Recruitment and Training: Dreamwall's Calendar of Academic and Professional Events

For an animation and digital production studio, developing high-performing production pipelines relies on the constant integration of new skills. Maintaining a technical and artistic dialogue with the academic world is therefore essential. This bridge between the reality of our studios and higher education allows us to monitor skill evolution, evaluate technical standards, and prepare for the recruitment of our future team members.

Over the months, our schedule revolves around key events: direct presentations within study programs, participation in career days, and networking at major European animation markets. This approach reflects a commitment to factual support and identifying the skills required for today's and tomorrow's productions.

Integrating young talent into a professional production pipeline requires dedicated preparation. Industry standards—whether in animation, compositing, or rigging—evolve rapidly. This is why Dreamwall is directly involved with students through various presentation and workshop formats.

Sharing real-world experience is a regular priority for our teams. This year, our approach took shape through targeted mentoring initiatives:

• ARTFX: This school specialized in visual effects and 3D animation hosted us for a technical workshop. These workshops expose students to real-time and quality constraints demanded by broadcasters. We will also be attending their upcoming Career Day to review final-year graduation projects.

• HELHA (Haute École Louvain en Hainaut) : Dreamwall recently mentored and guided a group of students from this institution. This type of close mentorship helps students better understand studio teamwork dynamics by clarifying expectations across each production department.

Days dedicated to academic recruiting are pivotal moments for identifying the right candidates. These events are designed for one-on-one interviews, portfolio reviews, and demoreel feedback.

• HEAJ (Haute École Albert Jacquard): Our team participated in their Career Day. This event provides an effective touchpoint to discuss skills acquired in 3D animation and real-time techniques. The goal is to analyze candidate suitability for junior positions currently open or planned at our studio.

Beyond individual school visits, the annual animation calendar is highlighted by major gatherings. The Annecy International Animation Film Festival and its market (MIFA) represent the epicenter of European and international industry exchanges.

This event is not solely a coproduction or program sales market. It also hosts a major portion of the educational ecosystem, bringing together numerous academic delegations.

During our presence at the Annecy market, our schedule is specifically arranged to meet with leading educational hubs. This year, our teams organized discussions with several top-tier institutions:

• Rubika: A school whose 3D animation programs are recognized for their technical rigor. Meetings at the festival provide an overview of their new curriculum directions and the technical expertise of their graduating classes.

• L'École des Nouvelles Images: This institution emphasizes narrative and visual quality. Engaging with them within the MIFA framework enables Dreamwall to stay at the forefront of evolving teaching methodologies, particularly regarding latest-generation rendering tools.

While Annecy centralizes a significant portion of contacts at the start of summer, the animation sector relies on other professional platforms throughout the year. These industry events often combine business development, coproduction, and recruitment.

On the domestic front, Dreamwall remains attentive to key events in the Belgian market. We participated in the Jobday organized as part of the Anima Festival (Brussels International Animation Film Festival).

This recruitment day is a condensed and efficient format. It brings together local studios and Belgian students looking for internships or first job opportunities. It serves as a meeting point to boost the local job market and integrate young graduates into our ongoing productions.

Finally, our industry monitoring and network are maintained through events strictly focused on structuring the European market. For example, we recently received an invitation to participate in the Cartoon Business Connections Hub.

While this type of forum focuses more on financing models, distribution, and international coproduction strategies, it remains a space where connections are forged with higher education institutions and professional associations. These networking hubs foster a comprehensive understanding of industry needs, aligning our recruitment strategies with our mid- and long-term production goals.

In the wake of these numerous academic events and encounters, the studio receives a high volume of unsolicited applications, internship requests, and job applications. Handling all these inquiries promptly requires rigorous organization.

To streamline this management, Dreamwall evolved its internal processes: we moved away from manual processing via a basic generic inbox in favor of a dedicated database managed on the Talentsquare platform. This tool allows us to centralize profiles, categorize skills by technical department (2D/3D animation, compositing, rigging, layout), and run much faster, targeted searches whenever new production needs or internship opportunities arise. Since going live (~2 years ago), we have logged 236 internship requests and 611 unsolicited applications—numbers that demonstrate the necessity of being backed by such a tool.