Just the Facts: Age – 24; Hometown – Saranac Lake, New York; Education – Film and Mass Communications, Rochester Institute of Technology; Employ – joined Oktobor in 2007.

Previous Experience: After leaving Rochester Institute, Dekkers briefly worked at ESPN Sportszone as a designer, before jumping on a plane bound for New Zealand with enough money for two months and no plan. He lucked out though on two fronts: winning the Adobe Design Achievement awards in 2007 in live action for atmospheric short film Vulnerant Omnes Ultima Necat, and landing a job at NZ-based Oktober just as his money was running out.

Best Work: Making the most of what might have been an unadventurous script for Allen’s candy, Dekkers says he was given carte blanche to create a simple but stylized set of cheery scenarios representing a camper van’s jaunt around the world. His National Foundation for Deafness spot meanwhile is a fine example of a technical challenge overcome with some creative thinking. Working on a literal idea of the difficulties of lip reading, Dekkers crafted a thought-provoking yet elegant solution where words transposed onto lips prove just how difficult lip reading actually is.

Traveling Man: The wanderlust that landed him in NZ continues to this day: “I’ve got the travel bug so I love checking out new places. I’m currently in Laos; trips keep me fresh. I try to make one trip per year; living abroad keeps me on my toes. Kiwis have the lifestyle down so I’m learning from the best.”

Oktobor