Toy Story and Finding Nemo are just two of several movies that have become
famous for their animated characters. But you won't find animation only
in motion pictures. Television shows, commercials and video games are just
a few other areas where you can see animated characters come to life.
In fact, animation has become so popular in the last few years that employees
in the computer graphic industry are now in big demand.
There are several jobs that will enable you to be part of the animation
process. One of the best places to start is as a render wrangler.
Render wranglers are those people that ensure the rendering process is
done properly. Rendering is the process of adding shading, lighting, texture
and depth to a wireframe animation that an animator has created.
As the animation is rendered through the computer system, the render wrangler
ensures each frame is processed properly. The animation must look perfect.
Nothing can be missing. Render wranglers must also know how to solve any technical
problems that may occur during rendering.
"Rendering is more of a technical position than a creative position," says
Todd Peterson. He is an animator. He also owns a small render farm. "They're
sort of like a system administrator, but not really."
Peterson adds that render wranglers are usually responsible for network
maintenance, file management and backup data. It helps if they have some software
knowledge.
In smaller companies, the duties of a render wrangler often fall under
one of the other job descriptions.
"For us, rendering is just one aspect of a plethora of animator's
duties," says Jason Maurer. He is director of animation for a studio.
The rendering process at Maurer's studio is shared by all seven of their
animators. However, Maurer is quick to add that because the rendering process
is the final stage before an animation is output to film or video, it is a
very critical stage. The job shouldn't be taken lightly.
That's why in large animation companies, it's common to have
a full crew of render wranglers on staff.
Often, there is a render farm. That's several computers networked
together that perform the rendering process. The render wranglers work shifts,
helping look after the farm.
Carrie Van Etten is a product engineering and rendering coordinator. She
started as a render wrangler. She works with the animation company that created
the movie Antz. It has a large render farm that includes approximately 670
processors.
Van Etten says the render farm basically operates 24 hours a day, seven
days a week, including holidays.
"It's a lot to watch over," says Van Etten of the 670 processors.
"It keeps you busy." The company has six render wranglers on staff. They all
rotate shifts between days, evenings, weekends, weekdays and holidays.
Van Etten started with the company after getting her bachelor of arts and
computer imagery from Cogswell Polytechnical College in California. When her
instructor recommended her for a position, she jumped at it.
"In this company, a render wrangler is an entry-level position," says Van
Etten. It's often used as a stepping-stone to move up the ranks to a
technical director, or to an animator. She agrees it is important to have
some technical skills, especially experience in UNIX, but animation skills
can help as well.
"I consider myself an artist, but I do like the technical side of things,"
says Van Etten.
In school, she took both animation and technical classes, which is what
most experts in the industry recommend. Although she'll tell you technical
skills are more important if you're working as a render wrangler, having
the creative skills are necessary if you want to advance into animation itself.
"It's good to be well-rounded," says Van Etten. She still isn't
sure if she wants to pursue the technical or the creative side of the industry.
Render wranglers, who are sometimes referred to as render assistants or
render managers, often have other responsibilities than just managing the
farm. This is the case for render farm manager Michael Dyck.
"I make sure it [the render farm] is running efficiently. If it appears
to be misbehaving, I investigate and try to fix the situation," says Dyck.
"If it needs to be modified to handle a new type of job, or computer, or circumstance,
then I do that, too."
He adds that once the render farm is less busy, he'll probably pass
the position over to someone else.
Dyck says that the demand for render farm managers, or render wranglers,
isn't huge, mainly because a company needs to have a large render farm
to warrant this position. However, having technical and creative skills in
the computer graphics industry will always be in demand.
That's why it's important for render wranglers to be well-rounded.
"A person that is more flexible is much more valuable," says Peterson. He
has a degree in architecture. Small companies need people that can do a bit
of everything. Large companies, if you want to advance, also require both
skill sets.
Although render wrangling may not be the job to plan a career around, Van
Etten says it is a great way to get your foot in the door and learn about
a company. From there, you can move into either the technical or creative
side and really get involved in the animation process.
But it is exciting to be the first to see new animations as they're
rendered through the computer, says Van Etten. "I'm excited to be here,"
she adds. "You get to be a part of it -- you're a cog in the machine
that creates these amazing images."