Ariel Freeman
Production Coordinator
Creators Society Development Branch Councilor
“Storytelling is a team sport,” according to our Spotlight Creators Society Member and undercover mermaid, Development Branch Councilor Ariel Freeman.
“I grew up drawing before I could write and it was something I did before bed every night. I would draw little comics!! When I was very young, my family and I went to Disney Orlando, and I started doodling stories and experiences in my Disney Princess journal. While my family was touring the studio, my Father, without my knowledge, talked to one of the animators. This was back in 2001 before the Florida studio was dismantled. He told the animator that I would get into animation someday, and they gave him a pencil. When I got into college with pursuits to study animation, my Father surprised me with the pencil. He knew before I did that I would be getting into animation!”
Ariel attended Columbia College Chicago, where she studied writing, storyboarding and animation. She loves 2D for its creativity, and 3D for its capabilities and its potential.
Ariel has two brothers, one older and one younger. Growing up they bonded by watching Looney Tunes, “We all loved Bugs Bunny and we would watch and rewatch all the Bugs Bunny cartoons when they were on. We would also watch Avatar:The Last Airbender together every Friday after school and before Shabbat. These two shows inspired me to get into animation. Both proving in very different ways what animation can do and what stories can be told. Be it the zany and whitty Looney Tunes, making people laugh generations after the demographic of its time, or Avatar with its serial storytelling, inspiring children and making them think philosophically, and critically about things like, good vs bad, responsibility, and grief. It’s truly incredible what animation can do and someday I hope to inspire others the way I was inspired. I am also one of the biggest fans of Batman:The Animated Series(1992).”
When Ariel moved to Los Angeles after college, she did what many others do and got a survival job teaching swimming. She said, “I did this at home for years, and loved it.” Once I got my first job in the industry I taught only on the weekends.” Thus we call her our Mermaid, plus the little girls taking lessons from Ariel are convinced that Disney sent her!
Ariel got into this industry to make shows for kids, and since she has worked with them for years, it was great for her. She continued, “The kids tell me all about their favorite shows and things they think about regarding new Disney/Pixar movies coming out. I always want to know what kids look for in shows and movies so I can, in the future, make something that they will love someday. During the pandemic I would recommend shows for my students to watch. One recommendation was Avatar:The Last Airbender, and one of my students later came to me saying that she finished the whole show in two weeks! She loved it and her mother asked if I knew of any other shows. I told her about Sailor Moon (‘92 Anime TV Series), and Cardcaptor Sakura (‘98 Anime TV Series), the latter now being her new favorite show.”
Ariel first worked as a production assistant (PA) on the second season of the show, Final Space, at ShadowMachine, animation studio and production company. She was a post PA, aiding the post production team, “I loved the team and I learned a lot. It was an amazing show to work on.” After the season finished, she rolled onto The Simpsons. There she was a PA who handled the scripts and audio that came in, “It was my job to pass along the scripts and audio to the artist that needed them. I had to make sure everything matched and was named correctly. I loved working with the scripts. I was able to see each version of the story and the edits in between.The show in general was fun to work on and it really felt like a family.It was fantastic to have a chance to work on such a legendary show, with such a legendary crew.”
Magic: The Gathering is now keeping Ariel busy these days. She works as a production coordinator on the show. Magic was announced in a Deadline Hollywood News article back in August 2021. She is very excited to work with the amazing team, and is a huge fan of the Magic card game as well.
Overall what is the job of a Production Coordinator/Production Assistant? Essentially its aiding production, the artists, and keeping people on track of the schedule. There is a lot of communication involved and it takes a good memory and organization skills. Ariel says, “I enjoy the birdseye view of the show you get in the production department. I observe, talk to people in different departments, and learn more about the parts in the animation process that interest me the most. It is a good place to start if you”re not sure where you fit in the process. For me, I love storytelling in animation; you can be part of that process with storyboarding and/ or writing. Right now, I know that “story” is where I want to be because I got to see so many sides of the story process. I have seen so many new systems and unique ways of coordinating animated shows. I have also created a system or two in order to streamline a process or adjust for working from home.”
In her freetime, Ariel always has her own writing and storyboarding going on at home. She writes scripts and uses them to practice her art. “All I know is that I want to be working in “story” but I love both writing and storyboarding, so I decided to hone my skills in both art forms. I will keep learning and finding the right path, but in the meantime I’m enjoying the creative process.” She also loves board games, roller blading, and singing with her novice ukulele playing.(teaching herself how to play the ukulele was a pandemic pastime)
One of Ariel’s goals when arriving in LA was to meet a new person everyday. She said, “I had to network with a lot of people to get started in the industry. I met with over 60 new industry professionals, in almost 6 months. Each person I talked to gave me new insight into this world of animation. I learned that everyone is unique and they have a unique path. There is no one way to get to where you want to go in Animation. Everyone has been so nice and so giving of their time and advice. Everyone I met asked for nothing, but to pass along the same kindness to another. This is what they call “paying it forward.” Those who helped me were helped themselves in the past, and they wanted to be that person for another. I am happy to help new people the same way! Please feel free to reach out. I have a lot of experience with networking, and I am happy to “pay it forward.”
How did you hear about the Creators Society??
“I heard about Creators Society when I was networking back in 2019. I would go to the monthly mixers and I met a lot of amazing people! Many of these people are still good friends. I love the encouragement of collaboration with the Creators Society. I knew for a while that I wanted to get involved. I became a Development Branch Councilor in 2020 during the pandemic. I had the idea of making a story group in order to continuously meet with people who had a passion for story. Development Branch Chief Conlon Taafe and I developed the idea and we now co-host and run the meetings. Creators Society Story Group - I feel that storytelling is a team sport—it really is the art of collaborating and helping creatives (artists, writers, composers) develop ideas, share stories, get feedback, set goals for yourself, and set group goals. With the story group we encourage members of all skill sets to tell their story. We have board artists showing off their boards and writers presenting their scripts, and composers playing music.
Advice to members?
Meet new people in the industry. This industry is filled with kind people who are happy to help. Network and show people what you can do. Creators Society is a good start. The mixers are a great place to meet people, and for someone like me who came to LA alone, networking is also a great way to make friends, especially with people who share your passion. Also, come check out “Story Group.” You’ll see the date and time in our weekly Creators Society newsletter. We are looking forward to meeting you!
