Working in the creative industry with a disorder.

Hi!

My name is Ian Otto, I am a Senior Producer for Animation, Motion Design, Immersive and VFX and I have a neurological disorder. I have worked in the industry since 2010 and call WOODBLOCK my work-family. Those who have met me in person might have noticed that I am not your typical producer, I am “the producer with Tourette-Syndrome (TS)”.

This little article is something I have wanted to publish for a long time. Not just to inform and enlighten but also to inspire artists, producers and studio owners.

But first, short recap: My first tics started when I was 4 years old. During my teenage years I had strong symptoms & tics, requiring a big range of different medications, in-patient treatment as well as treatment at home, and also, a hell lot of side effects. Nevertheless I managed to graduate gymnasium (german kind of “high school”) with a good average degree (not to forget a strong support from family and friends) and went to study film and animation for 2 years.

My original plan was to start in the industry as an artist, like a compositor or editor, since I did this for years as a passionate hobby and little side-hustle to make some money. But in 2010 I decided to start an internship as a Production Assistant which led to where I am now. I worked in multiple studios as a staff producer and in even more companies as a freelancer producer. But enough CV talk…let’s take a closer look at what it means to have client-work and TS.

First of all, the good thing working in the creative industry is that most of the people I work(ed) with are open-minded, not at all uptight and / or simply lovingly nerds. I remember my first boss who, when I first met him, showed me a comic of a guy with Tourette. I’ve mostly experienced curiosity and admiration from my superiors and co-workers.

Of course, in the beginning it took some time for me to become confident working with corporate clients and to be myself, despite the fact that I am obviously different.

I am loud, I move funny and I am confusing to strangers. But once my clients realised that I own this and that it’s part of my charm it became no problem at all. It probably never was a problem in the first place to most clients and people I worked with, but that’s easy to say in hindsight.

And if it is a general problem to someone…let’s be honest, I wouldn’t like to work with that person anyway.

So, I work mainly within the advertising universe which brings a big variety of clients with it. I work for fashion clients, with automotive clients, for pharma clients or with technology clients. For example, I have one of my longest lasting client-relationships with the good people at Gore-Tex and always felt more than accepted in my way of handling projects. In the end, it comes down to your performance and social skills to build a healthy client relationship. Whether you are “normal” or not, that shouldn’t matter, and experience-wise it often really doesn’t. If you can present yourself as a teamplayer who plays honest, fair and reliable, that is the key.

And again, if someone doesn’t like working with me because of TS I am sure there would be other reasons as well, even if I wouldn’t have tics.

From my perspective, Tourette helped me gain self-confidence which reflects the way I handle my job. At some point I had to accept “it is what it is” and instead of being insecure about it, I started (trying) owning it, telling stupid jokes, being purposely awkward and dorky and turned my “weakness” into my USP, if you want to say so.

I remember some years ago I was out after work with Ilija, one of the dear WDBLCK founders, and he said something to me that has stuck with me until today. Basically he said, that it is so admirable how I handle TS and that I actually know more than anyone else based on my experience and that “we” can all learn from me. That really touched me.

So, what can I tell people who want to work in the industry, be it with us at WDBLCK or in general, but are wondering if they can do it because of their disorder or condition? Just go for it!

What’s the worst that can happen? Even if there is a rejection at some point, take it as a challenge and don’t let anyone tell you something that brings you down. As long as you feel passionate about something, go for it. Find the right team where you feel like you fit in. Then thrive in it. People will love you for who you are, especially if you love yourself (this might be a little RuPaul’s inspiration here, but you get the point).

If you feel inspired by this article and want to reach out or have questions, please write me an email: ian@woodblock.tv