Available to hire
Hi, I’m Willis Tat, an Animation Production Manager based in Calgary with 8 years of experience across animation, gaming, and tech. I’ve delivered complex, multi-stakeholder animated projects, including two released TV series, and I excel at overseeing projects from pre- to post-production. I thrive on turning objectives into actionable tasks, optimizing workflows, and leading teams to success using production tools like Premiere Pro and ShotGrid.
I’m a collaborative leader and clear communicator who thrives in fast-paced environments. I enjoy solving problems, keeping stakeholders aligned, and delivering high-quality results through thoughtful planning and proactive risk management.
Experience Level
Language
English
Fluent
Chinese
Intermediate
Work Experience
Producer / Production Manager, Games at Dark Slope
June 1, 2023 - December 1, 2025Led the delivery of Unreal Engine-based titles, owning the production schedule, 3D animation pipeline, and scope trade-offs across a remote, globally distributed team of 45+. Partnered with animation and art leads using Jira and ShotGrid to document asset needs, scope work, and assign tasks across short- and long-term production cycles. Drove cross-department alignment, triaged blockers, and tracked progress to enable smooth coordination and resource planning. Communicated with stakeholders (e.g., Meta, LEGO) to discuss risks and mitigation strategies without impacting core production timelines. Oversaw onboarding for 5+ external studios, defining scope, schedule, and objectives for seamless integration with internal teams. Led daily scrums, sprint planning, build reviews, and retrospectives, maintaining documentation and providing written status updates to stakeholders.
Assistant Production Manager, Linear Animation at Dark Slope
April 1, 2022 - June 1, 2023Supervised cross-functional animation pipeline, dependencies, and handoffs across concept, modeling, rigging, texturing, layout, animation, lighting, and implementation teams for 2 TV series. Performed detailed script breakdowns for 20+ episode seasons, translating narrative requirements into asset lists, production schedules, and task assignments across the entire 3D animation pipeline. Built systems in ShotGrid and Google Sheets to automate animator capacity planning, asset tracking, and art review cycles, reducing administrative workload by 1 day weekly and improving visibility of asset status. Owned weekly production reports, consolidating updates into clear progress, schedule, and risk summaries for studio leadership. Maintained project rhythm, flagging risks and driving collaborative problem solving to minimize blockers and schedule impacts.
Strategic Project Analyst at Dark Slope
January 1, 2022 - April 1, 2022Secured $1.7M in funding through financial forecasting, market analysis, and risk assessment for multiple game titles. Developed pitch decks, videos, and publisher-facing materials, supporting business development and external partnerships.
Coordinator, Marketing & Community / Industry Partnerships at Platform Calgary
January 1, 2018 - August 1, 2021Turned business objectives into project plans, content pipelines, and campaign schedules for TELUS startup programs, coordinating resources between TELUS, Programs, and Marketing teams to support 60+ tech startups in scaling their businesses. Led video production for key events such as Founder Showcase, which featured 14 startups and 150+ attendees.
Education
Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Arts, Media and Entertainment Management with Distinction at York University, Schulich School of Business
September 1, 2021 - April 1, 2022Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) in Marketing – Co-operative Education Program with Distinction at University of Calgary
September 1, 2013 - December 1, 2017Qualifications
Industry Experience
Media & Entertainment, Software & Internet, Education
Experience Level
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