Meet Jack Geckler | Animator & Crowds Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jack Geckler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jack, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I like to think I’ve made calculated risks in my life and career, but in the end, a risk is a chance or a leap of faith. All of those sum up how I managed to get my start in my career. My first risk was leaving a steady job at Disney in entertainment back in the mid-’90s working at what was MGM Studios in Orlando but now called the Hollywood Studios. I left that job to go back to school to take a chance on a new career field called computer animation at a school that was local to me in Orlando, Full Sail University. The school had just started the program and I was part of one of the initial classes taking it. I knew I had a love for movies, computers, and entertainment and wanted a way to bring all those loves together. The idea of getting to work on a huge Hollywood blockbuster seemed so far-fetched for someone living in Florida but I knew I wanted more out of life so took the leap of faith. Fast forward to graduating and then sticking around the college for a few more years helping teach what I had just learned I realized that teaching wasn’t why I went to school and If I truly wanted to make my dream happen I was going to have to put myself in the best position I could to get a job in the industry. At the time in the early 2000’s, this meant moving to Los Angeles, CA, and being in the thick of it and surrounded by all the top VFX studios, Animation Studios, and Game Studios. Once again, I took a risk and in late 2003 I packed up my car and drove across the country by myself to try and make that dream a reality. I was lucky enough to have a friend who was already living in LA and had offered me a couch to sleep on while I got established. I had only $1200 to my name and a willingness to not fail. Prior to deciding to make the move I had multiple friends who had made the same journey only to move back to Florida realizing they couldn’t cut it or it wasn’t for them. With that said, I set out with different goals….I was NOT going to be coming back unless it was on my terms or with my goals achieved no matter the cost. I spent the next 3 months on a couch in North Hollywood sending out reels and resumes every day and doing my best to not be burdon on my friend who was letting me stay with him. I was fortunate enough that after that time and daily effort I was able to land an animation job at a video game startup Genuine Games in Woodland Hills, CA. They had just got the license to Fight Club the movie and were making a fighting game around that. As a huge fan of the movie I was super excited and even more so to be starting my animation career. Though not in movies it was a step in the right direction. Over the course of the next year and a half, we were able to ship that game and had started working on a new game for 50 Cent. Also around that time, I had a friend who had moved out as well and was working for a VFX Studio in Santa Monica, CA called AsylumFX. He contacted me and asked me to play paintball with the team from the studio. Clearly, at first, I had no idea how this would be helping me in my career but later realized that it was more of a first initial interview to see if they even wanted to be around me. That experience led to an onsite interview and an offer to be an animator on Disney’s Sky High. So once again I took a risk and left my steady job at Genuine Games to follow my dreams of working on feature films. All of these risks have led me to just shy of 20yrs experience in working feature films, both animated and visual fx based, video games, tv shows, commercials, and theme park rides.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The road to get to where I’m at today has been an ongoing journey but one I wouldn’t change for anything. As an animator and working in the computer animation field I signed up to be a lifeline student as the industry is constantly changing. This was certainly not an easy career field to step into and there has been many challenges along the way. I contribute my success to a “won’t give up” work mentality, continually practicing my craft, personal skills, and networking. I think one of the biggest lessons I learned over time was the need to be able to adapt and be agile with my skillset and never turn down an opportunity to learn something new! As I started my career focused on only animation I realized that to be successful and mostly to stay employed it would help to learn other skillsets surrounding animation such as previz, motion capture, layout, camera animation and crowds. I’ve also had to be flexible with being willing to move to other locations to continue my craft. I’ve spent time back in Orlando, FL at EA (Electronic Arts) working on the Madden Footballs series as well as spending a year in NY working at Bluesky Studios on “Spies in Disguise”. I tend now to do my best to stay in the Los Angeles area and close to my children. I think one key to my success in this industry has been my ability to be develop my soft skills and grow my leadership ability. A lot of artist in general tend to be extremely introverted and I’ve focused on trying to bridge that gap for both the artists I’ve worked with and the clients as well. We can work very long hours and you truly want to enjoy who you work with. I feel very blessed to do what I do for a living, the friends I’ve made along the way and the ability to continue to pass on what I’ve learned to the next generation of artists.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
One of the huge advantages to living in Los Angeles is there is never a shortage of things to do! If we are talking food I always send people to the Cactus Taqueria off Vine Street in Hollywood for some amazing Mexican or if you are wanting sushi look no further then the original Katsuya in Encino. Some other great things to do while in the city are to go to the Petersen Automotive Museum, which has just and insane collection of vintage and rare cars. If drinks and video games are your thing then I recommend checking out EightyTwo which is located in downtown and houses a great collection of vintage arcade games and pinball machines. There is also the Santa Monica Pier and Little Tokyo which are worth checking out as well!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First I’d like to thank Full Sail University for giving me the opportunity to pursue animation as career and to continuing to give me the chance to mentor current students and alumni. Second I’d like to thank two indivuals who were key reasons to making it in Los Angeles. Danny Gonzalez is an amazingly talented set lighter and cinematographer who allowed me to stay with him when I first moved to LA and was a huge reason for me taking the leap of faith to move to LA. Then there is Mike Lori who is a VFX artist in LA and was responsible for helping me land my first job in the film industry. Both these guys were key giving me a chance to succeed and asked for nothing in return. Happy to call them both friends and can never thank them enough!

Website: www.jackgeckler.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacktastic4d/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackgeckler/

Twitter: @jacktastic3d

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jackgeckler

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jackgeckler

Other: You can also check out my latest reel of my work on Vimeo – https://vimeo.com/user486135