Trevor Klueg (Graphic Design ’08) works as a compositor and technical director at Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, California. His career path took him from working with friends, to four years at Titmouse
Animation Studios, and now to Warner Bros. He credits his zeal for creativity, innovation, and originality with much of his success.
“Titmouse is famous for their
litany of Adult Swim and alternative cartoons,” he says. “When I worked there, once a year, they would do a thing called Five Second Day.” They closed down the studio for a whole day for employees to work on a new project.
Klueg made a big impression on the cartoon scene in the Los Angeles animation community. Eric “Eerock” Erickson, an editor for Warner Bros.,
noticed and lured Klueg away to work on Teen Titans Go!. He’s been on the team for nearly seven years, but Klueg’s story goes back a lot farther than that.
Klueg attended the University of Minnesota Duluth, majoring in graphic design. His career at UMD allowed him to grow and learn from many professors including Associate Professor Steve Bardoff (Graphic Design), who taught Klueg’s interactive design class.
The computerization of animation was so new, Bardoff and the students were learning out of the Adobe Flash book together. “Who knew I would one day be making a living off of Flash,” Klueg says.
After graduating from UMD, Klueg had a few friends in Long Beach, California. They offered him a place to crash for a few months.
When Klueg first arrived in Los Angeles, he had a meeting with Kirk Tingblad, a UMD alumnus, as well as cartoonist Alex Kirwan, who is from Duluth and is currently in California and a supervising producer of the Warner Bros. animation “Looney Tunes Cartoons.” Amazed at connecting with animators from UMD and Duluth, Klueg says, “I was just a kid growing up; the Kirwans literally lived on the same street as me.” Klueg was impressed. “I got the ‘whoa,’ this could be a job, this is a thing you can do.”
“I realized I wanted to learn more about animation,” Klueg says. “I created my own ‘poor man’s’ masters.” He signed up for a variety of classes at Santa Monica Community College. He started an animation club with his friends, and they made animated pilot episodes. Their animated film An Awkward Situation won Best Student Film at the Burbank International Film Festival in 2011.
Because of the Burbank Film Fest win, he was recruited by Shannon Prynoski to become a compositor intern for Titmouse, working on the animated show, Metalocalypse. Afterward, a friend of Klueg’s began working on Teen Titans Go! and hired him.
Being a compositor is one of the most essential roles in creating a film. They are responsible for making sure all visual elements flow easily. These components include background editing, physical compositing, digital image manipulation, and green screen and color correction.
It is easy to be lifted up by Klueg’s enthusiasm and dedication. His motto is... “[you] gotta have fun And also get the job done.”