Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1313527
WINTER 2020 7 E D I T O R ' S N O T E SONAIYA KELLEY ("Speaking Your Truth") is a film reporter at the Los Angeles Times. The Bronx, N.Y., native previously served as a digital producer at Essence and Allure magazines and has contributed bylines to Complex, Mashable and Patch.com. An alumna of Stony Brook University's School of Journalism and the Bronx High School of Science, you can find her on Twitter @sonaiyak and on Instagram @sonaiya_k. EVAN HENERSON's ("You Have 10 Seconds to Decide") career spans journalism and nonprofit communication. His work has appeared in Orange Coast Magazine, TV Guide and Los Angeles Daily News where he was a staff writer and critic. While earning his Master's Degree from USC, Evan walked the entire length of Ventura Boulevard. A writer and editor for 20-plus years, JAY A. FERNANDEZ ("A New Age") has been on staff at The Hollywood Reporter, The Washington Post, and Indiewire. He wrote the weekly column "Scriptland" for the Los Angeles Times for several years, and his work has appeared in Los Angeles, Lithub, Pacific Standard, ACLU Magazine, USA Today, and many others. Freelance writer and author KAREN BRINER ("Against the Odds") grew up in Cape Town, South Africa where her garden was home to wild chameleons. Her most recent novel is Snowize & Snitch: Highly Effective Defective Detectives. Will we see a turning point in the fight for equality as people rally together to end discrimination? Will we see contentious conversations or creative collaborations? Let's face it—it's been a rollercoaster ride and we will all process the last year differently. We are reminded, though, how events in our lives and in the world impact our creativity and purpose. For some, the flood of emotion inspires them towards community or political action while for others life's experiences are poured into their own creations. This need to process our feelings and express them in different imaginative ways isn't new, but it is something that many of our TAG members do instinctively. Frank Abney, for example, was inspired by the grief he felt as a child to create a short film called Canvas that explores how one survives trauma with the help of family and community (p.42). A lack of visibility for black creatives in animation led storyboard artist Waymond Singleton to co-create the podcast Black N'Animated (p.14) in an effort to achieve more inclusivity in the industry. The new paradigm of working from home has been both a blessing and a curse. Learning how to make pottery ended up being Director Sarah Soh's saving grace while being stuck at home during the pandemic (p.9), and a way for her to express herself artistically without a screen. She's not the only one who has turned to crafting or designing as a way to express creativity in new ways. More than a dozen artists are featured in this year's Holiday Gift Guide (p.36), showcasing everything from handmade jewelry and novels to aromatherapy and tiki-style masks. For artists trying to complete feature films at home, their back yards and living rooms became stage sets and home offices. Artists working on The Croods: A New Age recruited their kids to act out scenes or used family as sounding boards (p.28) while new tools and creative solutions helped pave the way for a different way of working. New technology is also helping creators and writers to harness the power of choice to craft complex, nonlinear narratives (p.20) and we will see more interactive projects in the next year. And, speaking of the new year, let's welcome 2021 with hope and possibility. The future holds many choices. Choose your own. Happy Holidays! Alexandra Drosu editor@tag839.org WHEN WE LOOK BACK ON THIS YEAR WHAT WILL WE SEE? WILL WE SEE A PANDEMIC THAT HAS ISOLATED LOVED ONES AND SENT US INTO OUR HOMES? WILL WE SEE A NEW WAY OF WORKING THAT ALLOWS FOR MORE FLEXIBLE SCHEDULES AND VIRTUAL OFFICES? 2020 VISION CONTRIBUTORS