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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, January 25, 2013 · 22 Your heart must be in it, Sheridan grad says By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Professionals in the animation industry say there are a countless number of varying jobs an animator can do besides drawing. Robert Koo, a Sheridan College graduate who has been in the animation field for 25 years and is currently working at DreamWorks Studios, including having a major role in the creation of Madagascar 3, has done many of those jobs. However, he wants people ­ especially those considering entering the field ­ to know that no matter what task you do, you must love being an animator. "I always think there's two types of people that want to go into animation, those who really love it and those who are just fans. I think the fans will be the ones most disappointed because their heart's not really in it," the 45-year-old said. Like in many other industries, Koo said the animation world can be full of heartache and only those who truly love it will be able to get through it. The heartaches he talks about are not different from other occupations. There will be people who will try to take your job at your expense and there are scams out there directed at those looking to find work, he said. The people who's hearts aren't in it, he said, will be miserable and they will bring down those around them. "Any film industry, people will tell you, it'll suck the life out of you unless you really love it," Koo said. So how has he lasted for 25 years? He simply loves it. Koo, who originally hails from Scarborough and still has family living in the area, has loved to draw from a young age. But he almost didn't pursue an animation career. With parental pressure to pursue a more stable career than becoming an artist, Koo considered studying architecture. It was his best friend, however, who convinced him to do what truly makes him happy. "Against all my fears, I decided to study animation and went to Sheridan. I never regretted it since," he said. At Sheridan he learned the skills he would need to pursue his career. He still remembers his days in the program, which, back then was a three-year college diploma program. It has since changed to a four-year university degree. "It was very interesting. Back in those days, it was very improvisational. What I remember the most about Sheridan College back then is that it was the students that really brought a lot to the table. The teachers Artscene submitted photo let's animate: Sheridan College Animation graduate Robert Koo is pictured here at the north California DreamWorks Studio working on Madagascar 3. were there to support but I think it was really the passion of the students that made it," he said. Koo said he was impressed by the passion Over the last few weeks, The Oakville Beaver has explored the award-winning Animation bachelor's degree program at Sheridan College. of his fellow students and the self-created school environment. A similarity with the current-day animation program from his days is the long hours Part 3 of 3 students could be expected to spend on creating their films. He commuted every day from Scarborough to Oakville. When he didn't leave the school early enough to catch the train, he would have to spend the night at school. "Fortunately, it didn't happen to me too often and if it did I would either crash at my desk or crashed with a friend," he said. Koo was also fortunate to get hired at a studio in the summer right after his first year. He spent that summer at Toronto-based Nelvana Studios, a children's production company, where he working on the show Ewoks, which is based on Star Wars. He returned the following summer. Before completing his final year, Koo was hired by another studio and he was able to complete his diploma requirements on the job. He was hired by Sullivan Bluth Studios in Ireland where he worked for almost five years. In 1992, he returned to Toronto where he took a job at a friend's animation studio that worked on contract productions. "It was probably the most fun I had working. It was a small studio of four or five artists and one or two assistants. It was hilarious," he said. When his friend closed the studio several years later and went to work at DreamWorks in southern California, Koo went to Pacific Data Images (PDI) in northern California, a company that has since become part of DreamWorks. PDI, now DreamWorks north, is headquartered in Redwood City and for the past 15 years or so, Koo has lived in the area. When he joined the company, he worked as a storyboard artist on Antz, and then Shrek. Following that, he worked on a number of productions including Chicken Run, Madagascar and Madagascar 2, Kung Fu Panda and Kung Fu Panda 2 and many others, including films that were never released. "I've dabbled in a lot of different things, ranging from television posing, to clean up artist. I worked as an animator. I worked as a rough in-betweener, and a lot of different things, even layout artist. The only thing I haven't done is background painting. I've dabbled in quite a lot of things but I find storyboarding is my real passion," he said. "I love storytelling. I love the whole process of the planning aspect of the movie. That's where a lot of the creative control lies. I like the other creative aspects of it, but as a storyboardist, you're looking at the whole picture." See Success page 23