By Ada Bao Yen Vo
Standing on Main Street at Disneyland in 2021, Sean Creveling ‘15 (B.A. film and media studies) watched a little girl in a stroller point excitedly at a movie poster. “Look, Mom, it’s Sisu!”
The child’s joy nearly brought him to tears; not only was Raya and the Last Dragon his first project at Walt Disney Animation Studios, but the entire film had been made from home during the COVID-19 pandemic and he had no idea if people would enjoy it. In that moment, Sean witnessed firsthand why he’d chosen to work in animation: to create connections that bring joy into people’s lives.
From childhood fun to career
Sean remembers the first two video games that made him fall in love with the medium – Spyro and Crash Bandicoot. Both known for their iconic animal main characters and playful worldbuilding, he gives credit to their “creative design elements and unique worlds” for drawing him to the games.
As his taste in video games expanded to keep up with new releases over the years, his appreciation for a cinematic experience grew alongside it. Sean vividly recalls watching a behind-the-scenes video for God of War 3 showcasing both the creative and technical efforts that went into the large-scale visual effects.
This passion led him to enroll at UC Irvine in 2011 as a computer game science major (now revamped to the game design and interactive media major) with the intent of pursuing computer programming. Upon discovering that the technical aspects and required skills of the field did not capture his attention like he anticipated, however, he looked for alternative paths going into his second year.
As he reflected on what exactly appealed to him in video games, Sean recognized that his fascination with the cinematics and story of each stayed constant, regardless of their drastically different genres and styles. His enjoyment of the storytelling was a major factor in his decision to change majors. With some film and media studies classes already completed, he made the switch, realizing his love for the narrative arc could be followed into different industries, too.
Sean joined the Video Game Development Club and the Film Arts Drama Alliance in addition to switching his major. Settling into his new major, Sean felt that he managed a satisfying balance of classes and extracurriculars: while film and media studies “did a good job teaching the history of what it takes to make a film,” the accompanying extracurriculars put a camera in his hand. “The schooling did the theoretical, and the clubs did the practical,” Sean explains.
Fostering communities and connections
Amidst the back-and-forth of learning more about himself and the driving forces behind his professional interests, Sean noticed the strength he drew from surrounding himself with a community. He recalls the amount of time spent creating short films with his friends, simply for fun. Even some of the skills that he most prizes, honed at UCI – trusting, communicating and adapting with people – revolve around working with his peers and friends. This value of shared work would shape how he approached his professional journey.
After graduation, Sean spent four years as an Associate Producer with Blind Squirrel Games. His time at the independent video game development studio moved him from project to project, each with their own unique teams.
“It’s really just about the people,” Sean emphasizes. “The people” encompasses both the close-knit communities he’s found over the years and the physically distant strangers connected to him through the projects he’s been able to work on — two distinct dynamics he is equally grateful for.
Making the official shift into the film industry soon after, Sean has since been working as a Production Supervisor at Walt Disney Animation Studios. His job is heavily dependent on his relationships with other teams and coworkers, as well as the future audiences waiting to see the artistic results of their efforts.
Even in the vast space between himself and a movie viewer, he can still recognize a significant factor in his motivation to work in film and video games: “It’s for people out there who might be going through tough times. Any sort of connection that they have to the film or game can make them feel seen.” For Sean, his work is about bringing joy where it’s not often expected – something that he reflects upon as he fondly recalls that moment on Main Street with the young girl pointing toward the Raya and the Last Dragon poster.
Coming to a screen near you
As of 2026, nearly 11 years since graduating from UCI and six years since pushing into the film industry, Sean finds contentment with his place at Walt Disney Animation Studios.
After several years of experience in different areas of production, and working behind the scenes on projects like Encanto and Zootopia 2, he has pursued those aspects of professional life that inspire him the most. Compared to his first steps in the animation space where he thought he “would want to go all the way up to producer level,” Sean now recognizes that he “enjoys being on the floor with the team.”
Sean admires the far reach that film, media and video games have in our world, and the process of working alongside artistic and technical human minds – all of whom share the common goal of bringing stories of connection to life.
Both as a piece of advice for those invested in their own projects and a declaration of what he considers the most important part of the creative journey, Sean says, “I really enjoy just being with the animators, the effects artists, the lighters, the asset teams and the actual artists. Whether in games or film, it’s never just one writer by themselves. You always have to have a strong crew around you, too.”
Ada Bao Yen Vo is a fourth-year English major with minors in creative writing and linguistics. As an intern for the School of Humanities Communications Department, they are expanding and exploring their passion for writing through social media content creation and feature writing.
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