Jazmyn Matthews: Navigating Unfamiliar Territory
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Have you ever been invited to an event where you only knew one other person? So you really have two options. You can either sulk in the corner (with a dog hopefully) when the one person that you know isn’t available or you can branch out, ask questions about people’s day and get to know other people. You’ve got to familiarize yourself in some way or it’s going to be a really awkward couple of hours for you!
Image from Unsplash @Antenna
I get similar vibes when it comes to working in an industry that I’m not familiar with. Let’s be honest. When I first started here, I only knew my manager. And I know what you’re thinking. Typically when you join a new company, you don’t really know that many people. Touche. But trying not knowing anyone AND not knowing much about the industry you’re now in? A little bit more difficult.
When I first started this job, I didn’t know much about animation. I knew from what I could gather from Marvel movies that it appears to be a difficult job and way more involved than I could possibly imagine. Because of that, I had to get creative. Do you know how hard it is to write about a topic you know nothing about? Sure, I can promote the event that we’re going to, but what is it? Absolutely, I can write about the work that we did on this video game, but what does rigging mean? Yes, I can shout from the rooftops that we got a dope Megagrant, but also… what is a Megagrant?
Just like with any job, you learn new things along the way. Marketing is pretty much the same anywhere you go, which worked out for me, but it does make it all the more interesting to be able to know exactly what it is you’re trying to market. For instance, posting about jobs. It’s like everyone was speaking gibberish to me. What’s a Pipeline TD? What’s Unreal? What’s the difference between a Rigger and a Rigging TD? Did you know WIP means work-in-progress? Insert mind-blown emoji.
Being able to watch the things that creative people can do is truly a great opportunity. As someone that was originally a graphic design major in college, and then realized I had no drawing skills whatsoever, it impresses me to be able to watch!
The good thing is that this is an industry that’s never boring. Even if I’m still learning all of the specifics of what everyone does here, it’s definitely a job that never gets monotonous. I’m not one that plays video games (though I will when they inevitably bring Simpsons: Road Rage to the Nintendo Switch), but I’m quite familiar with TikTok. Nine times out of ten, if there’s a TikTok dance, it eventually becomes a Fortnite emote, and watching it comes to life through animation is even cooler. (It takes a slight hit when you see Rick from Rick & Morty doing the “Savage” dance, but you still can’t get the mechanics of it down, but I push through). Working out of your comfort zone is definitely a good thing. It forces you to learn new things you would’ve otherwise never branched out into! So to the world of animation, it looks like you’re stuck with me.
