From Woodbury to DreamWorks Animation, Alumnus Shares his Story
A recent graduate of Woodbury鈥檚 Animation Program (鈥�19), Andrew Arcilla is reveling in his role as Production Assistant at DreamWorks Animation, currently working on the television series, Fast and Furious: Spy Racers.
With internships being a requirement to graduate, Andrew secured the DreamWorks job after interning at the studio. Encouraged to apply for internships early on, he also interned at Warner Bros. and was a staffer at Creative Talent Network before that.
Andrew grew up fascinated with animation. 鈥淚 pretty much听watched and played everything,鈥� he says. 鈥淔rom all the major studios to听all the TV networks, the stories that听they shared helped me realize that anything can happen, just as long as you’re willing to really work for it.鈥�
When selecting a university, he says, 鈥淲oodbury seemed like an obvious choice. The university鈥檚 location in the heart of the industry, the fact that all of the Animation professors are or have been working professionals, and the size of the school, which felt just right in terms of professor accessibility and being part of a tight-knit community, were all draws for me.鈥�
Andrew explains that he hasn鈥檛 had just one mentor at Woodbury but a team of them. 鈥淭he faculty is like a tool belt,鈥� he says. 鈥淓veryone has different experiences and they’re always willing to help you grow in your career. So, in a sense, my mentor is the cumulative听Woodbury faculty.鈥�
While at Woodbury, Andrew points to his senior thesis film, made in collaboration with a fellow student, Hannah Garcia, as his proudest accomplishment. The film, Taylor the Latte Boy: The Animated Musical Spectacular,听has received awards for 鈥淏est Animation鈥� at the听Top Shorts Film Festival听and 鈥�1st Quarter Honorable Mention for Best Short Animation鈥� at the听Queen Palm Film Festival. 听It also was recently selected as a semi-finalist for the KCET 2020 Fine Cut competition, which will air the winners鈥� films.
Given his various gigs at some of the major players in the business, his universe of mentors is expanding. 鈥淭he animation industry seems to be all about its people,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檝e heard it described as a 鈥榖ig but small鈥� industry, and this oxymoron is oddly making more sense as time goes on. It鈥檚 a vast business, but somehow everyone in the community knows each听other.鈥�
All of which reinforces his view of animation as more people-dependent than silicon-dependent. 鈥淲ith advancements in technology,听the fact is, the animation industry is always changing,鈥� he says. 鈥淔rom traditional to computer animation, the medium is extremely versatile while always relying on听the same core principles. Technology isn鈥檛 in 鈥榯he driver鈥檚 seat.鈥� There are so many ways one can animate, and the computer is a tool. Just because听the screwdriver was invented听doesn’t mean the hammer automatically became听obsolete.鈥�
听Since graduating Andrew says he continues to grow, learn, and set himself up to become a producer, 鈥渄oing what I love, which is听helping people — in this case other artists — create their best work by providing them with administrative and听logistical support.鈥�
In addition, he has had the opportunity to return to Woodbury to teach an 鈥業nternship鈥� seminar class this past semester. 鈥淚t was great being able to give back to the Woodbury Community and share what I have learned over the years,鈥� he says. 鈥淥verall, the animation industry is full of amazingly nice and talented people which makes me hard-pressed to think of another field I would rather be a part of.鈥�
Looking back at his time at Woodbury, Andrew advises potential animation students 鈥渢o make friends and rely on your colleagues. They say networking is a huge part of getting work and the sooner you realize that the people in your classes can be your strongest advocates the better.鈥�