Reply To: COLLAB2022 | HQ | Pre-Production

[Kent Trammell]

Core Team & Shell Team

Obviously with an application process there will be applicants awarded participation and applicants denied participation. As interest in Collabs continues to grow each year, it would be a bummer if we get 100 or even 200 applications only to accept 30. We’ve already received 33 applications and it’s only day 2 of accepting them.

So we’ve been brainstorming an alternative that would allow more people to participate outside of the 30.

Let’s call the 30, Core Team. Core Team represents the usual kind of collab participation from previous projects:

• Completed, approved contribution(s) featured in the final project/animation
• Credit
• **Direct grading + feedback each week**
• Access to livestreams
• General communication via discord & community forum
• XP awarded

The critical item in this list that requires me to limit participation to 30 is the direct feedback + grading. This takes significant time and effort to give meaningful feedback each week. However, I’ve learned that not everyone needs the same level of feedback to successfully contribute high-quality work. Several contributors in 2021 hardly spoke but submitted amazing work nonetheless.

So the new idea this year is that we introduce a second level of participation called Shell Team. It’s the same list as above minus weekly grading + feedback:

• Completed, approved contribution(s) featured in the final project/animation
• Credit
• Access to livestreams
• General communication via discord & community forum
• XP awarded

In a way, Core Team is probably better for beginners and intermediates who are a bit more lost without instructor feedback each week. Perhaps they’re not as confident in their skills or quality level and need to be directed explicitly.

Whereas Shell Team is probably better for self-motivated, resilient, resourceful contributors who can learn from feedback given to others and apply those principles to their own work. This could mean higher-level intermediates and advanced artists who have confidence to achieve the project’s quality standard without needing explicit direction.

This Shell Team idea is new and tricky for me to explain so I imagine it’s also hard to understand as well. Let’s try some hypothetical Q&A for clarification:

Q&A

If I’m on Shell Team, does the instructor ignore me?

No, definitely not. The instructor engages with everyone indiscriminately on Discord, the Community Forum, and Livestreams. The only missing piece of communication is weekly direct feedback + grading for Shell Team’s contributions – that’s reserved for Core Team.

Is Core Team more special than Shell Team?

Each team is special in its own way. If direct feedback is special to you then Core Team is special. On the other hand Shell Team is like “special forces” that the instructor entrusts to get the job done on their own.

Since I participated in a previous Collab, is Shell Team better for me?

Well yes it makes a lot of sense for Collab veterans to be on Shell team. They know their way around the format, they’re familiar with project syncing and protocols, and they understand quality expectations. I’m not saying vets cannot or should not be on Core Team but they’ll likely thrive on Shell.

Does Core Team and Shell Team get credited the same?

100% the same. At the end of the project there will be no distinction. Regardless of team, everyone gets a Visual Credit if their contribution is finished and approved or a Text Credit if their contribution is unfinished or doesn’t meet quality standards.

Again, the only distinction between teams is lack of direct weekly feedback for Shell Team contributions.

What if I’m on Shell Team and my contribution does NOT meet project standards?

This is likely to happen on both Core and Shell teams in which case the contribution would not be featured in the final animation. At the end of production I will provide at least a basic explanation to contributors who do not meet the quality standard. Still each contributor gets a text credit at least, so long as they submit something.

Can I participate on Shell Team as a beginner?

Sure, there’s no reason you can’t! A lot of beginners are self-motivated and resilient learners anyway. If that’s you then you’re welcome to join Shell Team. Just understand that the project will need you to rely on yourself to learn / implement modeling skills along the way. You’re always welcome to ask questions on the forum / discord / livestream but only Core Team is guaranteed direct feedback on their work each week.

Do I have to be a subscribing Citizen member to join Shell team?

Yes – More on that below.