Jose Alejandro Garcia Munoz Animation Producer and Artist. gamanimation@gmail.com Summary Jose Alejandro Garcia Muñoz is an experienced animation creator working to develop, produce and market original animated properties for niche audiences; made in Mexico. Originally trained as a character animator in Canada and the United States, his career rapidly evolved through the ranks acquiring responsibilities as a CG artist, Art Director, Animation Director and eventually a Director for films and TV. Convinced that the future of the Mexican animation industry depends on its ability to develop and market original intellectual properties, he became a producer and founded Gama Animation to create those properties. Specialties IP Development for Entertainment, Animation Production, Film Production, Transmedia Production, Video Game Production, Project Management, Story Design, Film Direction, Storyboarding, Character Animation, CG Animation, Hand Drawn Animation, Flash Animation. Experience Owner/ Head of IP Development at Gama Animation Studios April 2009 - Present (3 years 3 months) As an independent animation producer, I've created, developed and pitched original properties designed to reach niche audiences, and collaborated with larger Mexican studios on projects meant to reach international markets. Animation Director at Kaxan Media Group - Kaxan Games December 2010 - April 2011 (5 months) During the company's first production of an animated film; I was recruited as the Animation Director. In that role, I built the animation pipeline and led a novice team into delivering all sequences on time for a very tight deadline. Animation Director at Anima Estudios July 2010 - December 2010 (6 months) During the studio's first time collaborating with a major Hollywood studio, I was in charge of leading the Mexican animation team facing the challenge to match the quality demanded by Warner Bros. Studying Hanna Barbera's history and techniques, we enforced a limited animation approach that not only satisfied Warner, but it also meant we delivered one week ahead of schedule. Freelance Character Modeler at Anima Estudios February 2009 - June 2009 (5 months) Page1
Francisco Herrera came up with a remarkably graphic take as he updated Top Cat's character design. This posed an intriguing challenge when I was brought in to translate the characters into 3D models. I ended up respecting the proportions determined by the drawings, and added a selective hard edge finish to interpret the angular nature of the design. Ultimately, the sophistication of the CG look was highly praised but the project was to be made as a 2D film due to budgetary constraints. Director at Anima Estudios October 2008 - February 2009 (5 months) El Chavo's production invited me to be a guest director on the show for an episode. As an ongoing series there was no time to experiment without the risk of delaying the next episodes. Therefore, as I received the locked script I looked for the most efficient and entertaining way to make it cinematic. That way, the network green lit the episode immediately upon review without any notes. Director at Anima Estudios August 2007 - October 2008 (1 year 3 months) The opportunity to direct for the first time arrived with: A locked script and an in-house staff already committed to other projects. The challenge was to produce a 48 minute, hand drawn animated film without proper infrastructure for the technique, in 11 months and with only 3 persons assigned : A line producer, art director and the director. Outsourcing to a Chilean studio, and building a vast network of freelancers; we staffed the production. Then we devised systems to keep track of the delivery and approval for all the offsite work. As a result we delivered a film on budget and to the complete satisfaction of the co-production partner. CGI Artist & Animator at Anima Estudios January 2005 - August 2007 (2 years 8 months) The studio's first extensive use of 3D assets and animation relied on a small 2-3 artist team. I was tasked to do most of a 5 minute long action sequence. For that, I developed the shader treatment, and overall look of the CG, as well as the animation. Happily, the sequence turned out to be featured as the highlight of the film. Character Animator at Imagination Films January 2007 - April 2007 (4 months) Imagination's first foray into animated film-making. I was recruited as one of the first character animators for the film's development. I did tests and assisted in rigging characters, while satisfying the demanding quota required by the initial phase of the production. Courses Independent Coursework Robert McKee's STORY Seminar Page2
Joe Murray's "Crafting a Cartoon" Master Class Joe Murray's "Creating and Pitching Animated Series" Master Class Schoolism's Digital Painting with Bobby Chiu Schoolism's The Artist Master Class with Jason Seiler Skills & Expertise Intellectual Property Development Entertainment Project Management Animation Production Film Production Television Production Transmedia Production Storytelling Production Film Direction Animation Cartoons Character Animation SHOTGUN Software Flash Animation Languages English Spanish (Native or bilingual proficiency) (Native or bilingual proficiency) Education Diploma, Entertainment Business Management, 2011-2012 Animation Mentor.com Advanced Studies in Character Animation, 2005-2006 Diploma, Digital Character Animation (Maya), 2003-2003 Diploma, Classical Animation (2D), 2002-2003 Page3
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Jose Alejandro Garcia Munoz Animation Producer and Artist. gamanimation@gmail.com 3 people have recommended Jose Alejandro "I got to work with JAGM when we were working on an animated feature film at Anima Estudios. He's a very hardworking person, as an animation director he's pretty much one of the best the studio's had. He cares a lot about the animation quality, always encouraging the other animators to push it a little further. When checking our animations he always remained professional and displayed a strong knowledge of animation principles. One of my first impressions of him was that he recognizes talent when he sees it. If he knows you're good, he'll tell you you can do better and bring out the best in you. He not only improved our work but he also helped the less talented animators to improve their skills. There's no doubt he knows what he's doing. Sometimes you'd see him walking around with animation books in his hands or just telling you random facts about what's going on in the industry at the moment. Definitely a very knowledgable fellow. Overall he's a great person to work with." Renée Chio O'Shea, Flash Animator, Anima Estudios, reported to Jose Alejandro at Anima Estudios "me toco participar junto con en el Imagiantion Films y aparte de ser un buen compañero y muy dedicado en su trabajo,es un excelente animador que se destaco a mi parecer se netre muchos que tambien venian de varias escuelas en canada y de tambien tomar los cursos de mentor,su trabajo fue excelente en su estadia en ese Estudio y tambien se destaco por compartir sus conocimientos para la mejora de el equipo...altamete lo recomiendo y confio en su trabajo" Luis Alvarado, Owner, 3DWORKS, worked directly with Jose Alejandro at Imagination Films "I studied with Jose at VFS and we not only stayed in contact as good friends but also professionally for inspiration, feedback and advice. Jose is a great and inspiring animator with a wide range of different skills. What he doesn t know yet, he is eager to learn. He is passionate and dedicated to his job and his enthusiasm and team-player-abilities make him a great motor for every production. I would highly recommend him and hope to work with him again some day" Julia Goehle, Student,, studied with Jose Alejandro at Contact Jose Alejandro on LinkedIn Page5