We recently connected with Janice Seungmee Rim and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Janice, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the best boss, mentor, or leader you’ve ever worked with.

I consider myself lucky to have worked with a lot of nice people in my animation career, but the one who stands out the most is David M. Rodriguez, my then Storyboard Revision Supervisor at Titmouse New York. Dave and I first met at Nickelodeon when I was a Story Revisionist, and he was a Story Artist temporarily helping while waiting for another show at Titmouse to get green-lit. In contrast to his quiet, tough New Yorker exterior, he had a personally of a sweet teddy bear that made him so easy to befriend. When time came for him to return to Titmouse, I basically pulled the “Puss in Boots” eyes and asked to take me along. Out of the goodness of his heart, he gave me a chance to take a story test, which were rare to come across back then, and luckily it led to a job offer.

Though I was happy to join Dave’s team, I had one looming concern: the new job required working in a program called Storyboard Pro, which I was not familiar with yet. (Imagine hiring a seamstress who never worked a sewing machine. The seamstress herself was very concerned!) However, Dave didn’t bat an eye and assured me, “You’re smart, I can teach you on the job, and I know you’ll catch on.” So not only was he my boss, but also, voluntarily, my teacher—training me a skill set that I now consider a lifeline. I was so green in those days, and made a lot of rookie mistakes, but Dave was always incredibly patient and sweet. I’m really thankful that I had met such a kind boss, teacher, and friend as Dave in the early days of my career. It meant a lot to know that someone believed in my abilities more than I did, and took the time to see me grow.

Janice, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

As a kid, I ritually watched the VHS tape of The Little Mermaid (1989) after school. One particular day, I let the tape roll past the end credits and was surprised to see a bonus feature of how the animated film was made. Full-grown adults were drawing with their pencil on paper, coloring my favorite characters, and recording songs that were my anthem! It was like they were taking me behind the curtain to show how the magic trick was done, yet, I was even more enchanted than before. That’s when I first wanted to be in animation.

At New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, I made a few animated shorts and quickly realized that my favorite part of filmmaking was storyboarding—the first step in translating words on a script to a visual drawing with characters and backgrounds. It’s quite challenging because there’s a lot of creative choices a storyboard artist has to make as the actor, set dresser, cinematographer, and director of any given scene. However, it’s also undeniably rewarding when you crack the code and find a way to best tell a story.

It’s a dream come true to have storyboarded and contributed to the animation of studios like Disney, Nickelodeon, and Apple. (I’ve become like those full-grown adults I saw in the VHS tape!) But just as the arts are always evolving, so do I want to keep evolving as a storyteller. In that spirit, I’ve recently ventured working as a Story Director at Studio Smokescreen, and am learning to develop and pitch a screenplay under the mentorship of Women In Animation. I’m finding this time of trying different roles and crafts exciting, because it keeps me inspired to continue telling stories in my favorite medium, animation.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Working in animation, I quickly learned that most jobs are short term, and the next opportunity often relies on who do I know—making networking a necessity. Oh, woe is me. Since my university days of attending mixers, I have been that person who hardly talked to anyone, and if I did talk, it was entirely awkward or too desperate. You’d think it would get better with age or experience, but nope, not the case for me. So I turned to a book called, “HBR Guide to Smarter Networking” by the Harvard Business Review. It sounds silly to admit that I learned my interpersonal skills through a book, but it was a game changer.

I learned that the more you know who you are, the better the conversationalist you become. Previously, when asked about myself, I only had short answers that landed flat, prompting no further questions. I think it was due to a lack of self understanding. To change that, I studied who I am and what I am about: what do I like, what are my strong opinions, what are my favorite anecdotes, etc. After building a mental catalog of short stories that shine a light to the person I am, confidence came as a bonus. Of course, not every talking point will be shared at each interaction, but it feels secure knowing that I’ve got some good ones up my sleeve.

Secondly, I began to regard networking as a game, setting points for how far I got to engage with a person; one point for the introductions, two points for finding something in common, ten points if we shared a laugh! This perspective reduced my fear of striking up a conversation, and that weird pressure to impress the other person. I began putting more value to each milestone I was reaching with a connection, rather than simply hoping they can help my career. It’s a simple trick that shifted my networking experience to be much more pleasant. Occasionally, when I don’t hit it off with someone, it’s just considered as one failed round of a game. Reset, try again, and eventually, I’ll level up. I can’t say I’ve been completely cured of my awkward small talk, but it’s no longer a hurdle for me to reach out and build connections with people in the industry.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Yes, absolutely. My current goal is to work on a project that tells a Korean story. There are moments, after I put the pen down at the end of the workday, when I think that I’m dedicating a large part of my life and best efforts to create an animated series. Yet, I feel a lack of fulfillment when I think the work I’m producing is not reaching and representing people like myself, a Korean descent.

It would be delightfully enriching to tell the folk tales that taught my friends and me to behave, draw the village-sized dishes that my grandmother used to cook, and share the beautiful, communal sensibilities of my people. How wonderful would it be to work on a project that I can pour myself into the characters, and feel acknowledged that my identity is a story worth telling. Hence, I’m endeavoring to work on scripts and development pitches of my own, and networking with those who have paved the way for more diverse stories. You can say that I’m looking forward to the future.     

Contact Info:

• Website: https://janicesrim.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seungm2/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janicesrim/