Designer
Bill Kroyer
Bill Kroyer is an American director of animated and CG commercials, films, and title sequences.
Bill began his animation career in 1975 at a small commercial studio. By 1977, he was an animator working under the Nine Old Men at Disney Studios. There, he met Director Steven Lisberger, who was working on Animalympics and with whom he would collaborate on Tron. Thereafter, Bill decided to pursue computer animation instead of traditional animation while at Robert Abel and Associates and Digital Productions.
In 1986, he and his wife Susan started Kroyer Films, Inc. where they developed their pioneering "combo" technique, bringing together computer animation and hand-drawn animation. Their first short film, Technological Threat, was nominated for an Academy Award in 1988. In 1989, Kroyer Films produced the title sequences for Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Troop Beverly Hills, and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. In 1990, Bill directed Computer Warriors and animated the main titles for TV show Bobby's World. In 1993, he directed the animated fantasy film FernGully: The Last Rainforest.
Currently, he is Director of Digital Arts at Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. He is also a Governor of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and also serves as Co-Chair of the Academy’s Science & Technology Council.
Articles
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National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
interview
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Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
summary
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Troop Beverly Hills
interview