Angie Glocka

I've been involved in computer visual media since around 1995, and I am currently working at Disney Feature Animation as a Digital Animator.  Some of the projects I have worked on include "Nightmare Before Christmas", "Toy Story", "Bump in the Night", and "The New Gumby" TV Series.

My education was an eclectic mix of static art and film art; I took a lot of college courses but never graduated (I wouldn't take the "101" courses). I really began my animation career on "The New Gumby" TV Series.  They were hiring inexperienced novices and training us to be stop-motion animators while we made the shows!  And even there it was a real "seat of your pants" experience; by that I mean watch and imitate - as fast as you can.
 

"... a background in stop-motion lends itself well to learning 3D-CG ..."
 
My husband is also a stop-motion and CG animator.  We just followed the work, and when companies like Pixar started making bigger CG projects, we just naturally gravitated to that medium.  The consensus of opinion on the streets is that a background in stop-motion lends itself well to learning 3D-CG because stop-motion animators are used to thinking in 3 dimensions, instead of the 2 like traditional animators work with.

The percentage of women to men is still very small, but a lot bigger than it was in 1995. I think when I worked on Toy Story I was one of 3 women who had animated on the feature, out of about 25 animators. That's around 10%.  Now with about 10 women to 40 men in my department, the percentage in my environment is about 25%.  That same percentage seems representative of the rest of the industry as well.
 

"... a lot of important work-related information is spread very casually, i.e. over a beer, at lunch, during a break ..."
 
The set-backs I experienced as a women 10 years ago came from not being included in the "buddy" loop.  Animation projects tend to be very loosely organized, and a lot of important work-related information is spread very casually, i.e. over a beer, at lunch, during a break, etc.  In general, 22-35 year old guys don't pal around with older women on a purely friendship basis.  I found myself not privy to changes, new information, etc.  It always set me back.  Now it seems to have evened out a lot more.  I can't say that I receive any benefits. I don't think I've ever gotten hired just because I'm a woman.

The production end of the industry (Producers, Production Managers and Coordinators, etc.) seems to be dominated by women.  However, there are still very few women in lead, supervisor or Director positions on the artistic side of things.  In the animation end of it I think I'm the only woman I know who has ever held a director position; meaning I was assistant animation director on "Bump in the Night".
 

"If you can read and think for yourself, no one can stop you from competing".
 
I'd say it's much tougher being a woman in stop-motion than CG.  The computer is a much more even playing field than stop-motion for women.  You don't have to be physically tough, or have grown up playing (like I did) in your dad's garage so that you are comfortable with power tools.  Stop-motion is after all done on a stage, and carries all the same demands as any live action stage work: familiarity with cameras, lenses, lights, film, and the ability to hoist heavy equipment around.  You also need to build a lot of stuff yourself.  CG on the other hand, is all brain power.  If you can read and think for yourself, no one can stop you from competing.

I believe it's a very friendly field for women.  I've often wondered whether the field attracts more men than women because it's the plethora of male-oriented video games that attract boys to the industry.  But more girls should be encouraged to explore CG as a career.

I've only attended SIGGRAPH two times, including this year.  The attendance seemed pretty evenly divided between men and women, which is about what I expected.  I did really enjoy seeing the motion capture demonstrations.  In the future I would like to see more demonstrations of modeling and animation software.  Also artists want equipment that can easily dump their completed work onto film, and lay sound on it, so I would like to see more packages devoted to that.  I have to admit though that SIGGRAPH as a whole is still too technical for me, and I often get bored.
 

"My husband and I both work, so I don't have to do all the supporting".
 
I have a new baby so that's pretty much all we do right now, which is more fun than I ever would've imagined.  My husband and I both work, so I don't have to do all the supporting.  Outside of work, my husband and I like to travel a lot.  We live in a somewhat rural area of Los Angeles, so I just love being outside and enjoying the weather.

In the future I just want to have a lot of fun with my work.  Until now we've been trying for all the best projects with the highest production values, but I'm interested in quick and dirty animation again.  Things like the "Celebrity Deathmatch" stuff are extremely fun because you can go really fast and it's really goofy.

My advice to others is to keep in mind that you deserve to be the boss as much as any man.  Directors are generally chosen out of people who are artists in their own right and have produced their own films, so try to complete a film if you're still in school.  You also need to decide what level of creative work you want in your job and make that known up front; don't assume that if your talented and do a good job you'll get the best scenes to work on.  There are always scenes that are called "throw-away" scenes that nobody wants because it doesn't give the animator an opportunity to shine.  You always have to sort of muscle your way to the front to avoid getting stuck with these scenes, and even then it doesn't always work.  Then you end up doing an entire movie and having very little to show for it on your demo reel.

The words I live by are: