Today we’d like to introduce you to Garrett Lewis, Katie Low, and Ben Girmann.
The Animation Happy Hour was started in order to democratize information and help provide students and young professionals with the tools and practical knowledge they need to break into the animation industry. The three hosts, Garrett, Katie, and Ben met organically when working at DreamWorks and Disney and found that they had many shared struggles and experiences in their journeys from students to professionals. The three of them bonded over their shared philosophy for what it takes to have a successful career in animation and would often chat about what they wish they had known as students. Eventually, after realizing that all three of them were independently spending a good portion of their time repeatedly writing the same sorts of emails giving practical advice to students and young professionals, they decided to team up to compile their shared knowledge and present it in an easily accessible form–a podcast!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The biggest challenge we set for ourselves was making sure each episode focuses on a specific topic that is immediately useful for a student and/or young professional to learn about. There are a lot of great podcasts out there that interview prominent figures within the industry, and follow a more biographical format, so we wanted to distinguish ourselves by having practical, topic-based episodes.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
The Animation Happy Hour releases one episode per month, and each episode focuses on a specific subject that can range from applying to jobs to a day in the life of an animation professional and more.
What were you like growing up?
Garrett Lewis (‘13 NYU, Tisch School of the Arts) is a character animator currently working at Walt Disney Animation Studios. He has worked as an animator for various games, visual effects, and feature films including Raya and the Last Dragon, Frozen 2, How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, and Abominable. Garrett grew up in Connecticut and loves to surf, work on personal projects, and eat his way around the world. Katie Low (‘12 Harvard, ‘17 SCAD) is currently a character animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios. In the past, Katie has worked as a stop motion intern at LAIKA and production assistant at both Blue Sky Studios and WDAS. Her credits include Raya and the Last Dragon, Frozen 2, Ralph Breaks the Internet, and The Story of Ferdinand. She’s a Philly native who loves birdwatching in Griffith Park, donuts, and running. Ben Girmann (‘12 UD, ‘16 SCAD) is a character animator at Walt Disney Animation. His credits include Raya and the Last Dragon, How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Abominable, and Trolls World Tour. Before working at Disney, Ben spent time at DreamWorks, Blue Sky, Laika, Hornet, and Psyop. He’s from Dayton, Ohio, and loves spicy food, his cats, and drawing.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: animationhappyhour.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/animationhappyhour/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq4clWFRgoGc4ahruMzAexw
