AL’s Toon Corner

It all began when a friend of mine invited me to work in New Zealand thinking that it was a western country I thought it was a great opportunity to be stable and still do what I love,during the 1998 animation work was beginning to become scarce I was mostly doing freelance but thank God for skills and experience we (my family and I) was able to survive.Then my friend in New Zealand whom I had worked before in the Philippines gave me an opportunity.He asked me if I could work for him and also train new New Zealand animators,I thought”this is great” so I went ahead of my family in May of 1998 and worked for my friend for 7 months until I thought it was ok to bring my family over.When they were here everything continued to go well the studio was booming there was a lot of work but then in 2001 things started going bad our boss isn’t able to pay us our weekly wages anymore  and then to the point we had to shut down.So here I was a Filipino animator trying to look for any animation work but to no avail there was none then a friend of mine told me that he’s openning up a studio but it would only freelance work but he assured me that there would be a lot of work.As usual like any other projects we reached our final date and I’ll be jobless again,the thing also that hurts is that I’m a multi-task animator,asides from animating I also do storyboards,Sheet directing,Layous and slugging but still no work.So of course worried about my family going hungry I had to take other odd jobs,like being a waiter in a casino just that we had money for our everyday needs.Since 2002 up to 2003 I did this job.Then I was able to teach in an animation school but only as a freelance tutor then again did some animation it continued  until August of 2004 and here I am again no job so a friend of mine told me there was an opening for a records clerk in a certain hospital I worked there until 2005 then I felt like I’m being suffocated then another studio opened up and I was able to work in animation again even though it was only freelance.It was a bit ironic though there was this animation studio I applied before in 2003 but when I worked for them as a freelancer I saw some animators there that I trained before but are now full time employees of that studio even though when I learned that I applied months ahead of them and they’re the ones who got in and what I noticed is that they were only employing white people.I don’t know if its favoritism or racism but when I came to this country I thought that there was no racism here.But thats how it looked and the people they employed were even under qualified but still they are the ones who are full time and I’m only a freelancer.Still thinking of my family of course I had to swallow my pride and just be thankful that I have animation work to do.What hurts more is I’m been in the animation business for twenty years and guys who’ve been only animating for less than five years are getting full time position wherein I know I can offer a studio a lot more if they only gave me a chance to prove it.Even the director of that studio that checks my work he had only five years experience in animation and here he is telling me what he wants to happen in a scene,he was even happy with the work results I’ve given him.Well,as I was freelancing for this studio a friend of mine called me and offered me a job as a life drawing tutor in the school that I was tutoring before but I had to decline because we were so busy finishing the other project which is my mistake.So he called in someone else and he took the job,then after about 5 months that friend of mine who offered me the life drawing tutor job and was also the head of that animation school resigned and the one next in line was the current life drawing tutor who had only less than 6 years working in the animation industry to tell you the truth I haven’t even seen that guy animate and he’s the head of an animation school,how ironic.Then when the project I was working on during that time finished I went to the Overall head of that school and asked if I can work for them as a tutor,thankfully they gave me a full time job as an animation tutor.I did my best to teach my students and share them what I have learned in my past experiences as animator for the last 21 years but the head of the animation school also a co tutor and I were having a hard time undrestanding each other and he even changes my tutorial after I have worked so hard to prepare them saying that they weren’t effective.Man,how can he know if its effective enough if before I even try it he shuts me down and changes my work. What also I noticed is that he’s too much of a perfectionist and even the simplest thing he easily gets irritated before i worked as a head of storyboarding and I also get my share of problems with my staff but I don’t get irritated right away if there is a way to fix it that’s what a true manager is about not get frustrated and then become sarcastic with your crew or staff.He makes you feel not only incompetent but stupid I even got to the point of maybe talking to a psychiatrist and maybe tell him what’s troubling.how would you feel everytime you come home your exhausted not only physically but also mentally and emotionally.Thank God for my wife and kids they were there to help me out.Then he even had the gall to tell our superiors that I’m not doing my job anymore,how can I do my job wherein everytime you do something its always wrong to him.He suggested to my superiors that I am not reliable anymore and they had to let me go and the school season hasn’t finished yet and I don’t have a job and its already November and nearing Christmas. Its a good thing my superior still had faith in me and ask me if I wanted to promote the animation school for them,I said just as long I’m paid for my efforts,of course.So here I am helping my ex boss fill up his school wherein he knows its going down the tubes,but honestly what I’m earning form promoting the school isn’t enough to cover our home expenses that’s why I’m still looking for a full time job,any job enough that it lasts until the end of January next year so if any of you out there that has some 2D animation work to give or storyboarding and sheet directing I would really appreciate it.You can also contact me at al.cez@vodafone.co.nz or my home number which is 06498180039 and here’s also my mobile 0211542550 and thanks for listening guys.AL