Expert: Russell Calabrese - 10/30/2011

Question
I read your previous response to the same question, but it helps me not at all. I live in Hawaii, and I do not have the money to fly around pitching my toon. I already completed a 15 minute short, near photo realistic high def animation. I am currently making a final edit with audio. That and the other material I have compiled(script, bible, etc) should make a great tool to pitch it with. I really do need an agent that can pitch it for me. How can I find either a seasoned, well regarded professional, or at least someone who may be young and inexperienced, but at least is hungry enough to need the client? All the currently successful animators/cartoonists I looked up are represented by agencies that accept new clients by referral only. I have seen this question asked in various forms around other sites, and it seems that the issue is always avoided, and never directly answered.
Thanks

Answer
Hi Mark,

Sorry I can't help you. I've been in the animation business for 36 years and can't get an agent. I've spoken to many and they all say the same thing. They have too many clients they can't get work for and they're not taking on any new clients. It doesn't seem to matter whether you're a newbie or a veteran. I've been pitching unsuccessfully for years. I get to almost selling a show and then there's a regime change and you're pitch ends up on the garbage heap. I keep trying.

Since you're making a finished short, the best thing you can do is copyright it and publish it on YouTube and send it to everyone you know to help it go viral. Make it yourself, put it out there and see what happens. If it becomes a YouTube sensation someone from a studio may contact you and then you may get your show sold. THAT'S what I'm doing with one of my creative partners.

Hope this helps.

®©