Post Production Manager A Goodbread on Being True to Yourself

What’s your origin story?

Growing up I was really interested in animation and comic books. I’d constantly be drawing and making storyboards for my own little characters and stories.  My dad was REALLY into the X-Men (we even have the sweet Wolverine phone) and my older brother was also into comics and sci-fi. I really looked up to them and together they encouraged my love for the weird and for graphic novels.

After high school I had a stint as a graphic designer with an apparel company and decided to make that my major when I went to SCAD. While at my first college party I met my good friend who was majoring in animation and that blew my mind. I think I changed my major the next day! Near the end of my school career I interned at Adult Swim and their studio solidified that I had made the right call.

After graduating I spent some time working on props and characters for a few animated projects but when one of my gigs wrapped I actually ended up back at that apparel company. I hated it. So I sold all my stuff and took a chance on moving to Los Angeles to be where the work was (this was before work from home was an option). Turns out while there is work in LA, the competition is fierce, and I was struggling to find a gig with my art style. I ended up landing a production role on a revival of Beavis and Butt-Head and quickly moved to handling the scripts and recording sessions for the series.

When that project ended my boss told me “Spider-Man wants to talk to you.” I was really hoping to turn the corner and see someone in a full-blown costume sitting on top of the desk. Sadly no costume but I was offered another role on an animated Marvel project. I spent more time there at the recording studios and learning what made someone a good voice actor.

After a few years on that show Marvel started their own animation studio and since they had seen my work on the previous project, I was asked to help build the casting arm of their new studio. I served as the head of casting where I got to cast several projects and I even voice directed a few things. The job was amazing! I was back home surrounded by my comic people.

After several years at Marvel I moved to Nickelodeon Animation to try casting some different content. I had a blast working on some great properties there. I was even nominated for an Emmy for my casting on one of those shows. After a year or two I started to feel like I was missing my role as a casting executive and moved back into that position at Nick. Even after that change though, and despite all the great projects, it still felt like I was missing something, which is how I ended up at Skybound.

How did you come to work at Skybound?

I loved casting. It is such a rewarding job and you get to play in a great creative sandbox. But when I took a hard look at my career path I realized I was missing time with the rest of production. I missed talking shop about art and hanging out with editors. And even more I missed the world of comics!

I knew some people working at Skybound and so during my soul search I investigated the studio myself. I was really impressed with the properties and it seemed like everyone really liked working there. I reached out to have a meeting with some Skybound folks and I was honest about my path and future goals. Turns out I was what they were looking for in Post. It was the perfect fit for both parties.

Can you describe your role as Post Production Manager? 

I mainly work with the editors and assistant editors but there is cross over with the art teams, directors, executive producers, and vendors. All groups I am comfortable working with from my past experiences.

A lot of post management day to day is assuring we are receiving and exporting project pieces all while keeping an eye on the schedule. It sounds simple but when you have multiple projects all at various points of completion wires can get crossed very quickly and it’s my job to keep things on target. It’s kind of like if someone mixed a bunch of different puzzles together and then scattered the pieces all over the floor and told you you’ve got on hour to finish a particular puzzle from the group. But in this case the puzzle pieces range from audio clips, to drawings, VFX shots, and to even the credits.

I try to check in with the teams as often as possible to make sure they’re feeling supported. Deadlines can be a lot to manage and I am a strong believer in supporting my coworkers so I always try to be available for anyone who needs a hand.

There’s also a LOT more paperwork than I expected.

What do you like best about working at Skybound?

I like the vibe at Skybound. I’ve worked at a lot of places where it felt sterile and corporate. For a while I thought I was going to love the corporate world, but I kind of lost myself along the way. Skybound is way more open and relaxed to just being yourself. The work is still of course serious and needs to be held to a high standard, but there’s no politics to manage along with my daily workload.

I knew I was going to like it here when I read the new hire documents and the tone was the same way I prefer to talk to people I work with. A little dry humor and a lot of caring about the work being done. Maybe it’s just something about comic book nerds all having the same vibe.

What Skybound project are you proudest of?

Can I say Invincible? I know everyone wants to know when they are getting Season Two and let me just say — the work that’s being done is so worth the wait.

What are your favorite Skybound titles?

I’m a terrible gamer. I pick up one game for about three months and then for the other nine months in the year I wander off and forget about trying new games. But I have to say Stray really got a hold of me. I prefer puzzle games and who doesn’t like robots and cats?

When it comes to our comic titles I’m torn for a favorite.

I really like Invincible. The comic has so many fun references that I love to catch when I’m reading it. When the show came out I hadn’t read the comic yet so I didn’t know the story. At first glance I wasn’t sure if the show was going to be for me but it’s so good! And I love the messages in the stories. It’s deeper than “just some cartoon” or “just another superhero comic.”

I’m also going to stan for Creepshow. First of all, spooky stories? Yes, please! But what I like about the series is that it used multiple creators to tell the different stories. While I’m sure we all have our favorite artist, writer, colorist, and letterer it’s always great to be exposed to someone you wouldn’t normally pick up if you’re stuck on one particular run of a specific series. I’m excited for the next release!

What else do you nerd out over?

Cosplaying is a trip. When you see another person in a cosplay of one of your favorite properties it opens the door for conversation, when maybe in the normal world it’s hard to start a conversation. Some of my best friends are my cosplay siblings. It was through the accepting nerd community and the freedom of cosplaying that I was able to become more comfortable with my gender identity and self-expression.

I still have my list of goal cosplays that I can only hope one day I’ll get to. The film version of Marvin the Paranoid Android from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is such a great character so I’d love to bring him to life. And my white whale is to do the one-man band version of Bert from Mary Poppins. Just picturing the spectacle really amuses me.

Do you have any advice for someone considering a career in your field?

I would say always be your most true authentic self. It can be easy to fall into thinking you have to fit into a particular rigid box to get ahead in your career and it’s so exhausting to have that mindset. I’ve always been myself when talking to my coworkers and my clients. I think everyone appreciates my candid honesty and maybe a little dry humor here and there. We’re all just people doing the best we can at a job we love, so be excellent to each other. And never read the comments online.