Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1021376
FALL 2018 5 F R O M T H E B O A R D About once a month, a ragtag group of board members, including myself, meets with Brooke, our Director of Communications, Alexi, our Editor, and Jenn, Keyframe's Art Director, to discuss the direction of this magazine. Usually it begins with collected "oohs" and "ahhs" as Alexi and Jenn spread out proofs for the upcoming cover. Don't believe that "don't judge a book" bit, the cover is the first thing you see—it's the gateway to the content, so making an impact is important. It is like trying to pick your favorite type of chocolate though, they are each impeccably thought out and beautifully designed. We then go through a binder that represents the finished magazine and talk about the progress of various articles. The whole process is actually similar to creating animation, it's about constantly refining and narrowing down the story you want to tell. So why do I volunteer for this? I'm on the publishing committee for the same reason I work in animation. I love stories. I love reading them, I love watching them, I love hearing them, and I love helping create them. I had something inspiring happen to me this year. We hired eight new animators into our department of about 25 at DreamWorks Animation. Typically, when we hire someone, the new hire gives a short introduction during a department meeting, which often sounds like a Tolkien lineage of their resume where previous companies are listed in order instead of "son of..."— "First I worked at Disney, than R&H, than Sony, oh yeah that one job at Warner." This helped all the existing employees get a small sense of the new hire's background, but it was pretty one sided. I decided to reverse the dialogue and ask existing employees to first give presentations about themselves to the new hires. I reached out to each of my co-workers and told them they owed me 15 minutes about themselves. So for three months, every Friday, we would gather and have two veterans in our department tell our new employees a little bit about what was important to them. Some decided to share professional backgrounds, others talked about hobbies, some talked about travels, one even did an animated collaboration with his daughter about his life! I was absolutely blown away by the diverse backgrounds and stories they told. The only common thread was the ability to surprise me. These are fellow members I had been working with for at least six years and in some cases for as much as 14—"Really, you sailed across the ocean?" It gave me insight into people I would have said I had known. I found myself creatively invigorated by the experience. And this is precisely what I want the magazine to do for our membership. The more we learn about each other, about the cool talents and amazing journeys we have traveled, the more we can be inspired to pursue those passions in ourselves. Of course, just like our union, we are stronger when we are involved together. So we want to hear about those creative tidbits that make you, you. Please share them with a member of the publishing committee or contact Alexi directly at editor@tag839.org. Thanks, Jason Mayer | Executive Board Member TELL US YOUR STORIES ON THE COVER The Disney Team (clockwise l to r): Head of Animation Kira Lehtomaki; Head of Cinematography, Layout Nathan Warner; Head of Effects Animation Cesar Velazquez; Director of Cinematography, Lighting Brian Leach; Head of Story Josie Trinidad. hair and makeup: Kelly Shew, Joannel Clemente