The path is harder than I thought

So I got a call from UiTM the other day about having to come for an interview at FSSR for the TPM (Tenaga Pengajar Muda) or Young Lecturer's Scheme where they offer you scholarship to do your masters programme and a chance to work with them as a lecturer. I applied for the animation department but honestly, when I signed up for the programme I seriously wondered why is the animation department being interviewed under the FSSR faculty (Faculty of Arts and Design) when I thought UiTM has already have their own Film & Animation Faculty called the Faculty of Animation and Creative Technology (FACT). I hesitated to apply at first but husband keeps on saying that there is no harm in trying so I applied, and got called for the first interview yesterday.

It was quite a horrible (yet educational) experience for me.

First of all, they asked me to prepare a 5 minute mock teaching in English and since I am going for the animation department I thought why not prepare some slides that shows some interactive stuff regarding the topic. I wanted to do a simple explanation on the 12 basic principles of animation but decided to go with the 2D animation process instead. Took me 2 nights to finish my slide. I wanted to do it in swf format but decided I don't have much time so I just stick with Powerpoint. Faster, less tedious, and time saving.

I arrived quite early at the faculty. Saw my name at one of the interviewing room with the help of the staff there and I waited for the interviewers to call out my name. Seems like there's 8 other candidates for the animation department. (and 60+ more for other department under the same faculty) It kinda surprise me that it is stated there that the animation department is actually more for game design rather than film animation (which I think I have more score with. I am basically clueless about game design.) So anyways, just try out my luck and see how it goes.

They started calling for the video editing candidates first, and then photography, and then printing.. and then... it's lunch time. Guess what? Only the first few candidates manage to make do of their mock teaching materials while the rest had to just do an impromptu due to technical issues. The computer they have does not seem to function and the projector went kaput.

What's worst?
There was no whiteboard as a teaching aid.
Great.
How do they expect us to do a mock teaching just like that?
(Ok so maybe we could be a little bit more creative on this but most of the stuff I wanted to show are digital)

Good thing I brought my husband's netbook. But the problem is.. it's a NETBOOK. 10" netbook. Friggin small compared to an image on the wall projected out from the computer via the projector. pbfft.... UiTM.. when will you be more prepared. World Class University? Oh hell yeah.

As time pass by, I get more fidgety. Part of me says I need this job. I want this opportunity, for the sake of my growing family. I asked around how they did with the interview and what did the interviewers asked them. They told me the interviewers are not even interested to listen to how they teach with mock teaching but more interested on their capabilities. They asked questions about your background and what not. Okay this is a bit uncalled for but seems fine. Feels a bit annoyed that the 2 nights I spent finishing the slides are less worthwhile now.

Then,

My time came. They asked me to introduce myself so I did. Since most of the candidates are from the department itself, i clearly told them that they might not be familiar with me compared to other candidates because I am from the architecture faculty and not the arts and design faculty. They were surprised and some reacted quite well to it. Then I told them about my working experience and what projects I have been handling and showed them some video clips of the work I had done through my netbook. Yes. They said the video is small and hard to view on the netbook. I don't have a choice. Atleast they could view it rather than just me talking bullshit without interactive materials.

Then out of the blue, one interviewer asked me what software did I use to do the animation and I told them I work mostly in Flash. He then asked me if I have skills in with 3D software. I said I could do modeling in 3D but I can't really animate using 3D software because I work my animation mostly with Flash. And just like that I could see the changes in their faces. One interviewer even told me they are actually looking for people with 3D capabilities and that there is no market for 2D animation in this country.

Seriously? I was appalled by that statement but I couldn't fight back because partly I think it's true, though come to think about it.. if there is no market for 2D animation in this country, why are there still 2D animation company still looking for animators, storyboard artists and recruiting more staff to their workforce? Why are they still receiving lots of contracts and projects from overseas to animate 2D series? Why is Animasia Studio still holding strong and still growing? Then I think again.. maybe the interviewers/lecturers don't really know much about the industry. Or that they only think of it in the gaming industry.

And just like that I ended my interviewing session.
Filled with dissatisfaction towards the attitude of the interviewers.
Filled with dissatisfaction that they did not state clearly that this is for gaming animation in the application form.

It's okay.
I will try again.

--

on another note....

I think Malaysia (especially it's public university) need a proper institute that would teach proper animation technique. I am already in the animation industry, and the candidates that applied for work who graduated from the public universities who studied multimedia or graphics could hardly animate. We have to train them from zero. They don't even know the basic principles of animation. And that makes me wonder what have they been learning in uni? What have the lecturers been teaching? They only learn how to use the software but hardly know how to make use of it. And most candidates who applied for work could hardly draw.

DRAW.
They cannot draw.

I guess that's why 3D is more popular than 2D because you don't really need drawing skills to animate. Just be a puppeteer.

sad.