Animation and the Pandemic

As of mid-March 2020, the UK has been in lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak. This has meant that, as a college, we have shut down and moved all learning online, but what has this meant for Animation and VFX companies around the globe who are now unable to access equipment at work, and are being forced to work from home in order to stay safe and healthy? Many companies are facing unknown territory, with many wondering how the lockdown will affect the security of work and new projects due to differing levels of security between company servers, and home internet.

The main way in which companies are tackling this issue is that they are making employees sign NDA’s (Non-disclosure agreements). These agreements mean that employees are unable to share any information regarding projects they are currently working on, and could face unemployment and legal action if they were to break the terms.

Due to the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, I had to make contingency arrangements for my final major project, just in case we weren't able to resume face-to-face teaching within the university. As it currently stands, we are not able to access the college campus due to the third national lockdown. Soon, however, it has been confirmed that we will be able to once again access the college facilities. Because of this move back to in-person teaching, I will be looking to complete the 3D portion of the production first, as I have access to my preferred program, Maya, at home.

This will then leave the 2D portion still to complete. I have chosen to complete the work this way round as it means that, because I couldn't return my university accommodation until March, it still gives me plenty of time with access to the college facilities, enabling me to use my preferred 2D software, TV Paint. If the plans change for some reason, meaning we lose access to the campus again, I will use either Krita or Toon Boom Harmony in order to complete the 2D work.

While this plan may sound optimistic given the current uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, and the risk that things may once again change, I wanted to ensure I gave myself a chance to complete the project using programs I am completely comfortable with in order to produce the piece to the highest standard possible, and the only way in which to do this would be with access to TV Paint, which I only have access to via the college computers.