Conference with Mia Lalanne Project Manager
News . 24 May. 2023
The Lyon-based students of Esma’s 4th and 5th year CG Animation & FX Master Degree were able to exchange with Mia Lalanne, currently VFX Production Consultant at VFX Prod Training in Glasgow. This seasoned professional came to present to the students the more “hidden” part of a studio: the production, and then evoked more generally the good ways to communicate.
Mia Lalanne has worked for 10 years in the industry (Blue Sky Studios, The Mill, Framestore, ICM Partners, Broadway International, Bacon X, among others) as a producer, evolving throughout her career from Production Assistant to Head of Production. She has also lent her skills to charitable organizations such as Refuweegee as Project Manager.
PRODUCTION, RECRUITMENT, GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS
She spoke to students in the third (acquisition of the fundamentals) and fourth (deepening) years of the 3D animation cycle and developed several themes.
Mia Lalanne first introduced the students to the more “hidden” part of a studio: production.
Then, she took the time to talk to the students about production management (advice) and recruitment, from the first contact (e-mail, LinkedIn) to interviews and good communication skills. Mia Lalannne covered a lot of ground and developed several points:
– Presentation of the major international studios (US, Europe and worldwide).
– Differences between commercial, film or episodic studios (stream or TV series).
– Precise presentation of the pipeline of an advertising studio (from the script of the advertising agency to the final export through all the stages of production, client validation, etc. ….).
– Differences with the film and episodic pipelines.
– The structure and role of the producers (production assistant, VFX coordinator, producer, etc.).
– The difference between Freelance and Staff status (CDD or CDI), and the recruitment process for each role.
– How to take notes and communicate with a client, between producers and with VFX artists.
– How to write a polite e-mail, a cover letter, with “standard” sentences, the most used abbreviations.
– How to look for a job: contact recruiters, work on your CV, cover letter and which platform to use to contact them (LinkedIn).
After concluding her presentation, Mia Lalanne held a question-and-answer session with our students, future experts in the design and production of 3D animation films and special effects, and gave them sound advice on how to best prepare for their future entry into the professional world.