By Ysabel Cacho
For most students, weekend mornings usually consist of waking up, switching on the television and watching their favorite cartoon show. For SCAD students, however, this meant heading down to the Gutstein Gallery at 11:30 a.m. to watch guest speakers from their favorite network, Nickelodeon, talk about working behind the famous slime.
In spite of some technical glitches in the first couple of minutes, Jenna Boyd, senior vice president of animation development and Eric Robles, creator of “Fanboy and Chum Chum” covered many topics ranging from how they started working for (or in their case, with) Nickelodeon to what they looked for in an animation and in an animator to networking.
Boyd started out as an intern for Nickelodeon in Orlando, Florida during her years as a college student before working as a full-time employee. Throughout her stay in Nickelodeon, she has managed every kind of television show produced: live action, TV movies, and animation just to name a few. She mentioned that she worked as an executive for the hit TV show “Avatar” and was quick to add, “But not the movie” — much to the relief of many audience members.
Eric Robles, on the other hand, graduated from high school with the intent of becoming a law enforcer. Growing up, he frequently passed by the studios of Nickelodeon, and each time he walked by, it fueled his desire to work for the network. He eventually got his big break in animation when one of his teachers at school saw his work and offered to phone in his sister-in-law, who worked in animation. Through his positive thinking and persistence, he eventually went from being intern to an employee at Nickelodeon within the span of one week.
It was easy to tell that both Boyd and Robles absolutely loved their job, describing that particular love as the “magic of Nickelodeon”. Robles shared with audience members that his crew is required to have Nerf Guns at work and that a typical conversation at the office may not be discussing taxes but rather which fart to use for a certain scene.
Although the panel tackled many issues on animation, there were topics and advice, which still appealed to students who were not majoring in that particular field. One advice in particular, which was frequently repeated all throughout the morning, was to make use of opportunities. Boyd used Robles as an example, citing that it was his persistence in leaving his drawings all over the directors’ desks that got him his golden opportunity to show his work. Boyd and Robles also advised audiences to send their works online or to festivals such as the Savannah Film Festival to get their work publicized.
Many hands were up in the air during the Question and Answer portion, eagerly waiting to be called. Before even asking questions, some students gushed about how much they loved Nickelodeon and how thrilled they were to have the network at panel. Throughout the Question and Answer segment, Boyd and Robles stressed on the importance of making a deep and emotional connection with the audience as well as knowing and respecting what that particular audience wants. They also elaborated on the various projects at Nickelodeon such as Nickelodeon shorts and the Nick Artist Fellowship.
Creation, dedication and a passion for storytelling are just some of the ingredients used when working behind the slime.
