IATSE Local 839 MAGAZINE - Spring 2019 - Issue 5 - Animation Guild quarterly

Aug 25, 2026

Uploaded by Patrick

IATSE Local 839 MAGAZINE (Spring 2019) is an Animation Guild quarterly issue focused on the working lives, creative craft, and industry representation of animation professionals. It includes sections covering on-the-job roles like background artists, after-hours transitions, and member features such as working mothers and unionizing guidance. Editorial content discusses artistic repetition and starting new cycles, and highlights the Bechdel Test and its “reverse” outcomes while encouraging creators to shape more inclusive storytelling.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages27

Reading Time1 h 8 min

AccessFree to download

Frame X Frame

From the President

Editor’s Note

Breaking into animation

On the Job

After Hours

Dialogue

Space Invaders

The Local

Social Hour

Art & Craft

Tribute

Calendar

Final Note

Features

Moms in Animation

If You Dream It

Web of Innovation

IATSE LOCAL 839 MAGAZINE SPRING 2019 ISSUE NO. 5 THE ANIMATION GUILD QUARTERLY MO M S IN ANIMATION / T HE HIDDEN WORLD SPRING 2019 Art in Progress ISSUE 05 CONTENTS 40 FRAME X FRAME 5 FROM THE PRESIDENT 7 EDITOR’S NOTE 8 FRAME X FRAME Breaking into animation 10 ON THE JOB Background artists 12 AFTER HOURS From ranch to studio 14 DIALOGUE Artists who do voices 16 SPACE INVADERS Berden in focus 18 THE LOCAL Unionizing 101 20 SOCIAL HOUR Members celebrate a new year 22 ART & CRAFT Nieves on art with a purpose 46 TRIBUTE 48 CALENDAR 50 FINAL NOTE The First Picket Line FEATURES 24 MOMS IN ANIMATION Juggling family and an animation career can be challenging—how do you balance both? We spoke with 15 women in the industry who shared their experiences as working mothers, reflecting on what they wished they had known and how to effectively support industry parents in the future. IF YOU DREAM IT How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World marks the end of the trilogy—one that follows Hiccup as he ages from pre-teen to family man. Many of the artists involved worked on all three films. Here, they share how technology has evolved over the course of the creative process. + Brick By Brick – The LEGO Movie 2’s + neWionndtieWronderful – Designing Wonder Park’s motley crew WEB OF INNOVATION What do you do when your producers say,“Make something I’ve never seen before”? You electrify the superhero world by creating a dynamic comic book universe on the big screen with the help of creative technological solutions. Enter Into the Spider-Verse. SPRING 2019 3 ON THE COVER Sketch of Hiccup drawn by Dean DeBlois, Director of How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. Additional artwork courtesy of DreamWorks Animation/ NBCUniversal. FROM THE PRESIDENT ON REPETITION & STARTING NEW CYCLES As animation artists and writers, we create life through our characters. The lion’s share allow us to derive inspiration from the voice actors’ performances. Our (not so) silent partners give us boatloads of lilts, falls, beats, and breaths to dig our pencils and styluses into. Capturing into all the nuances of reads requires attention to and repetition of the track. When we nail it—and we do, because Animation Guild members are the best in the world—the craft is felt, and our audience travels along the journey with us. Meanwhile, those phrases and lines spin around in our heads. For me, they tend to be from The Simpsons. There was a scene where Moe the bartender renovates the bar. He swings a sledgehammer at a here-to-fore never seen and there-to-fore never reappearing support pole in the middle of the tavern, accompanied by a lively “Hnn-dah!!” For weeks, my cubemate and I would declare,“Hnn-dah!!” at random moments. Ironically, the line never made it to air (ah, entertainment!), yet it remains in my brain a decade later. The line making the recent mental rounds is from “Springfield Splendor,“ where a deep male announcer’s voice thunders,“Bechdel Test FAIL!!!” while Lisa and Marge share a Comic-Con panel with Fun Home graphic novel artist Alison Bechdel. Although the test first appeared in 1985 in her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, crediting her friend Liz Wallace, it was new to me in 2017. For those likewise unfamiliar, the simple test measures the representation of women in a story using three questions: 1) Are there two female characters? 2) Do they have a conversation? 3) Is that conversation about something other than a male character? (Spoiler: Marge fails the Bechdel Test.) In 2004, actress Geena Davis asked an even more basic question: are there female characters? At an event in the early days of her organization See Jane ([seejane.org](seejane.org)), Davis described watching animated programs with her daughter where she noticed a dearth of female characters, even in the crowds. She noted that with this invisibility,“we’re showing children at the youngest

FAQs

What topics are covered in this Spring 2019 Issue 5 magazine?

The issue spans editorials and member sections including breaking into animation, on-the-job work, after-hours career paths, dialogue and voice artists, unionizing basics, and art-and-craft features. It also includes tribute, calendar, and final notes alongside multiple featured articles.

How does the magazine discuss creative process and repetition?

The president emphasizes that animators and writers bring characters to life through careful attention to track nuances and repetition. Proper repetition supports the craft so the audience can experience the journey as intended.

What is the Bechdel Test mentioned in the magazine, and why is it important?

The Bechdel Test uses three questions to measure how women are represented in stories: two female characters, whether they converse, and whether the conversation is about something other than a male character. The editorial notes that many stories fail the test and encourages creators to improve representation.

Aug 25, 2026

Uploaded by Patrick