Now more than ever, remote working has established itself as a viable alternative to traditional brick-and-mortar studio setups. Creative studios can harness the creativity of their artists across multiple locations without compromising their production quality. With the right tools, remote working is here to stay.
Why switch to remote working?
Hire, anywhere
The perfect artist for the job may be halfway across the world – you just don’t know it yet. Remote working increases your chances of finding the right person for the work at hand, no matter the location. In fact, some studios have built remote working setups that stretch across the globe.
Agora.Studio is a remote working success story. Described by the studio’s co-founder, as a ‘web of talent’, Agora.Studio has a team of hundreds of artists ready to go from around the world. The animation and VFX production house started with only 2 freelancers, but over a few years has grown to accommodate 40 artists on any one project, with multiple projects running simultaneously. Agora.Studio achieves this by using a range of different communication tools. With Slack powering their messaging comms, Zoom facilitating their face-to-face meetings, and SyncSketch providing real-time animation reviews, the studio can have interactive sessions that mirror in-person office spaces.
Scale-up
While it may not be viable to have a large team of artists on-hand all year round, some jobs may need a bigger workforce to get the job done. A remote pipeline allows for effective, adaptable scaling. Just like Agora.Studio, each project can be assessed individually, and the team can be expanded quickly to meet demand. And, with growing talent in all regions of the world, companies can connect with the very best artists.
Move location
For directors, supervisors, and other team members that need to travel to multiple locations, a remote working setup makes adapting simple. Whether you’re on-set or at home, cloud-based systems can keep your whole team connected and working.
Reel FX, Animation Supervisor, Bill Haller, could operate in multiple locations without interrupting the animation process for the feature film SCOOB!. Using SyncSketch, Bill reviewed shots on the fly while traveling between Montreal, LA, and Dallas. The team of artists was also located in studios across these locations, making remote working integral to the studio’s production pipeline during the project.
Cloud-based tools, whether they’re used for reviewing shots, storage, or communication, simulate the in-person working environment effectively while opening up flexible working schedules. Being able to live and move in different locations also means different timezones can be utilized, and people can work the hour range that suits their private lifestyles.
Cost
Cost can be a big motivator towards shifting to a remote setup. Running an office space comes with large overheads, such as rent, heating, lighting, and other amenities. These costs can remain largely the same regardless of the number of people employed, so small studios may find this difficult. But equally, larger studios will incur even more cost that could restrict its ability to grow. And the ability to exponentially grow your workforce comes with a host of benefits. For studios that were located in high income areas, a remote team might also come with significant cost and tax benefits, while pulling in the best talent from across the globe.
Balance
During the pandemic, many support systems that we usually rely on are compromised. If it’s the lack of in-person social interaction, daycare, schools, no easy way to balance it all – we are all feeling compromised.
We can assume that many of these especially difficult situations will subside with the pandemic, yet managing a remote team will always require both trusting and trusted leadership, balance, and mutual respect for work-life boundaries.
Giving your team the time to breathe and take time for their loved ones and family is a key ingredient for their happiness, loyalty, and productivity.
Make sure your team takes time to build friendships with non-work-related activities. Establish a simple hang-out room to not have all VC calls evolve around work, playing games together, etc.
Agora Studios has compiled an array of great tips for artists working from home. Make sure to check them out here.
Find out more
Check out our blog for more tips and information on animation and get your remote team in sync with remote real-time reviews. Click here to begin your trial with SyncSketch today.