Dan Mellor

Dan Mellor is a very successful freelancer who specializes in animation and uses 3d and aftereffects, he came in on Monday to talk to us about what he what does for a living and showed us a show reel which contained examples of his work.
He trained as a sculpture and enjoyed fine art before moving to London where he became a prop maker. He became interested in animation and began to experiment with software, he is self taught. He gave us some tips about working in the freelance industry, pitching is a very important aspect of his job this means weather you will get the job or not, you can use templates and textures included with software to pitch and give the client an idea of what angle you are coming from. You have to be able to manage people, you cant be to precious about your work it as it has to get done quickly. In freelance you don't always do jobs you like, he has an agent in London that gets him work when he has hasn't got any on. Organization is very important, always keep up to date with software and include buying your software in your quote if you haven't got it already. Interacting with peers is very important and try and get an office or studio with other creative people for inspiration. Don't ever undersell your self, charge what you think your worth and don't go in with a low price to undercut people.
To become a successfull freelancer you have to be general in your work, if you specialize in something you are better off in a big company in London. ( Double Negative is a large company in London who often takes people straight out of college).
Dan recommends getting a fulltime job in a big company to get work experience before going freelance, in a large company you will begin to specialize in one aspect such as rotoscope etc.
websites. blink.com, comptonskylineproject.com, now.com, game.tv, un.cutmidnight.
Dan also recomends 3d world magazine.