Feature Story

Animated Behavior
Kevin Scolaro and Tri-Dimensional Studios bring Pixar-quality animation to Tampa Bay.
By Jay Winchester

The first thing that strikes you about Kevin Scolaro’s office isn’t the color of the walls or the sleek office furniture. It’s not even Kevin himself, although he wears the Silicon Valley look well. No, it’s not any of those things.

It’s the toys.

Scolaro has a serious jones for toys. And why shouldn’t he, given that he runs a top-flight animation studio and world-class animation training center here in the heart of Tampa? Yes, you read that right. Tampa. Not Orlando. Not Hollywood. Not LucasFilm’s Industrial Light & Magic in San Francisco’s Presidio district. Not Pixar’s toney Emeryville headquarters on the east side of San Francisco Bay. Tampa.

If you’re surprised by that, so is he, given that his dream was to make his way west to Tinseltown in order to work for one of the above-named high-flying animation studios. In this case, it appears that life sometimes does imitate art. Just as a character in a romance movie will give up his career to stay with the woman he loves, so Kevin gave up his dreams of the Hollywood career and lifestyle to stay here with the love of his life, his wife Wendy.

As kids at the movies are prone to extol, “Enough with the mushy stuff.” Okay, back to the toys. Scolaro grew up fascinated by cartoons, and many of the toys in his vast collection are reminiscent of some of his favorites. An affinity for drawing also made itself evident early on. “I grew up drawing cake designs for my mother,” he says, “and taking art classes in high school.”

However, whatever dreams he might have harbored of a career in illustrative art were torpedoed by a four-year stint in the United States Navy, where he worked his way up to the rank of Petty Officer Radioman 3rd Class on board the amphibious ship, U.S.S. Peleliu LHA-5. Aboard ship, Scolaro was exposed to intricate computer and communications systems. Still, while these things captured his interest, he hadn’t yet caught on to the notion that it could lead to a career.

After the Navy it was off to college. He attended University of Central Florida, studying to be an orthodontist. He met Wendy there. While attending UCF, Kevin was also introduced to the possibility of a career in animation by a fellow student and friend. Suddenly, it began to add up: a talent for drawing, coupled with an abiding interest in computers, mixed with a love of art. WHAMMO! A new career goal was conceived.

After graduation and a short stint working in the industry as an instructor and program developer for the International Academy of Design and Technology, the Scolaros decided to strike out on their own, founding Tri-Dimensional (Tri-D) Studios, with one caveat: Wendy wanted to stay in Florida. The West Coast’s loss became Tampa’s gain.

Today, the company’s downtown offices are a bustling hive of animation-related activities in a non descript building on Cass Street, so non descript that a sign doesn’t even grace the doorway. Scolaro and his team of eighteen animators and designers (the staff’s make-up fluctuates, depending on the number and complexity of projects underway) produce high-quality animations for both entertainment and commercial applications. “Right now, we are working on character models for snowboards and other large scale multimedia projects for some major corporations,” he says. “And we are currently in production on a CGI (computer-generated imagery) episodic series for the Christian Broadcast Network called ‘StoryTeller Café.’”

In fact, the front window of the offices displays several of the awards the studio has garnered for its work on StoryTeller Café. “We’ve won multiple National Telly awards for several CGI animation projects,” Scolaro says. “Some of the categories we have won include ‘Best Children’s Program,’ ‘Best Children’s TV Program,’ ‘Corporate Branding’ and ‘Best Use of Animation.’ We have also won several OMNI awards for similar categories. We’ve been blessed to have that type of recognition for the quality of our work.” For those unfamiliar with those awards, and thus the level of Tri-D’s achievement, the annual Telly competition draws entries from the most respected advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, and corporate video departments in the world. The OMNI awards seek to recognize outstanding productions that engage, empower, and enlighten specific audiences and are selected by industry peers. The awards are evidence of the company’s ability to fulfill its mission of delivering exceptional animation and visual effects projects on time and on budget.

That’s all part of the scheme of things at Tri-D. “We are committed to delivering a quality that usually exceeds our customer’s expectations,” Kevin says. “We have the largest animation department in the city. Most companies in this area specialize in post-production first and offer some animation services, but none at the level we do. We offer very high quality animation services for a very reasonable price.”

Aside from the entertainment component of Tri-D’s work, the company is also heavily involved in commercial animation applications. These include providing marketing presentations, visual effects, medical animations, legal graphics and animations, special effects (SFX), product and architectural visualizations, prototyping, simulations and video games. Potential clients for Tri-D are companies or organizations that have highly complex products or technologies that might benefit more from a “show, don’t tell” strategy. After all, verbally delivering certain forms of complex technical information can be brain numbing to an audience. A well-crafted animation can make the same point and dramatically demonstrate product capabilities in an entertaining and engaging manner.

While business is good, maintaining the ebb and flow of creative projects can be a challenge. Some creative types find the business aspects of their business overwhelming. While Scolaro does not count himself among that number, he’s bright enough to realize that perspective and counsel from outside the company can be beneficial. “I think I do pretty well at managing my business, but I could always learn more,” he admits matter-of-factly. “I attend a monthly meeting of The C12 Group, where I learn from the very best business owners. These are very successful business people who are also all Christians. They offer great biblically-based business advice and friendship.”

Scolaro also credits his mother-in-law with helping him make some critical business decisions in the early stages of the company’s development. He also takes a great deal of advice from Mike Spokas, an industry veteran and talented animator in his own right, who happens to have roots in Tampa Bay.

Even so, there are still pressures involved with running a company, no matter how much one loves the work or how much outside counsel one receives. After all, as the owner, it all falls on you. “We have a few challenges,” he says. “Finding qualified and quality artists and managers who are reliable and dedicated, finding the capital necessary to run the business, maintaining state-of-the-art technology as fast as it evolves, and finding clients that need our services and are willing to pay for it. I tend to always look deep into situations before acting. I am very detail orientated and very critical of everything my company does.”

To assist in maintaining a viable revenue stream, the company also runs an animation training program from its own school, the M.I.A. Training Center. The M.I.A. Training Center is an Autodesk Media & Entertainment Authorized Training Center (ATC). Autodesk is the largest developer of Computer-Assisted Drawing (CAD) software in the world.

To help decompress from the deadlines and long hours that usually go with them, Kevin takes to the local waterways with Wendy. “I recharge my batteries by either taking the boat out for the day with my wife and friends, or taking a vacation on an island baking in the sun,” he says. “I also love watching inspirational CGI animation and visual effects movies, reading trade magazines and inspirational business books.”

Scolaro dreams of the day when the company can produce its own custom entertainment content and reap the total benefits of its hard work and dedication to craft. Between that day and this one, he maintains his deep-seated love affair with all things related to animation. “I am thrilled by the visual experience when viewing animation, especially CGI animation,” he says. “I am so amazed by the look of it. I love the technology involved with this industry: the computers, servers, networks, drawing tablets, software, digital scanners, and other assorted gadgets. I really, truly love it all.”

He has a love affair with toys and ‘toons, and he’s not afraid to admit it. Besides, if it’s true that, as some wag once said, “He who has the most toys wins,” Kevin Scolaro has a leg up on almost everyone else in the contest.

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