In this modern age, when film is one of the largest industries of Louisiana’s economy, it can be hard to realize award-winning films are made in places other than Los Angeles and New York. In fact, large-scale film production is happening all over the country. In recent years, companies like Moonbot Studios have been expanding the influence of Louisiana in the film world.
In late 2009, Moonbot Studios was founded in Shreveport. The brainchild of artists William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg and business manager Lampton Enochs, Moonbot was established to give talented animators the opportunity to produce amazing stories.
In 2011, the creative duo of Joyce and Oldenburg was presented with the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for its first major work “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.”
“We knew that we needed to create something right out of the gate that we could call our own,” Oldenburg said. “We dove headfirst into the creation of our first production with the intention to use it like a calling card. Like, ‘Hey, this is Moonbot. This is what we are all about. This is the kind of quality that you can expect from us.’” 
Since then, Oldenburg has endeavored to innovate in the way people tell stories.
Moonbot’s productions following “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” have included commercials (“The Scarecrow” for Chipotle), books (“The Mischievians”), a video game (“Diggs Nightcrawler”), and even apps for iPhones (“The Numberlys”).
“We wanted to tell stories in any medium that we could, and more importantly to tell stories in a successful way for us to be able to tell more stories,” Oldenburg said.
Oldenburg said everyone’s path to success is unique, and that students who want to become a part of the film industry should strive to gain as much experience in as many different facets of the business as possible.
“Most people would call them distractions. I call them opportunities in disguise,” Oldenburg said.
Oldenburg said the best thing to do for someone looking for experience is to learn as much as they can about many different aspects of the business because every bit of knowledge will expand a skill set.
Though many people may not consider Shreveport to be a film city, Oldenburg said there have been many unexpected benefits to working there.
“Its great to have a small town that just loves having you here. A lot of good positive vibes are going around here,” Oldenburg said.
“We wanted to tell stories in any medium that we could, and more importantly to tell stories in a successful way for us to be able to tell more stories.”