SANDRA SALTER

Sandra Salter is based in Ludlow in the West Midlands and founded Salty’s Animation Co. in 2012 with her partner Jim Salter.

She graduated from the Royal College of Art with an MA in Animation in 1996 and was represented as an animation director by London animation studio Sherbet from 1998 to 2006. She then founded the ‘boutique’ animation studio, Sweetworld TV, in London, which she ran with Yasmeen Ismail, from 2006 to 2010.

Sandra works with animation, design, film, interactivity and illustration. Alongside commercial projects, she runs art workshops in the local area and nearby Shrewsbury. In 2012, Sandra she made a film for Channel 4’s Random Acts through Lupus Fims.

Her film Wedding Espresso (2003) for Channel 4 was nominated for a BAFTA and her film Measles (for Amnesty International) won a Public Choice award at the British Animation Awards in 2008.

STATE OF PLAY

Sandra believes that where you are based is not important if you have a strong contacts list, and that you should not be timid about approaching your contacts when looking for work as a freelancer.

She feels that when you have moved somewhere new that networking at local art fairs and festivals is an important part of building contacts.

Social media has been a useful tool for Sandra to connect with local creatives, and through Twitter connected with Chris Shepherd who commissioned the Random Acts film for Lupus Films.

In balancing a career and family life, Sandra has found she is ‘time poor’ and lacks the time to do essential tasks, such as distributing new work to film festivals.

Having made an interactive animation in 1996 at a time when the technology was relatively new, she would be keen to revisit the piece now that the technology has advanced, and interactivity is a growth area of practice.

“If you don’t pursue getting your work out there, it’s as though you have had a burst of energy and then you’ve just fizzled away again. You’re out of sight, out of mind, and out of London.”

“I’ve always been battling with balancing having to earn money and making something different when I can afford to.”

“Make sure you can keep the roof over your head whilst you’re trying to find your dream. Get a waitressing job if you need to.”

“From working at Sherbet I learned the trade: how to do commercials, how to direct and how to run a studio. Getting experience is key. Go out into the industry and learn from other people.”

Image: The Royal Oak, 2012, Sandra Salter and Benedict Newbery