Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/944397
or hiatus— also overshadows most challenges. "I've heard some couples have a hard time because animation is not very steady. We both just accept that our work can be seasonal," says Oda, which is one reason the two prefer to work at separate companies. The 2007-2008 writer's strike affected primetime television but not Oda's show, so the couple could at least count on one income during that time. King and Moreno King learned this lesson the hard way while both were working at the same studio. After 9/11, everything was put on hold and both lost their jobs simultaneously. "It was after that I [said] there are two things we need to keep in mind – always have a buffer and we shouldn't be working together at the same studio," says Moreno King. "That was the last time we worked together." Working at different studios also affords more flexibility when it comes to family responsibilities, enjoying time off during hiatus and not contending with mutual deadlines. While sharing a love of art and story brings these couples closer together, they aren't simply a personification of their careers. Notes Stevenson: "Together we're realizing that we're a lot more than [our work]. We want so much more out of our lives; we want to be well-balanced human beings who are a loving couple and not just people who work all the time." "I think our ambition is really important to both of us in our careers but it's something that I want to be really sensitive about..." Molly Ostertag & Noelle Stevenson WINTER 2018 37