After years of living in California as research and development supervisor for DreamWorks Animation, Marty Sixkiller hasn’t lost any passion for his home state of Louisiana.
Sixkiller, a University alumnus, discussed the different aspects of the animation industry with participants at the Louisiana Entrepreneurship Day downtown Friday.
He noted the importance of professional networking and risk taking when building a career in the animation industry as he explained how his career evolved since graduating from the University in 1992, where he earned a bachelor of fine arts in graphic design.
After working locally as a computer artist at Video Park, he said he left Louisiana to follow his dreams.
“I said ‘I gotta do this,'” Sixkiller recalled. “I swore I’d never leave Baton Rouge, and I fire.”
Sixkiller has worked on 24 animated projects and said DreamWorks is working on 10 films right now for the next several years, with about 400 to 550 people working on each movie. Many employees work on multiple projects at a time.
The idea of starting an animation studio in Baton Rouge was a hot topic at the event, considering the recent boom of the local film industry.
“A company coming into Louisiana offering animation would allow [filmmakers] to finish a movie here,” Sixkiller said. “We already know you can shoot here, but we need digital effects that would attract great.”
Phyllis Sims, attorney with Kean Miller LLP, explained the elements behind the Louisiana motion picture and digital media incentives to attendees.
Sims said those incentives are the reason large numbers of filmmakers choose to work in Baton Rouge.
“Companies have to file an application with the state Office of Entertainment if you want your project to be qualified as a state certified project,” Sims said.
 
____
Contact Morgan Searles at [email protected]