“Kohr unites animators in cyberspace”

by Kristan Zimmer, Press Staff

Thursday, April 11, 2002
For most college students, drawing cartoons is what you do when you are trying to avoid doing work, but for Robert Kohr, 1999 graduate of Ridgefield High School and animation major at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, drawing cartoons is his life’s work.

But while Mr. Kohr loves what he is doing, he is slowly discovering an animator’s life isn’t as fun and fanciful as the worlds he or she creates. As corporations get larger and companies such as Disney, AOL/Time Warner, Viacom and Dreamworks continue to consolidate and lay off even the best artists, it makes it harder and harder for artists to find their place on the sketchpad of life. This is why Mr. Kohr has created another world for animators of all shapes and sizes can unite.

AnimatorsUnite.com is a web site and non-profit corporation devoted to bringing animators together and providing them with informational and promotional materials. There is a West Coast union for animators but since the 1980’s there hasn’t been one for the East Coast. Although he dislikes calling it a union, Mr. Kohr, along with fellow classmates, felt a place should be formed to “develop like-mindedness among animators.”

Public Guild
“Over time we found that it is death by association to say that we are a unio” said Mr. Ko”hPresently we are acting more like a guild or an online animation version of PBS. Our site offers a non-biased way for animators to meet without geographic, racial, or sexual boundaries.”

He teamed up with classmate Celia Bullwinkel and fellow Ridgefield High School graduate Adrien Zap (Class of 2000) to start this Web site. Mr. Kohr said Ms. Zap, a photo major at New York University, has since resigned from the team but she is an excellent writer and wrote the group’s articles of incorporation. He said that her original input was a valuable asset since she was able to supply an objective opinion as an outsider of the animation industry.

Mr. Kohr, president and chairman of Animators Unite, said he and the two other staff members — Ms. Bullwinkel, vice president of development and trustee, and Grace Koleczko, art director — hope to raise interest in the site in the year to come as well as financing for it. Their goal is to have 20 films on the site by the end of the fiscal year and to create an online memorial to acclaimed animator, Chuck Jones, creator of Warner Bros. Characters Wile E. Coyote, Marvin the Martian, Road Runner, Pepe le Pew, Sam and Michigan J. Frog. Mr. Jones recently died at 89 in Corona Del Mar, Calif., due to congestive heart failure.

Commentary on life
While his art is more realistic and darker in nature compared to the veteran Warner Bros. Artist, Mr. Kohr sees even the most fanciful of animated tales is about real life. “I am a traditional animato” said Mr. Kohr who advises young animators to draw from life. (His own cartoon, [ Metronome Heart* ], can be viewed on his Web site at www.kohr.tv.) “Animation is a commentary on life, thus we must understand it to commen.”

As he is just starting out himself, he knows how difficult the industry can be, so Mr. Kohr also hopes to include a Job board on the Web site for visitors and to have a film competition for all the films they collect for their site after their first year. While there are other venues for animators they hope to remain completely Web-based so that users around the globe can take advantage of the information they compile.

“We are also reaching into the world community,” said Mr. Kohr. “Film making is a business, but it is also an art,” said Mr. Kohr. “These factors are always at odds with one another.”

Mr. Kohr hopes the odds aren’t against them as they reach out to news organizations and contact New York and Los Angeles studios to ask for support. The School of Visual Arts has supplied Animators Unite with seed and grant money but it must come up with matching funds to meet its goal of $3,000 this year. Its non-profit status allows it to receive pro-bono legal service and offer those who donate money a tax break. But right now Mr. Kohr said Animators Unite is still a hobby, “an eccentric hobby, but a hobby.”

Most of all, he said, the Web site is there for the viewers and Animators Unite wants their input. Viewers, not a focus group, decide what gets best billing. “We are artist friendly in a business savvy and art unfriendly world.”

For those interested in viewing the site, the address is www.animatorsunite.com. Members may sign up for free. Mr. Kohr said he is still looking for designers and programmers who are interested in volunteering their talents, and is also seeking doantions. Those who would like to contribute may contact Mr. Kohr at
[ rkohr@animatorsunite.com ]. Anyone interested in posting a film on the site may write to [ films@aniamtorsunite.com ].

* The Metronome Heart is a film by James Ross.
It was edited by Robert Kohr.