Episodic Director Tom Smith shares their ongoing love for the magic of animation, their experiences working at non-union studios, and their efforts as a Shop Steward to educate colleagues about their rights as Guild members.
Name: Tom Smith
Job Title: Episodic Director
Studio: Titmouse LA
Contact Info: stewards-titmouseLA@tag839.org
Tell us a little about yourself and your career journey.
I grew up loving animation, but I couldn’t go to an art school. I first got my foot in the door by using my business minor to get an executive internship at Cartoon Network during their live-action phase. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do, but it helped me begin making connections. One of those connections was Joe Murray, who graciously allowed me to be his intern on his Kickstarter series “Frog in a Suit” after showing him my own indie films and comics. From there, I went on to work as a Production Assistant at Stoopid Buddy Stoodios when it first opened in 2011. There I got to work in a wide variety of different roles and moved up quickly.
We tried to organize the studio with TAG in 2015, and although the effort was not a success, I learned a lot. In 2016, Joe Murray brought me on as a Storyboard Artist on Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling at Nickelodeon, which is how I joined TAG. My income literally doubled overnight, and I had healthcare for the first time! Even though I went on to work on a lot of non-union projects, I had a new understanding of my worth and my rights. After that I bounced around a variety of projects, from PBS to Fortnite to HBO. I didn’t land another union gig until I began working at Titmouse in 2020, but they’ve been my primary employer ever since.
What do you love most about working in animation?
I love the collaborative aspect of animation, where we all pool together our skills to make something bigger and better than anything we could achieve on our own. Seeing drawings come to life still hasn’t lost its magic for me, even though I’m a bit more hardened about the realities of being a working artist.
Why did you volunteer to serve as a Shop Steward?
When I went back to Stoopid Buddy Stoodios as a Storyboard Supervisor in 2019, a lot of my artists were very new to the industry, and I wanted to make sure that they didn’t make the same mistakes I did when I joined the studio in 2011. I did my best to create an informed and healthy working environment, and I really enjoyed taking on more of an “educator” role. When I finally landed my second Union job at Titmouse at the end of 2019, I was very excited to be back on a Union production. That enthusiasm led to the outgoing Steward at Titmouse asking me to fill the role, and it felt like a natural next step from what I was already doing.
As a Shop Steward, what are your priorities in helping TAG members at your studio?
My priorities are education and accessibility. Workers who don’t know their rights can be taken advantage of, and workers won’t ask for help if they don’t know who to talk to. I only just recently returned to Titmouse. Current employees can easily find me using the internal Google chat, and we can move the conversation to email or phone from there. I’m always happy to answer questions or discuss concerns, no matter how small.
Learn more about Tom at their website.
Follow them on most social media under the username @tomsmithcartoon.