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 Joshua Kwan shared with us their experience breaking into animation and what they got to learn in their last role as Production Coordinator at Lucasfilm Animation Ltd. Congratulations to Joshua as they transition into their new role as a Coordinator on the Content Advisement team at the Walt Disney Studios with the RISE division (Representation, Inclusion Strategies, & Engagement). First off, can you tell us a bit about your past role at Lucasfilm, Animation, Ltd.?
I was most recently a Production Coordinator at Lucasfilm, Animation, Ltd. (LAL) in a galaxy far, far away. LAL is built to support multiple projects at once: for example, I worked on The Bad Batch series and Tales of the Jedi shorts simultaneously. You can catch both on Disney Plus as of October 2022! While I started as the assets production assistant, I was asked to step into the production coordinator role a year in, where I provided administrative and production support to two executive producers: the Vice President of Animation Production and the Supervising Director. My position was multifaceted and I wore many hats daily. The role allowed me to be involved in all stages of the production pipeline, with tasks like setting up our writer's conferences, helping take notes in script discussions, and supporting the Emmys submission process to name a few. Additionally, I got to shadow and learn in a variety of production meetings like record sessions, music reviews, full colors with our Executive Creative Director, and QC sessions in our review theater. I helped track all milestones and prepared a weekly update to our President in partnership with physical production. This dynamic role taught me how a show is made from a producer's, executive's, and creative's perspective. Can you share with us a little about your journey? In senior year of high school, I took an English course titled "Construction of the Self'' - and one of the units examined the origin of fairytales. I'll never forget reading different versions of Cinderella around the globe, and coming to recognize that the one most folks think of is Disney's 1950 animated classic. As I moved through college analyzing media and the power of storytelling, I realized that I did not want to just be a viewer or consumer- I wanted to be in the room with the folks making these creative decisions on stories that globally impact our culture and society. I graduated from a small liberal arts college (woo SLACs!) with a major in psychology & a minor in educational studies and women's & gender studies. After college, I did the Disney College Program in Anaheim and was assigned the Star Wars gift shop! In some ways it definitely felt like the Force guided me to Lucasfilm… What was your early career starting out in the industry like? It was difficult for me to find my start and pivot into the industry, but I stayed resilient in the journey. That's partly why I wanted to help create AIA, so others could have the community I wish I had at the start of my journey. I am forever grateful to the Universal Animation team who took a chance on me and gave me my first role. I was the sole PA supporting all departments on two Curious George feature films. Even though I knew I was ultimately interested in creative development, I started in production management to learn more about how our favorite animated content is made - I've learned from execs how important it is to understand how creative notes can affect morale and impact the production pipeline. You can have ideas but if you can't get it made, then what's the point? What advice would you give your younger self? #1 - Animation is for everyone! Everyone will have their own unique story and journey - do not compare yourself to others, it is the thief of joy! Your own unique skill set and perspective will set you apart (It was actually a pleasant surprise how many executives valued my psychology background! Producers can be like therapists at times for sure...) There are many niches within the industry that could be the perfect fit for you! #2 - Make friends! (even remotely) I met the 3 other AIA founders, Lexie, Olivia, and Brandon during shelter in place and we became friends remotely! My desire to connect with folks + bring people together helped create this community, organically! People in animation don't bite - and are very down to earth, fun, and helpful - Please pay it forward when you can too! It is so inspiring to see the Rise Up Animation community for example have such a great mentorship program and it was very rewarding for us founders to lead an incredible WIA mentorship circle of 10 mentees on breaking into production management last year <3 #3 - Don’t be shy! Reach out to folks you admire or want to learn from for a 30 min "Meet and Greet" (check out our resources on how to handle these professionally). Some of my personal creative role models are Jenn Lee, Pete Docter, and Domee Shi! I would also love to collaborate with Stefani Germanotta aka Lady Gaga lol on an animated feature musical someday. Manifesting and speaking into existence! Thank you for reading a bit about my journey so far in animation! I'm currently in the Content Advisement team at the Walt Disney Studios with the RISE division (Representation, Inclusion Strategies, & Engagement), where we give creative notes on all studio projects with a focus on telling stories authentically and inclusively. Writers: Jordan (@deadlyswampsofsadness) | Point Person: Gaby, AIA Team Comments are closed.
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