Well, I know my last post on this blog was at the end of September and I haven’t done a great job of finding time to write my posts. This makes me sad, because I did very well for a long time keeping up with my weekly posts. I expected that as things got busier with business, it would be harder to prioritize time to write on my blog. I know, these are all excuses. I’ve been working on a new project that has taken me much longer than I expected. I thought since I haven’t posted in a while, we were about to do a Company Update post.
Bink:
Progress on Bink has been extremely slow and we are still working on two different parts. We’re still slowly working on making the fur work better with lighting and are currently testing the changes we’ve made. We are also working on the story. A while ago we switched from the idea of creating multiple 30-second shorts to one longer, more thoughtful short. I wanted a short with a powerful message and I want to make sure it’s great before I put it into production. We have had many ideas, but we are analyzing them a lot trying to find the best version. Jared White does most of the writing and Charlie Petrek helps out more as a consultant. When we can, we have our story brainstorming sessions as we progress through the story.
MagicMeeMees:
We were commissioned to make 4 episodes and we have completed the fourth and final episode. We’ll be sharing this episode tomorrow on our social media channels, so stay tuned. We had a lot of fun creating these 2-minute webisodes and hope the client asks for more.
sling:
We’ve actually been working for Honda and this is the project that has taken up a lot more of my time than I originally expected. It started as a small video, but that video turned into something much bigger that required a lot more work. The first video was shown at the Los Angeles Auto Show last month, but we don’t have permission to share it. We were also asked to make a second video which we are currently working on and hope to have finished by next week. There was talk of a 3rd video, but I don’t know if this is still happening or not. I was very excited to be able to work with a great customer like Honda and I hope we can work with them more in the future.
Other projects:
We have had many projects that I put in, but for one reason or another we didn’t win them. There is a lot of competition, so I often bid against other companies for the same project. The more projects I bid on, the more I learn about what clients are looking for. The good news is that now there are more and more clients with more realistic budgets who ask us to bid on their projects.
Social networks and website:
We have recently seen a huge increase in our social media followers, and myself and our Marketing and Social Media Coordinator have been trying many different approaches to building followers. Over the past two months we have also seen a significant increase in our organic web traffic to the company website. I have seen many of our keywords rise in rank. We are on page 1 of Google search for the keywords “animation studios”, which generates about 68.6 clicks per month to our site. As we continue to climb the search rankings, traffic to our site will increase. The goal is that if someone searches for animation services, we will be on the first page of search results, increasing our chances of bidding on projects.
Society Mixers:
I also continue to host our monthly animation and VFX mixers. The next one will be next Tuesday for anyone in the area who may be interested in coming. We return to the same place we went to last December, Tonga Hut. We’ll be there from 7pm to 10pm, so stop by and say hello.
Industry events:
I have also attended different industry events such as The Animation & VFX Summit (AVFXS) and CTN Animation Expo (CTNX). This was my second year at AVFXS and I feel like I get a lot out of each year. We published an article about it on the company blog that you can read here.
This was my third year at CTNX. It is much more geared towards artists and animators than AVFXS. I really enjoy going to the different panels and meeting all the artists. Most of the people I meet are students and I always enjoy talking to them to see what they want to do after school. You can also read more about my time there on our company’s CTNX Recap blog.
Business:
As far as the business is concerned, we are doing well. The company will be profitable this year and I will be able to receive a salary. I haven’t received a paycheck all year and am waiting until the end of the year. If we have losses then I don’t get a paycheck, and if we are profitable then I do get a paycheck. As the business continues to improve, I will be able to receive a fixed salary, but for the first few years in the business I will do it this way. Now it’s about growing the company.
Well, here’s a quick update on what I’ve been up to with the company. Running your own business isn’t always as glamorous as you might think, but I really enjoy it. I hope you enjoy following my story in creating my company.
If you haven’t already, join me on my journey by subscribing to my blog. Also, if you have any ideas or tips, I’d love to hear what you have to say, so feel free to leave me any comments below. Otherwise, be sure to stay connected with me on Twitter (@MillerAnimation). Only time will tell.