Employer branding · Media and entertainment
Artists know the delivery date too, and start looking two months before wrap.
Employer branding for an animation or VFX studio has to answer the question the whole trade lives with: what happens between shows.
Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.
In one paragraph
Employer branding for an animation or VFX studio has to answer the question the whole trade lives with: what happens between shows. GullySales writes the careers content, the department descriptions and the reel and credit policy that an artist checks before signing a project contract.
Also written for
Animation studios, VFX studios, Post-production houses.
What we do not do
We do not recruit, supply candidates or run payroll. We help candidates see the employer you already are.
Where this sits
For animation and VFX studios
Where it usually goes wrong, and what we would do.
“Project hiring means the exit is scheduled from day one”
You bring forty artists on for a show and the wrap date is in everyone's calendar. Saying nothing about what follows guarantees that your best compositor accepts another studio's offer in the last month of your own project.
“A junior is asking whether this is three years of roto”
Paint and prep work keeps the lights on and everybody knows it. The studios that keep juniors are the ones that describe, in writing, how somebody moves from prep into compositing, FX or lighting, and roughly when.
“What an artist may show afterwards decides whether they join”
A reel is a career. Client agreements restrict what can be shown and for how long, and most studios leave that conversation until an artist asks on the way out. State the position before the offer instead.
“Everyone came from the same handful of schools”
Seniors from your last crunch are already telling this year's batch how it went. In a trade this small your employer brand is decided in alumni groups, not on a jobs portal.
What we do
What we deliver for animation and VFX studios.
Every deliverable, what it covers for you, and the result it is there to produce. Nothing here is an extra.
A careers page organised by department
Modelling, rigging, animation, FX, lighting, compositing and pipeline, each with the software you actually run and the supervisor who leads it.
Result: An artist works out where the reel should be sent, and to whom.
The between-projects answer, in writing
Whether artists are retained, moved to another show, or released at wrap, and how notice works. Only what your production head will stand behind.
Result: Candidates decide with the real terms instead of the rumour.
A reel and credit policy on the page
What an artist may show, from when, and how credits are handled, drawn from your client agreements and checked by whoever signs them.
Result: One less argument at the end of every project.
The path out of prep, described
How a paint artist reaches a shot of their own, what the supervisor looks for, and the reviews that decide it, told by people who made that move here.
Result: Juniors who stay long enough to become the seniors you need.
Campus material for the animation schools
Content for the institutes you hire from, including what a reel should contain for your pipeline and the mistakes that get one rejected.
Result: Better reels in the inbox and a reason for faculty to point students at you.
How the result is measured
- Applications received per open role
- Careers page engagement and time on page
- Candidate drop-off during the interview process
- Referral hires as a share of total hires
Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.
How it works
How the work runs for animation and VFX studios
The work itself, in order. How an engagement starts, from your brief to a written scope, is set out on our method page.
- 1
Talk to current employees
We interview a cross-section of staff honestly, including some who might raise uncomfortable points.
- 2
Find the genuine reasons to join
We identify what is actually true and attractive about working there, rather than generic claims that could apply anywhere.
- 3
Build the careers content
The careers page, job post templates and employee stories are written from what staff actually said.
- 4
Review the candidate experience
We check what happens between application and offer, since branding cannot fix a process that loses candidates through delay.
- 5
Hand over and refresh periodically
Content is handed over for ongoing use and revisited periodically as the team and roles change.
Before you hire anyone
The first thing to do yourself.
Read your company the way a good candidate would, before you change anything.
- Search for your company name with the word jobs, and read the first page of results as a candidate would.
- Read your last ten reviews and list the points that appear more than once.
- Ask your three newest joiners why they said yes, and what almost stopped them.
Judge any provider
What to ask any agency or ghost-writer.
Useful whoever you choose, including us.
- Will you work from what our people actually say, or from a template?
- Do you do recruiting or supply candidates, or only the employer-brand work?
- Who approves anything that speaks for our staff?
- Which of our existing job pages and profiles will you change, and which will you leave alone?
- What do you count as a result, and what will you not promise?
Where this fits
Three pieces of sales work, in this order.
GullySales builds every engagement from three pieces of sales work. This page is not one of them, but the same three steps apply to the business behind it.
Step 1
Sales audit
Find where deals are being lost and what to fix first.
Start here if you cannot say where orders are lost.
Step 2
Sales process design
One written way to sell, from first enquiry to repeat order.
Start here if every salesperson sells differently.
Step 3
Sales management
A target, a review routine and someone who owns the number.
Start here if the team has targets and no routine.
FAQ
Questions owners ask before they call.
Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.
We genuinely cannot promise work between projects. What do we say?
Do you supply artists or handle project hiring?
Our client agreements stop us showing any of the work. Is there anything left?
How much does it cost?
How long is the contract?
How soon will we see results?
Who will actually do the work?
What do you need from us?
Media and entertainment
Employer branding for the rest of the media and entertainment.
Or start from employer branding.
Your next practical step
Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.
Eight short steps, mostly taps. Skip anything you would rather answer on the call.