Hi everyone! Here are some of Margaret's answers to the questions you sent in.

Q: Are there resources you recommend for portfolio feedback? As someone who didn't attend art school, I'd love to know if there are tools, resources, and/or communities out there that are designed to provide feedback on portfolios prior to submitting them to a studio.

A: “When I was in school in LA I was lucky to have proximity to portfolio review events: Lightbox, for instance, where you can wait in line to meet a recruiter and get feedback on your portfolio. I'm not totally sure how things have changed now that zoom is so pervasive, but I'm a big believer in cold-calling. Research the studios you're interested in, find out through LinkedIn or whatever, who you can contact in the recruiting office, and send them a message expressing your interest in the studio and in receiving constructive feedback. Alternatively, you could try cold-calling (DMing) artists you admire on instagram (respectfully). Artists are friendly in this industry if you extend the same courtesy. Additionally, my portfolio improved meteorically after studying the portfolios of my peers (on their websites). See what your competition is doing; emulate how they organize their portfolios, the types and number of samples they include. Don't steal their ideas, obviously, let your work speak for itself, but just seeing what someone else is doing can cue you into the portfolio "norm" or what a studio is expecting, at least. “
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Q: How do you get a foot in the door if you are past the career stage of being able to intern? I have a mortgage and family responsibilities.

A: "'Storyboard Revisionist' is a pretty standard 'foot in the door' position you should try to apply for. It's not the same as a trainee position, but you learn more on the job anyway."
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Q: How do you find your story in the middle? Through your character or the situation that moves you forward when you are unsure where to go.

A: "I like to start with character. Specifics create parameters, and parameters create puzzles. A puzzle can be tricky to solve, but it is easier to solve something than a blue sky of possibilities. A classic storyboarding/writing exercise is to put a character through a "personal hell." Who is your character, what do they want, and what is their personal hell? An antisocial little kid really wants dessert that is on the other side of a packed family reunion. A young kid can't keep a job but just needs to make rent (Spider-Man 2...)"
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Q: Do you have a procedure for drawing your storyboards? (e.g. characters first, informational pieces next, lighting last, etc)

A: "I always start out by thumbnailing the entire thing on paper. My thumbnails are small, and rough, and I don't spend more than a couple hours imagining the first pass. This is to figure out the rhythm, duration, pacing, tone of the scene. I loosely figure out key acting poses and shots in this phase, but the majority of storytelling I'm doing in thumbnails is with the camera plan. Then, once I have my shot list, I begin to work digitally. I draw the background first, and if I know there's going to be a camera move of some kind, I will draw the entirety of the background so I don't end up having to redraw parts of it later. Then I draw the characters/moving elements on top. When I'm being good, there aren't more than 3 drawings per shot (realistically, per storytelling moment). Economy is important! Do more with less!"
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Q: What films do you recommend to study visual language in shots? / Wanted to ask Margaret about films and directors she thinks are good for studying and also her favourite movies as well?

A: I think you should study the films and directors that you like. Study a scene and figure out why a joke works for you, or why a camera move is so satisfying or clever.

My favorite directors are:
- Julia Ducourneau
- Kathryn Bigelow
- The Coen Brothers
- Bong Joon Ho

And I'm starting to keep an eye on:
- Dan Trachtenberg (Prey, 10 Cloverfield Lane)
- Zach Cregger (Barbarian)
- Ruben Ostlund (Triangle of Sadness, Force Majeure.)

Classic directors to study are:
- Sidney Lumet
- [Steven] Spielberg
- [Alfred] Hitchcock
- [Frank] Capra
- [John] Huston
- [Brian] De Palma
- [Billy] Wilder
- John Ford
- [Charlie] Chaplin

My favorite movies are:
- Chinatown
- Do the Right Thing
- Vampire's Kiss
- Point Break
- Fargo
- Memories of Murder
- City Lights
- The Incredibles

I also highly recommend checking out Better Call Saul. It's the best visual storytelling I've ever seen on TV, and also just the best show on TV. It just ended! So you can binge your heart out.
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I hope that these questions and answers will help. Please keep sending questions to us for the Pixar hosts, we do our best to have them answered!

Diederick (XP Team)