What's your name and what area of VFX or animation do you work in?:
Hi, my name is Eleanor Long, and I work in animation. I am co-founder and producer at micro-indie studio Tapocketa Ltd, based in Hertford. We have two sides to the business; as Tapocketa, we specialise in creating our own products and IP with a style we have developed using paper puppetry and motion capture. This includes interactive, animated storybooks, with further animation projects in development using AR. The other arm to the business is called Mini-Tonic where we animate 3rd party artworks to create short-form animated posters for screen and social media.
We also produce a podcast called 'The Small Media Podcast', where my partner and I take an open and light-hearted look at the challenges of running a small creative business.
What was your journey into the VFX or animation industry? What got you into VFX or animation?:
My journey into the animation industry has been quite unusual. My background is in prop and model-making for TV and film which I fell into after leaving art college with a Fine Art Sculpture degree. I loved using my hands to create artwork and making with many materials. When I left college, I figured that prop-making was a great way to make some money doing just that. During this time I really enjoyed being part of a team working to create incredible 'other' worlds, especially working in the over-size prop-shop for The Borrowers film in 1997.
Still keen to create my own artwork, I went back to college in 2000 and completed an MA in Glass at the Royal College of Art. After graduating I set up my own architectural glass studio and worked to commission for public spaces and private homes. This work was both challenging and rewarding.
In 2014, my partner and I decided to devise a new practice together that used both of our respective skills. At the time he was a senior compositor at Double Negative London, working on the Harry Potters (and so many others). We had both started in visual creative media (we met at art college way back), and enjoy problem-solving, pushing boundaries and storytelling. So we started playing with mediums and ideas to develop, and created our own distinctive illustration and animation style.
This led to us co-founding Tapocketa, to create work that brings the storybook to life. Combining animation and the printed page is at the core of what we now do, and it is this inventive and exciting aspect that continues to inspire me.
What does a typical day look like in your role?:
My typical day involves quite a lot of writing; my role includes pitching for work as well as making grant funding applications. Once we get the work, I coordinate with the client and make sure we meet their needs and surpass their expectations, within the deadline and budget. When we are working on our own IP projects, my role includes project management as well creative roles depending on the project.
What skills do you think are most important for your role?:
Good communications skills, reading the situation and understanding motivations are crucial in my role. As a small business, we are continually seeking opportunities and so strategies and future planning are also highly important. Having a good visual eye is paramount as the final decision on the company output is taken by both co-founders.
What tools or software do you use daily? Is this what you started working in or have you pivoted to this one?:
Daily software for me includes organisational software Notion, and the Affinity Suite which is a trio of programmes; Photo, Designer and Publisher that are alternatives to Adobe software. When optimising artworks for the web, both ImageOptim and HandBrake are invaluable.
What's your favourite part of your job/career so far?:
My favourite part of the work is devising new projects that can answer two objectives:
- Most importantly, creating work that other people enjoy, value and ultimately be inspired by is the best.
- And personally, I love to make things that are inventive, intriguing and hint of other worlds.
What's a common misconception about your job?:
To some people outside the industry, it's not viewed as a proper job.
What challenges have you met as a woman in the industry?:
During my work in both prop-making, and in the fine art world I felt that my gender did not particularly affect my opportunities or working life. Since moving into the screen media industry I have been shocked to hear a few stories from fellow female founders of poor behaviour towards them because of their gender.
What's one piece of advice you wish you'd received earlier?:
'Trust your intuition' - if it feels right, it most probably is right, and if it feels wrong, it is invariably wrong.
This has been a key sentiment throughout my career but as advice given to me by a tutor early on I can't say I wish I'd received it earlier! A later piece of advice that relates to this and really helped me when I have moved into new industries was that, generally, the vast majority of people are making up what they're doing as they go along.
How do you balance work with your personal life?:
It is a balancing act, especially as I'm really into what I do. I think that it is more of a case of how I combine my work and personal life. It is often the case that stepping away from the computers and going for a walk along the river is by far the best (and quickest) way to come to a decision, think through new options, or come up with completely new ideas. Having a lot to do is always an issue, feeling overwhelmed and a lack of time is familiar, but maintaining my out of work interests helps to put it all into perspective.
What's one stereotype you'd love to break about your field?:
I find it increasingly frustrating that the investor sector for screen-based media companies does not seem to recognise that female-led companies are demonstrating very strong performance and are often leading the field in overall business success.
