Raising visibility

Please introduce yourself/tell our other members a little bit about yourself.

My name's Ruth and I'm a Series Director. I am currently Directing a show for CBBC with Tiger Aspect Kids, Called Super Happy Magic Forest (June 2023). I have been Directing, Both Series Direction and Animation Direction for over 12 years and have worked on shows for, amongst others, Disney Asia, Universal Kids, Milkshake and CBeebies. I came to Directing having worked in animation, previz and layout on many wonderful projects including Peter and the Wolf, The Secret Show and The All New Captain Scarlet. Animation was my second career, having lived as an exhibiting artist while I brought up my kids.

What events have you contributed to, on behalf of Animated Women UK?

I have been a mentor as part of the AWUK program since it was launched in addition to that I have contributed to a few events on behalf of Animated women. I have had the pleasure of being part of an industry panel at 'Stardance Animation festival' twice. The first time via zoom during lockdown. The second time in person. I have contributed to 'Cave Dailies' as well as giving an introduction to the mentor program at the latest AWUK meet up.

Please tell us a bit more about them: what was involved? Was it in person, or remote/virtual? Who was the audience? What was your role?

The first Stardance Festival was an online event, held during the lockdown, Cave Dailies is also a regular online event. Both of these panels are aimed at students and recent graduates. The intention is to demystify the industry as well as give insight into what skills are most sought after in the industry and advise on good work methods as well as approaches to finding work.

I enjoy the remote events as it is easier for me to fit them into my busy work life schedule, they also reach a much wider audience. The second Stardance Festival and the AWUK meet up were in person events. Despite the convenience of online events it is still much nicer to be able to talk face to face as well as having the opportunity to be introduced to new people.

My role in all of these events is to share my industry experience and the journey I have taken to get to my position. As I have worked across multiple disciplines in many different companies I am able to see what are key requirements that all companies look out for in an employee and I am able to share that knowledge.

Please introduce yourself/tell our other members a little bit about yourself.

Hello! My name is Alex Davy, well actually it's Alex Connolly but you know how is it after you get married but people know you for your previous name, so I guess I'm Alex Davy for my career, but Alex Connolly when on the phone to the nursery.

I'm a storyboard artist and first time director for the upcoming Bluezoo short 'Armour'. Also juggling a 9 month old, long covid and house move (Not literally juggling my baby please don't call the authorities)

What events have you contributed to, on behalf of Animated Women UK?

I gave a talk at Animex 2022 this year about being a first time director and first time mum. It was a surreal experience as to be honest, does anyone ever feel like they're an expert at work and have the right to talk to others? Or is that just me? Either way, I was plonked in amongst some really talented speakers who were giving quite technical and proficient talks about VFX, games and animation, giving
their expertise about how these incredible shots were made and what kind of tech was involved to achieve it,

...then there's muggins here giving a silly talk about being a mum. It got quite a few laughs though, and at the end a very sweet woman came up to me thanking me for talking about what its like to be a mum working in animation because it seems like no one ever...talks about it? Like you have to hide your baby from zoom calls in case the CEO's find out and you're yeeted off the project, OR if you're just THINKING about having kids and wondering how on earth that's even possible with all the unpaid overtime, working through sickness etc etc etc

Spoiler - turns out the answer is to just lose your marbles

Please tell us a bit more about them: what was involved? Was it in person, or remote/virtual? Who was the audience? What was your role?

The talk was in person, which was the first time I'd done anything like that since my daughter was born. There was a green room and everything, even a fancy dinner the next day. I remember getting picked up at my house by a driver Animex had organised, putting make up on in the car whilst apologising to the driver, 10 minutes earlier asking him politely (shouting out the window) to wait a tic because none of the posh clothes I had before pregnancy fit my body anymore and I was just having a teensy breakdown.

Fast forward to the dinner and I'm walking about with an inane grin on my face because I was doing career stuff again! I was talking about animation! I was an actual person again and not a 1-woman-cafeteria as Ali Wong puts it. I had make-up on, and EARRINGS. DANGLY EARRINGS.

The audience for the talk was a mix of other industry professionals (terrifying) and students (equally terrifying but a bit sweeter). I'm amazed anyone came to be honest as put 'being a mum' in the title of any talk and you've already alienated all the blokes, and most students who aren't quite in that mindset yet? Either way somehow it was a full house and we had some laughs as I muddled through the creative decisions behind the short, what its like working alongside your male CEO and trying to stand your ground creatively but also not shit yourself because he's the big big boss. Its been a huge learning curve and I can't wait to do it again.

How did you find the experience? What did you learn/gain from being involved? Anything you would have done differently?

Next time round being a director I won't be as much as a fanny as I have been on this one - meaning I won't fuss over whether people want to listen to me, or if people thought a decision I made was stupid, It takes a bit of getting used to, learning that the people involved actually like your idea and want to hear more about that idea, that you'll be listened to and appreciated? Maybe its just the juxtaposition of making a firm creative decision and directing others to implement it... after washing out the baby bath because Robin has pooed in it

I've also learnt a huge amount from working with Tom Box - I spoke about this in my talk, working with the head CEO is terrifying, people who say its not are either incredibly confident or lying. But just watching his demeanour, how calm he is whilst juggling numerous tasks, and how diplomatic he is made me want to emulate him a bit.

Watch the 'Armour' Short

Please tell us a bit more about them: what was involved? Was it in person, or remote/virtual? Who was the audience? What was your role?

Both panels were during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and had to take place online, with AWUK members and public attendees joining to listen and watch via Zoom. Gathering around to swap cautionary tales is something that naturally happens in my peer groups. Our role was to give less experienced audience members a seat at the table, shattering the perception that professionals don't make mistakes and allowing them to learn from ours. It's been one of my most memorable engagements to date because of how novel a topic it was for me and how simultaneously unguarded and courageous we as panellists had to be to make it work.

Animex however was an in-person event hosted by Teesside University in Middlesbrough, although I believe some of the talks are recorded and uploaded online afterwards. The audience was a combination of students and professionals keen to see behind the scenes of their favourite productions and further their knowledge of the industry. My talk was titled '3D Animation Workflow on a Series Production' and as guest speaker it was up to me to familiarize the audience with this type of production pipeline, describe common pitfalls to avoid, provide tips on how to break into this line of work as well as explain what we generally look for in an animation showreel.

By a stroke of luck I also got to meet someone I'd been mentoring online via AWUK who happened to be in attendance. It was wonderful to be able to say hello in-person for the first time and see them doing so well. I only wish we had more time to spend chatting between me running around for the festival!