based position, that the studio or director will have a strong idea of the sort of person and role that they need filling. “For example, specialist lighting renderer, character animator or generalist. It would be useful to research this [any way you can] and try and highlight the specific areas of your reel or CV that best shows off these qualities.”

Ubik also point out that as a freelancer, you will be responsible for your own good-timekeeping: “Directors don’t want to have to sit on people’s shoulders, so ideally, if you complete your allotted task or scene, make this known and ask what will be required of you next – schedules are always tight and helpful time management is always appreciated. Similarly, if you find yourself in a position where a particular task is beyond your skillset or experience, then don’t waste your or the directors time by trying to muddle through – shout out. Know your strengths, make them known and work to them wherever possible.”

Meticulous note keeping and file naming is also essential – if, for any reason you can not make it into work one day, then it is essential that someone else can open up your scenes or comps and continue the task, with out spending half a day renaming and reorganising.

It’s always good to know what studio owners are looking for. Here’s more sage advice from Ubik:
“It goes with out saying that personality – friendliness and flexibility go a long way people will be looking for someone they can get on with and work with especially since you maybe working long hours in close proximity with a team.”
“They look for flexible and talented folks who can be trusted in all respects – talent, time and costs,”says Joost van der Hoeven. “Never lie about these, and have the the amount of time and your extra costs, such as travel, extra hours etc., quoted upfront. Studios hate surprises.”

David Cox, head of Concrete Post Production says that if they are targeting smaller companies, freelancers should consider owning their own 3D software and workstations. “Smaller companies want to use freelancers to grow temporarily to accommodate a project,” he says. “However, they generally can’t hire the equipment due to software license restrictions. Artists who can bring in their own modelling or tracking systems mean the employing company only have to supply additional desk space and perhaps a bit of render power.”

Cox also advises that freelancers for European companies should also be aware that they have similar rights as full time staff members, for example the right to paid holiday on a pro rata basis to days worked.

For Ivor Goldberg, head of 3D at PostPanic (www.postpanic.nl) the perfect freelancer would be the all-rounder who can solve problems using their own initiative, able to work well in a team, leave any form of arrogant attitude at home – and have good selection of biscuits. “Of course in reality people are better at different things so playing to their strengths is important,” he says. “We are always looking for freelancers, be it for modelling, animation, lighting/rendering, whatever. So any prospective freelancer should always make themselves known with an email and selection of work. There is rarely a time that we don’t need someone to do something.”