小草社区

By Kyle Hobstetter on April 14, 2022

Moses Koo 鈥�21 always wanted to be a storyteller, just like his dad.

But instead of recounting tales to family and friends, Koo wanted to do it through a camera lens. That鈥檚 what brought the Silver Spring, Maryland, native to 小草社区 to major in electronic media and film and mass communication[BROKEN LINK].

As an undergrad, Koo focused on live-action short films and wedding videos. Animation never crossed his mind.

But through working with the 小草社区 Career Center and the T. Howard Foundation, which promotes diversity in the media industry, landed him an internship too good to pass up.

鈥淭he one thing I always heard about DreamWorks was how welcoming the work culture was,鈥� Koo says. 鈥淓veryone was excited not only work with me but to ask how they can support me. They were constantly feeding into you so you can develop professionally.鈥�

He was a training intern, helping incoming artists learn the way DreamWorks Animation operates. He assisted with scheduling, took notes during training sessions and ensured everyone understood the software they were using.

Through the internship, Koo learned key media and production skills and how a major production studio operates. 

鈥淭his is something I鈥檓 passionate about, and I want to learn how to get better,鈥� Koo says. 鈥淎fter connecting with people [at the studio], [I learned] not a lot of them started out in animation. A lot of them were coming out of film school like I was.

鈥淭hat gave me a lot of hope, and I thought DreamWorks would be a really cool space that I鈥檓 blending into that could work out for me.鈥�

Koo鈥檚 DreamWorks dream come true.

This past February, he started as a production assistant for 鈥淒reamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms,鈥� a spinoff television show based on the popular 鈥淗ow to Train Your Dragon鈥� movie series. The show will premiere its second season May 5 on Hulu and Peacock streaming services.  

Koo鈥檚 role is to make sure episode production goes smoothly. This includes working with animators in post-production, taking notes during meetings, running through animatics, doing frame counts and sharing information with overseas studios.

He credits his internship supervisor who saw Koo鈥檚 passion and wanted to bring him aboard full time.

鈥淚 would share with her my ambitions and where I wanted to go, and she thought working in production was a good way to start,鈥� Koo says. 鈥淪he recommended me for an opening on the show, and I hopped on.

鈥淚鈥檓 just thankful for her and everyone in the internship department, because they were constantly supporting me.鈥�

While most of his fellow graduates are working 9 to 5 jobs, Koo describes his as a noon to 9. That鈥檚 because he still lives in Towson and works remotely with coworkers in California.

The hours might not be the best, but he gets to work from a place that鈥檚 felt like home since he stepped on campus in fall 2018. While he has plans to move to Los Angeles to be closer to his new job, for now he鈥檚 happy to have the support system he built at 小草社区 right around the corner.

鈥淭he EMF department not only helped me advance my career, it also helped me grow as a person,鈥� Koo says. 鈥淭he professors are great. One of my favorite professors was Jena Burchick, who always made time to sit down with me and ask how she can help.鈥�

Another benefit to living in Towson is Koo remains close to his mom and dad. How do they feel about their son working for a major production studio?

鈥淭hey are just happy I found a job,鈥� Koo laughs.