How can MoGraphers make sure they find a career path that’s right for them?.Is it harder to age gracefully in this industry than in others?.This article is my attempt to incorporate the many, many viewpoints that I was exposed to by asking my peers these 2 questions:
Mt mograph after effects full#
I posed this question on Mixed.Parts ( check out the full thread here), on Twitter, and to the School of Motion Alumni group, many of whom are in their 40’s and 50’s already. Was it possible that I would have been happier stopping halfway up the mountain? Should I have stuck to freelancing, having less stress at the expense of some of the “glory” of running my own studio? Was I too obsessed with always getting to the “next level?” I wondered if there was something unique about my story, or if there might be a legion of MoGraphers out there struggling with the same issue. Motion Design is a difficult field to have longevity in… the energy required to sustain a strong work ethic and constant improvement of one’s skills can be a difficult thing to muster when you start to approach mid-life, start a family, develop other passions, and change your goals. It turns out that this is a very common story in our industry. So basically, I’d spent the past decade climbing a mountain only to reach the top and realize… oh crap… I climbed the wrong mountain. Were those my only 2 options? Honestly, I didn’t want either one anymore. Worse, I didn’t even know any 45-year-old Motion Designers who weren’t in Senior Management on staff somewhere or running their own studio. Unfortunately, my current-self was miserable, and could not imagine how my 45-year-old self would be able to keep going down the path I was on. My 22-year-old self would have been thrilled to know that all of these goals had been achieved. I was paid very well, and had an amazing team to work with. We were doing national work for major brands.
![mt mograph after effects mt mograph after effects](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e6/82/17/e68217d9a2609727e582856010eea917.png)
![mt mograph after effects mt mograph after effects](https://i.imgur.com/PEw35ej.jpg)
I was 32, and I was the Creative Director of a studio I’d helped launch.
![mt mograph after effects mt mograph after effects](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b7dc238d274cb94251bef67/1585639308373-JPUMHQ96TLSRC5D91QB3/Dino_Dinosaur_logo4_transparent_.png)
“It’s just how this business works,” they said. I thought this was a reasonable course of action. I go to my business partners to discuss the situation, and immediately suggest that we say “no” and turn the job down. We’ll need to work the weekend to do it, and I’m supposed to go tell my team that they’ll have to juggle Easter around this turd of a job that will have absolutely no redeeming qualities other than the fact that it will be a favor for a good client. Our producer takes the call, and afterwards informs me that one of our biggest clients has a rush job that absolutely HAS to be done by Monday. I was looking forward to seeing if I could fit 3 Cadbury Eggs in my mouth, sleeping late, and playing with my kids.Īround 2pm the phone rings. Two of my Animators were finishing up some client work and getting ready to head home early to hang out with family. It’s the Friday before Easter in Boston, and things are quiet around the studio.