Takeover Tuesday with Hannah Churn
Introducing our new series…Takeover Tuesday; an opportunity to speak with outside creatives to gain their unique insight on industry going-ons, current events, and their own personal experiences. We’re kicking off with Hannah Churn! Hannah is an art director and animator for Duke & The Duck.
Q&A with Hannah Churn
Read time: 5 min
Animation by Hannah Churn
Why did you choose your profession? How did you go about starting out?
My mom had access to Flash (then Macromedia!) at her job when I was a kid, she told me you could make cartoons with it and it blew my ten-year-old brain. I started off in the industry doing 3D character animation. I wanted to do 2D, but my drawing skills at the time weren’t that great and the motion graphics that we know today hadn’t really taken off. With practice over time, my drawing skills improved, and I soon found myself tooling around in After Effects.
What does Women’s History Month mean to you? Why is it personally significant in 2021, particularly?
Women’s History Month, to me, means giving the space and creating platforms for women to share their stories; making them more accessible, and having their voices heard. When I transitioned from 3D character animation to motion graphics, my first task was watching all the AE tutorials I could find. The more I watched, the more I realized there were zero women making them. It was so hard - then - to find other women who were in the motion graphics field. I ended up finding a few from a motion graphics blog that highlighted ten women in the field at the time, giving them a platform to amplify their voices.
What do you love most about what you do? What would you change?
I love evoking emotion from the animations I work on. If I can get someone to laugh out loud or feel the feels, it means I’ve been able to visually communicate a story well.
Honestly, I’m not sure if there are any big things I would change, I really enjoy what I do. If Adobe could update their icons of the main apps I use to another color than purple, that’d be swell...
“I love evoking emotion from the animations I work on. If I can get someone to laugh out loud or feel the feels, it means I’ve been able to visually communicate a story well.”
Tell me about a woman you look up to and why.
I’m not sure if I have just one woman I look up to, but more of a collective from over the years. They’ve helped me find my voice, to advocate for myself, and inspire me to be a better person. I was quite the quiet wall-flower at the beginning of my career, and because of them, I feel so much more comfortable stepping up to speak my mind.
U ST FOODIE illustration by Hannah Churn.
What’s the best career (or life) advice you have ever received?
Don’t value your work just by the hour, but by all of the time that you’ve put into it. I went to an event once where a guy talked about how working for an hourly rate was not great. He said, “Why should we get paid less for something, just because someone else could do it faster?” I don’t know why I never thought of it that way until that moment, but it’s always stuck.
Do you have any advice for young women first starting out in this industry?
Find groups that will help support you in your journey. They’re full of resources, tips, and job postings! Panimation is an excellent one for the motion graphics community.
Do you currently prioritize your work-life balance? If so, how?
Yes! I’m very thankful to be at a studio that values it as well. They’re really good about scheduling projects and adjusting if there are any changes, so projects don’t become a crunch time-thing. Even if it’s switching my work screen for Netflix, taking breaks, and prioritizing time for myself - it’s so important. I also have limited notifications on my devices so I’m not constantly distracted.
“watching content that is different from the motion world helps to open up new perspectives and inspire.”
What barriers are women still facing in the industry? How do you think they can go about breaking them down?
Leading creative decisions. While there are more women than before at the creative director and art director level, there are not as many as their male counterparts. Leading a project can also involve staffing the project, not having diverse creative leads can lead to the less likeness of hiring additional diverse creative staff. Studios need to break away from hiring the people they know for creative leadership positions and make sure that their applicant roster is diverse (not only in gender). Male creative leads need to also make sure their roster of freelance talent is diverse and just not solely a collection of other male friends.
Where do you go for inspiration?
I love checking Goodmoves.tv for a dose of daily awesome motion. Lately, I’ve been enjoying watching live-action short films. I’m not sure if it’s because they’re shorter formats, but I feel like the stories are more unique and interesting - or maybe I just have a short attention span. Watching content that is different from the motion world helps to open up new perspectives and inspire.
Do you have any closing advice, points, or statements you would like to make?
I’m so excited and thankful to have moments like this, where women’s voices are highlighted. Thank you, Dash Studio, for creating this space for women to share their stories and advice.