Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannz Mulligan.
Hi Hannz, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My parents moved to the states from Ireland one month before I was born and as a daughter of immigrant parents, I felt I never truly fit in.
Instead of playing with others, I would spend hours alone drawing panels of cartoons that would make me laugh. I soon learned that I could share these drawings and move people with laughter.
Using Art and Story as a vehicle, I could suddenly change this foreign and exclusive landscape into an atmosphere that felt warm and welcoming. Laughter became an important characteristic for all of my story-telling, and a key ingredient to building my company, Studio Pinch.
Growing up, my father worked on a farm caring for horses, while my mother raised four children at home. With a modest upbringing, I learned very early that I must challenge myself to stand out, working harder than those around me, which made me quite competitive as I stepped out of my very small hometown into the real world.
I continued my education by gaining an associate’s degree in Animation at the Delaware College of Art and Design, followed by a Bachelor’s Degree in Sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art. My thesis film, “Banana Sunday” won the “Excellence in Stop Motion Award at the 2016 MICA Animation festival, my graduating year.
After graduation, I moved to Mexico City, Mexico to intern for the summer for an award-winning stop-motion studio, Cinema Fantasma before flying out to Los Angeles, where I have since planted my roots. In the last 6 years, I have worked for various film, television, commercial, media, and animation studios of many styles and production values and I’ve taken what I’ve learned and applied them to my own company, Studio Pinch.
Launched in 2020, Studio Pinch is a multi-media animation production company based in Los Angeles, aimed at making audiences of all ages laugh through short stories.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The path I’ve taken to get here has been winding and scary; I would say “smooth” is the last word I would use to describe this journey. Moving to Los Angeles is expensive, big, and a totally different animal from growing up around cows and corn. Even the weather had some getting-used-to. I moved here knowing exactly one person, and since then have met hundreds.
There are amazing people everywhere, but there are also very mean and discouraging people, especially as a woman in the film industry, surrounded by those who have been doing this for many years. I’ve learned to really grit my teeth and learn from the best and worst experiences.
I couldn’t start a company from anything, there are rules that need to be learned and methods that work or don’t work. The key has been to watch how others have succeeded and failed and apply them to my own studio. Of course, as well as remembering how I have succeeded and failed myself.
But some of the biggest struggles have been financial. Finding the recourses and time to put into my own work, remembering my own savings goals so that I have that freedom. Although I have built for myself a community of those who share these struggles and are willing to trade work and skills for my own. It gets easier over time.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Personally, I am a sculpture artist for film, television, and animation. I specialize in costume/puppet/and prop building with a keen interest in storytelling for animation. I build, practically, pieces that an actor or actress will wear or use on film.
I’ve worked for productions such as The Mandalorian, Stranger Things, Aquaman, Star Trek: Picard, See, The Masked Singer, Young Sheldon, and Umbrella Academy as well as making work for people like Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, James Corden, and Adam Savage. I have also worked on smaller productions in animation such as Santa Inc., Robot Chicken, Barbie’s DreamCamper, and the stop-motion series of American Girl Dolls.
Each job that I do informs my own work as I apply it to Studio Pinch. For example, I have learned about mold-making and mass production, as well as 3D printing and 3D modeling for a faster streamlining of production.
Sculpture and fabrication is an ever-changing and expanding topics I feel my education continues every day. I challenge myself to keep up with it so that Studio Pinch can remain competitively professional.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Of course, my parents and family. Without their love and support, I wouldn’t have the courage to be where and who I am today. They challenged me to put forth my best effort no matter the job or task, and they’ve sacrificed so much to be in this country so that I may have the best upbringing they could afford.
My best friend and mentor, Law Hall-Boogie: is a key player at Studio Pinch. As a creative producer, he is the secret sauce in development who can point out where a story needs more work, where any detail can be added, taken away, or focused on. He and I will sit in the writer’s room for hours before we agree we are ready for production.
He asks all of the questions I don’t think to ask myself and his attention to detail is next to genius. He’s the kind of person you want on your team who immediately elevates the quality of your work at every level from the story, to design, to sound, editing and export.
Bobby, Rhonda and Eben Zboch. Bobby and Rhonda were an incredible encouragement to me and aid in times of need. A true extension to my family and just wonderful all-around people. Eben, their son, who let me crash on his couch my first month in LA rent-free and helped me land on my feet as I hurled myself across the country into this abyss, who bought me my first In-N-Out burger when I hopped off the plane.
Barney Burman, who gave me my first job out here in Los Angeles. He was the first in this industry to believe in me and hired me to direct my first animated short film – an intro and outro for his feature-length, “Wild Boar”. Who connected me with so many others who have taught me along the way, and continue to be like a father to me, giving me a lifetime of advice.
My animation/film community shares this journey with me, shares ideas with me, and shares experiences with me. And finally, God, who. gives me the strength to wake up every day and face this world with purpose.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @Studio.Pinch
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/HannzMulligan
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy9pLLfRWlLSPIDAFcoMa2w
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
