ASIFA whatnot

So, as I think I mentioned, we're working on the Mary and Max event on the 3rd. It's very cool, because we have a Q&A with the director afterward.
We're also taking first steps toward hosting a Drinking and Drawing in January, and you know that's my baby.
I'm also thinking of my Laikans, and talking with the chapter about maybe having an event focused on freelance animators in Portland. What's the climate like, how does it work for people who are doing it, what are the resources, etc. Maybe a panel discussion and a resource fair? There are a bunch of resources out there, but I'm not sure how well known they are. I'd be willing to help pull something together if people were interested and wanted to connect in that way. So I guess what I'm saying is that, if you're interested, let me know and I'll see how the chapter feels about it.
I have to say, I love how informal the ASIFA people are compared with the SIGGRAPH board. The SIGGRAPH board had a lot of formal behaviors, like making motions and seconding them, and formalizing meeting minutes... it's nice to be able to kind of skip all that and just talk things through together.

And, as I said just nine months ago, I am so sorry for the loss of the wonderful, talented, good-hearted peeps at Laika. When they move on, the Portland animation community will have suffered a tremendous loss.

Layoffs at Laika

I worked from home today, so I was more plugged in than I generally am, and I recently joined Facebook. So at 11:30 I saw a Twitter from a Laika employee that they had been laid off, and a little while later I saw another on Facebook, and then another, and then I got a text message... 65 people total, the news said later.

On the one hand, it is par for the course for the business. Most big studios go through rounds of layoffs periodically and then ramp up again, and people know that's how it goes. I do feel bad for those people who hoped to get in on the ground floor of a new studio, and help to shape it, share in it, who committed themselves to Laika and to Portland. And I'm sad that so many of them will leave, and our community will lose those wonderful creative experienced brains. And I'm annoyed that there are job postings on the Laika website right now.

As I've said in the past, while I didn't enjoy my job while I worked there, I really liked and respected the team they had put together. I was genuinely happy to see those people every day, and am proud to call them my friends. A lot of them have already dispersed around the globe, and now more of them will. I sincerely hope to see them again- that as my career progresses and moves forward, as I go to conferences or festivals, that I'll see those smiling faces and know that they are doing well and pursuing happiness.