We recently connected with Paige Powell-Revis and have shared our conversation below.

Paige, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Running a virtual animation company was learned completely through experience and independent research. The college I attended for my BA in Cinema & Media Arts Production did not have an animation department at the time, but I knew I was interested in the medium. Throughout my time in college, I followed tutorials and listened to podcasts that focused on the animation industry as a whole. I also took every opportunity that came my way to participate in student or indie projects to gain experience. By far the most helpful resources were industry mentors who graciously donated their time to answer all of my questions, provide new resources, and point me in the right direction for the next steps in my learning journey.

2020 provided the time for me to learn how to become a business owner through the same methods that I used in college to learn animation and CG arts. I felt like I was prepared for the artistic side of the industry, but running a business came with hurdles and learning curves that I had to navigate on my own. Knowing what I know now I’m not sure there was much more I could have done to speed up the learning process, other than starting earlier. Knowing the artistic side of the industry has been helpful in my Producing and vice versa, but it took me 10 years to get where I am today.

The skill that I recommend for success, especially in entertainment is discipline. Be ready for the grind! The film school that I attended for two years was only fifteen minutes away from Disneyland. I could actually hear the fireworks from my dorm room. It was always my intention to get a year pass and spend a lot of time there, but I never did. Every weekend of my time in college I was on set or in an editing bay learning my craft. That hyper-focus is what got me to where I am today.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Ever since I was a little kid I was intrigued about how movies, TV shows and animations are made. I followed my passion for movie magic by attending the Cinema and Media Arts program at Biola University, where I majored in live-action filmmaking with an emphasis on production. Part way through the program I decided to turn my focus to the animation side of the industry, which I thought would be easy because it’s all entertainment. As it turned out, it was extremely difficult. Just about every application at an animation studio requires 2+ years of experience for entry-level positions. At the time I thought “There must be some kind of in-between or learning studio to gain that experience,” but there was not. Other students that I spoke with at industry mixers were having the same problem. This stuck with me for several years as I gained experience in other ways to get where I am today.

When COVID-19 hit in 2020, most of the industry was shut down for quarantine. I lost work at my day job, so I decided to use the extra time to form the studio that I needed when I was transitioning into the industry, Imhapie LLC. A friend of mine from college, Christian Haynes, suggested we work on his animated series, Zack In Time, which was a perfect project to launch Imhapie into existence. The famous quote from the film Feild of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come” rang true for us. Four years since Imhapie began we have helped over 100 creatives on our project. Some of them even went on to intern or have successful careers at major studios like Nickelodeon and Dreamworks.

This year I am focusing on helping even more people through Imhapie with the development of a new series and adding courses, mentorships and merchandise that will help fund our productions. This way students have the option to apply for a position on one of our shows or keep learning from us at their own pace. Imhapie is truly something that I needed when I was starting my journey, and I am thrilled to launch these new programs and share all of the information that I compiled over the last 10 years.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

First and foremost, people need to educate themselves on the use of AI in art and other creative mediums. As an artist, I know I cannot compete with a computer that delivers a fully rendered, Pixar-style image in seconds. The speed here greatly devalues the piece, as well as societal appreciation for the process of art as a whole. The programs that generate art use images and data from real human artists without their permission. The original artist is never compensated for the influence of their creations, making AI a form of artistic identity theft. People who type in prompts to a computer are not artists, but destroyers of the future of original, human-made art.

Second, it is important to follow artists that you like and buy from them directly or shop at local art fairs. Many of the printed images sold on sites like Amazon are also used without the permission of the original creator. Art theft has become an astronomical problem that most of the public does not realize, and actual artists are really struggling because of this.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I was gifted a book called “The Way Up” by Donald J. Hurzeler, and it is perfect for any ambitious individual ready to hit the ground running in their career. I read it about a year ago and I got a lot of good information out of it, even though I am already quite deep in my career. Another great book is “Creativity Inc” by Ed Catmull. I try to apply the “yes, and” mentality to all of my creative work and it’s solved problems that I might not have accomplished due to self-doubt or not asking someone else for their thoughts. My other two favorites, mostly for inspiration and encouragement are “One Little Spark” and “Dream It, Do It” both by Marty Sklar.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imhapie.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imhapie/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/imhapie.official/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zack-in-time/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/zack_in_time
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@imhapie

Image Credits
Luke Scribner, Shea Beck