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From nine to five, Andy Rothwell helps the city maintain geospatial data, but his free time is spent exploring his creative side.
Rothwell, a longtime software engineer in the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Innovation and Technology, pursued technology for stability more than 13 years ago after a career in academia. Today, this reliability gives him the space to express his creative side and make music videos with nostalgic toys and electronics.
“Recognize [something is] not going to work, putting it away and maybe not picking it up again for a long time – I do that all the time.”
His previous videos include 2015’s “Monster Thrashin’,” in which Muppet-like monsters perform skateboarding tricks, and he’s even been hired by musicians to make music videos.
He remains inspired by the challenge of learning new skills like 3D printing and laser cutting and figuring out how to turn his creative visions into reality, Rothwell told Technical.ly.
According to Rothwell, the feeling of solving problems and creating something new is the common thread between his job and his passion projects.
“Sometimes breaking through a bug is just like completing a project or part of a project,” he said.
In this edition of How I Got Here, Rothwell explains how he pursued a career in technology, why he started making video projects, and the importance of having creative outlets.
This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.
Table of Contents
Why did you switch from science to technology?
I have a master’s degree in paleoceanography from the University of California. I used a piece of coral to investigate why an ice age occurred 400,000 years ago. In the end, I didn’t really like this job because I had to write a lot of papers and apply.
I didn’t want to write essays and grants and constantly wonder what the situation would be like next year. I realized I could just have a job with stability instead of having to apply for more money next year to keep the job.
I really enjoy writing code, and I enjoy a day at work a lot more when I’m working on a website than when I’m writing a paper.
So I got a master’s degree in geospatial science from the University of Maryland. I was hired by the CityGeo group and was part of a team of people who got to write the front end of Atlas, a map that stores data from departments across the city.
Every day some of us look at the feedback that comes in through the app overnight. People are reporting issues like a strange property line exception or condominium exception that doesn’t show the correct documents.
I’ve watched the team get to know each other over the years and it’s helped us work faster. If you find a data problem with Atlas, click the Feedback button, tell us, and someone might update a dataset for you the next day.
Why did you start making videos and do you have any examples of notable projects?
About 15 years ago, a friend had a $30 gift card to RadioShack and asked me if I wanted it. I bought a small remote control truck and thought my camera would fit perfectly in the bed of the truck.
I got some friends to go to the zoo and run around the zoo behind the truck. I knew a bit about using Windows Movie Maker, so I edited together all the footage to the Philly song “Freeway” by Kurt Vile.
After filming this video, I kept thinking: What other funny situations could a toy car be in? So I made another music video asking random adults in public to play with the toy truck – and it just kept going.
I think I also invented this kind of doll, and I call it a curved lip doll. I mounted a photo of Tom Petty’s face on cardboard cutouts and Photoshopped his mouth. I took a rubber band and attached it to where his mouth had been, and the rubber band was tied on both sides with thread.
I was able to puppeteer it from the back and the side, so I could get Tom Petty to sing.
I ended up making many videos using this invention. I don’t know if someone else invented it, but I’ve never seen it before.
How have you continued to learn new skills over the years?
I started taking courses at NextFab about eight years ago. I probably took a total of 15 courses in 3D design, 3D printing, electronics, woodworking and laser cutting.
At the start of the pandemic, I started purchasing small, inexpensive versions of the machines I used at NextFab, like a small 3D printer, a small CNC machine, and a router. I bought Arduino boards and a soldering iron so I could try making small electronic things.
Using YouTube or even instructions from a kit, learning each skill was a trial and error process until I figured it out.
How do you decide which videos to create?
Sometimes I just love a song and want to make a video for it.
Other times, especially as I got more into tools, I wanted to do something I’d never seen anyone else do before. I think to myself: I’ve come this far, what else could I do?
I think of things that just make me laugh, like a toy car on a treadmill or a toy car on a pool table.
Do you have any advice for people who want to pursue more creative projects?
It’s okay to waste some of your time trying something. Realizing that it’s not going to work, putting it aside and maybe not picking it up again for a long time – that’s what I do all the time.
Every project will have this. If that makes you angry and you completely lose interest, that’s the wrong reaction.
https://technical.ly/civics/andy-rothwell-software-engineer-creative-outlet-how-i-got-here/
