Brown Blog Films

Brown Bag receive a large number of requests for work experience placements from school and college students with an interest in animation and art. Unfortunately due to limited places and a very busy production schedule we can’t accommodate everyone, but we try to offer placements to as many students as possible.

Recently 4th year student Elle Power joined us for a work placement and was kind enough to blog for us about her experience:

Work experience at Brown Bag Films

Before I applied for work experience at Brown Bag Films, pretty much anything I knew about a real animation studio was from ‘behind the scenes’ of Pixar movies – not all that much. I always wanted to know what it’d be like to work in that environment. I’ve always wondered how they design, create and animate characters and environments and then compose them around a story to make a film! It’s incredible to me, where do you start?

Going for work experience at Brown Bag was the right choice by far, it was like fuel to a fire for my ambition to someday make my own film. There were no tense, boring or stressful vibes when i went in the door. In fact, it seemed everybody was comfortable with their work and the people around them, which is awesome. I loved the creative flow.

Aaron Healy, my supervisor for the week, gave me the grand tour of the studio. It was FANTASTIC! Everybody had different (sometimes completely different) professions, but they all worked closely, which I found later was essential for success. Good communication in teamwork is key.

I loved the look of the place, It’s modern but fun, there were small figures of characters scattered here and there (my seat was pretty close to Wall-E), and a little treasure trove of a library that i was lucky enough to raid a few times.

The whole staff are incredibly kind and didn’t mind that much when I stuck my nose in and asked silly and what must have been annoying questions like ‘Oooooh! What’s that?’ and ‘What software are you using now- how does that work’?. They guys were wonderful, I learned so much about the construction of 3d animated films. The stuff that they found ‘the usual’, I found terribly interesting.

When i wasn’t doing the usual old transition year work experience stuff (we don’t exactly do the animating for you, but at least you don’t have to get off your bum to do photocopying!), I got the chance to talk with the staff about their work, and i even got to observe a few meetings! Everybody’s so into their work, It’d be a lie to say it wasn’t contagious. Working through scanning, photocopying, listing and the general jobs were SO worth it to see everybody in action. I have to say, I found it hard to go back to school.

A HUGE thanks to Aaron, Jennie, James, Stephen, Derek, Sean, Brian and everybody else on the team who helped me. You’ve inspired me to pursue my ambitions in art! I recommend the experience to ANYONE who loves art, movies, 3D and 2D animation and model making and how it all works. The people are almost always enthusiastic and willing to take you on and answer the questions you have, it’s a once in a lifetime chance to learn in depth and be exposed to a relaxed, yet very professional environment.

You guys Rock!
-Elle Power, age 16