tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388143644133847682024-03-13T23:42:27.383-07:00AnimondaysDavid B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.comBlogger233125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-2863506735602513522012-03-31T15:10:00.005-07:002012-04-02T04:02:46.563-07:00Gone Fishin'<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAPyVQAH5EioyntX-z1pBfgYEyfXXvaRf-gpNHK1h7lky1fMY0fafIdIFYeGCOeVwmtyhp1iHu-d0h8MZpVSVavIsyKvSV7D-Md-WCulhwtl-Xigx-uWP8t3WGwxglhmaGltj9KD4NVMHz/s1600/gone_fishing_sign.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAPyVQAH5EioyntX-z1pBfgYEyfXXvaRf-gpNHK1h7lky1fMY0fafIdIFYeGCOeVwmtyhp1iHu-d0h8MZpVSVavIsyKvSV7D-Md-WCulhwtl-Xigx-uWP8t3WGwxglhmaGltj9KD4NVMHz/s320/gone_fishing_sign.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726187384655765698" /></a>David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-75056734570140652682012-03-25T06:21:00.028-07:002012-03-26T04:21:27.590-07:00Animondays Interview: Craig Bartlett<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRRyj8k8jArU5_mamV2Lo-BrBKU2w-XnU_MyriVqAGKJ-vp4OHgrNMnlVo13H1ZcG74rN1PhDTxfVVuOizMYgmd_cTjsRUtHPYWNkIKwl5N5yudAGDiY7pLofDc7Cv9Ozx-mKNM4mn-oq/s1600/Craig-Bartlett-83103-830.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRRyj8k8jArU5_mamV2Lo-BrBKU2w-XnU_MyriVqAGKJ-vp4OHgrNMnlVo13H1ZcG74rN1PhDTxfVVuOizMYgmd_cTjsRUtHPYWNkIKwl5N5yudAGDiY7pLofDc7Cv9Ozx-mKNM4mn-oq/s320/Craig-Bartlett-83103-830.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723838064261420258" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6UOXxMCHYqb_DJRo_zBfuZa7gmTvWve23d_mPCMdze27n0aX59vSmEqZxveKIcOeK8gw8dPO273OgEyXnuI6BdxMY-0vvmXTz5NrU7eQSMZ8cu0rSG5FPsDNtw-Cwz_6-QcGKCxzfAo1/s1600/200px-HeyArnold%2521.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6UOXxMCHYqb_DJRo_zBfuZa7gmTvWve23d_mPCMdze27n0aX59vSmEqZxveKIcOeK8gw8dPO273OgEyXnuI6BdxMY-0vvmXTz5NrU7eQSMZ8cu0rSG5FPsDNtw-Cwz_6-QcGKCxzfAo1/s320/200px-HeyArnold%2521.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723838058628461890" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">When I worked at Nickelodeon, Blue's Clues brought in a regular series of guest speakers to give talks in hopes of inspiring our crew. Among the great people that passed through were George Griffin, J. J. Sedelmaier, Emily Hubley, and, one day, it was Hey Arnold! creator Craig Bartlett. His series was smart, funny, warped (think bully Helga's relationship with Arnold, whom she secretly worships), and ethical at the same time. <br /><br />Near the tail end of Hey Arnold!'s five year production in 2000, execs started to look for edgier and more off-beat comedy series, in a trend that continues to this day with CN's Adventure Time and Regular Show. To the industry powers that be, the slightly gentler and calmer Hey Arnold!, as well as Jim Jinkins' Doug, felt as if they belonged to a different era. With such attitudes, it's not surprising that Bartlett and Jinkins would find their next success making shows for ages 2-5. <br /><br />Bartlett's first series culminated with Hey Arnold!: The Movie in 2002 and after that he created several excellent pilots that failed to score series pickups. I remember visiting with him in L.A. at Cartoon Network in 2004 and, although he was his usual affable self, his frustration over his stalled pilots was obvious. <br /><br />By 2009, his absence from TV ended with the debut of Dinosaur Train, a hit new series for PBS Kids. </span><br /><br />On June 24, 2005, Bartlett sat down for interview for use in my book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Your-Career-Animation-Survive-Thrive/dp/1581154453/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332760717&sr=8-1">Your Career in Animation</a>, which I'm happy to share below in its entirety for the first time. Some time I'll have to do a follow up with him to get more specific, but the purpose of this interview was on general career topics. Enjoy!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1-Where did the inspiration for your show ideas come from?</span><br />I always tap into my own experiences as a kid. And magnify them hugely, of course.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2-What was the biggest challenge, production-wise, in setting up your series?</span><br />Getting through the first season, before everyone has seen it and you can finally just run episodes to show them what you were talking about. The first season is where your idea can be "noted" to death.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3-How did you find your creative team?</span><br />The core team was made of friends that I had worked with on other projects. I'd worked in animation for more than 10 years before I got my own show, and I think it helped.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-8iawkhqyQ-8vv-eUGuwFDKiGsvZgrQGW4bux8wCNHwNTyuRI7CNV2Hni1yenv9kCw1fkAzcpRDMZ-bjDt9zEA8EbMFScij1DMrTr2ISNuj1HuBb8jJcsU7wCPB1Usoi1CTHE4hL7fS8/s1600/bevilacquabartlett02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 225px; height: 152px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-8iawkhqyQ-8vv-eUGuwFDKiGsvZgrQGW4bux8wCNHwNTyuRI7CNV2Hni1yenv9kCw1fkAzcpRDMZ-bjDt9zEA8EbMFScij1DMrTr2ISNuj1HuBb8jJcsU7wCPB1Usoi1CTHE4hL7fS8/s320/bevilacquabartlett02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723838044571087954" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5aUXT6KMRdYVuaWWzWC4yyIK6-x59iNpuDGKKzkw6Td5LgxyOlcgD-iOuq-UqRbBDL0V18HNYovTsJgBAt99Wa7y6N_XliCBM-7xoc7kil9B3aNM5LOUteUWpkfs1snE3gNYp9absyEQk/s1600/muppetchristmas9.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5aUXT6KMRdYVuaWWzWC4yyIK6-x59iNpuDGKKzkw6Td5LgxyOlcgD-iOuq-UqRbBDL0V18HNYovTsJgBAt99Wa7y6N_XliCBM-7xoc7kil9B3aNM5LOUteUWpkfs1snE3gNYp9absyEQk/s320/muppetchristmas9.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723838041688171922" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">*Above two stills show the prototype for Hey Arnold, which debuted as a short for Sesame Street, and a still from a "Penny" cartoon made for Pee Wee's Playhouse, both of which experimented with an innovative 2D and 1/2 stop-motion clay technique.</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4-How much time do you (or did you) devote to your show <br />each week?</span><br />Probably 50 hours on average. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5-Can you describe how your show was pitched? And how many times over what period of time?</span><br />"Hey Arnold!" was pitched in August '93 to Mary Harrington in Burbank when she was head of Original Animation for Nickelodeon, kind of by accident, after myself and 5 other "Rugrats" writers had pitched several ideas we had come up with together. We talked for an hour or so and were out of ideas, so we pulled comics and other things out of our briefcases, just trying to find out what Mary liked. I showed her my videotape reel of old "Penny" cartoons that I had done for "Pee Wee's Playhouse" -- at the front of the reel were 3 Arnold cartoons that I had made myself, in the claymation "Penny" style. That got Mary's attention. I then showed her some Arnold comics that I had drawn for "Simpsons Illustrated," and it seems that one particular panel of Arnold screaming was the real clincher for her. She laughed and laughed. When the meeting adjourned, Mary buttonholed me outside and said that she wanted to pursue Arnold further. We six "Rugrats" writers then adjourned to a pizza place and debriefed about the meeting. The other five guys sensed that I had somehow gotten my own show out of the group meeting. Paul Germain said, "Arnold is gonna go to series, mark my words." I met with Mary over the next four months, refining a pilot outline, and the pilot was greenlit in January. The pilot was made in '94 and the series was greenlit a year later.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJxB9xjK9751XOB_GbmPId2PWkcpcV2uat_ZqDofJMiX-Syj0WPTHEto40hbeHxa8c83YKTVv3bbStyq8i8i4EYNEcSrvNvUBFO4HhwJ4QUfNor0aAD6pIDzwPXQnXOql4sdbkEzK1FK05/s1600/hey-arnold-viaduct.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJxB9xjK9751XOB_GbmPId2PWkcpcV2uat_ZqDofJMiX-Syj0WPTHEto40hbeHxa8c83YKTVv3bbStyq8i8i4EYNEcSrvNvUBFO4HhwJ4QUfNor0aAD6pIDzwPXQnXOql4sdbkEzK1FK05/s320/hey-arnold-viaduct.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723838052045005954" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6-What is your opinion on the way network’s buy or develop shows? What would you change about that if you could?</span><br />I have been in development for years since I went to Cartoon Network at the end of 2001. I've pitched to them, to Nick, to Disney. I've met most of the development people in that world. No development person is obligated to tell you when your idea is dead with them, in other words to put it out of its misery and allow you to move on. They just don't return your calls and emails and let you guess.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7- Do show creators get stereotyped as comedy or action or preschool or adult etc? If so, what can be done about it?</span><br />As the creator of "Hey Arnold!" I am considered "soft." It's really annoying. I tried to break away from that by pitching a show to Spike called "Hellville," a show that takes place in Heaven and Hell -- Heaven is like a weird cult, and Hell is pretty much sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Spike passed on the show, but I send that script out so people won't stereotype me. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8-What role has attending animation festivals/events played in your career?</span><br />I go to the local events in L.A., but have only been to a couple international ones: Hiroshioma and Annecy. Haven't won anything at a festival. The international animation community is great.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9-What methods of self-promotion have you employed to get your name out there?</span><br />Hardly any. I keep thinking that my resume should speak for itself...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10-Are you a member of any animation/art or entertainment guilds or organizations? If so, what role has that played in your career?</span><br />I'm in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. I go to the screenings a lot, because their Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills is the best place to watch a movie anywhere. The audience is appreciative, they stay through the credits... it's where grownups watch movies. I guess it's also for networking, but I'm pretty low-key about it. I just love the movies, and I like to be on the nominating committee for animated features. You get to see the whole field of features that come out every year.<br /><br />I've been in SAG since the start of "Hey Arnold!" which provides my health benefits, and I just joined the Writers Guild a week ago because I'm writing a live-action movie for Nick/Paramount. We'll see what that involves.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11-How do you stay on top of industry news and trends?</span><br />I like to read Variety -- excellent reviews of film, TV, and Legit. They have great columnists like Brian Lowry and editor Peter Bart.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">12-What books should be in every animation library? </span><br />I love Leonard Maltin's history "Of Mice and Magic." And Preston Blair's cheap paperback books for drawing tips.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">13-Have you gotten to meet or work with any of your animation heroes? If so, whom, and in what capacity?</span><br />Matt Groening is my brother in law. I enjoy walking through the ComicCon with Matt, because that's a world where every single person knows who he is. The guys who started drawing the Simpsons, David Silverman, Wes Archer, and Brad Bird were just a bunch of guys at Klasky Csupo once upon a time, when we were starting "Rugrats," and now they are big shots. Brad's career has been amazing. If you go to festivals, you can meet the international animators like Plympton, Newland, Preistley, Dreissen. These indies are always very nice people.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">14-How different was the original vision for yourshow from what made it to the screen?</span><br />"Hey Arnold!" morphed hugely from claymation short to indie pilot to series, and even continued to evolve as the years went by and we found new ways to draw it. Some people felt that its original "spaghetti arms" look of the first season was better than where it ended up. Oh well. We did our best.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">15- Is there any specific legal advice you’d pass along to future creators?</span><br />Get a good lawyer and read your deal. Try to get some kind of ownership/profit participation -- if they won't give it, find someplace else that will.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">16-What are the typical daily duties of a creator/show runner on a TV series or feature production?</span><br />Each show is different. I concentrated on the story aspect, was most involved at the beginning and the end/post production parts of each cartoon. I love making the cut, being responsible for getting each show to length. And the mix is always fun, I never miss it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">17- Over time, has the amount of creative work you delegate to others grown? If so, how has that reshaped the show?</span><br />I stayed in it as much as I could. Delegating most of the art means that if your artists change, so will your show. But it's impossible not to delegate. It would make you crazy to do all of it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">18- How important, if it all, have self-initiated independent films or projects been to your career?</span><br />My Arnold shorts got it all started. I think everyone who wants to create a cartoon should try to make their own short to get the ball rolling. Your own short reveals your sense of art, story, timing, humor, tone. It tells much more than just pitching your idea ever could. Make a short! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiioyfUdKUc875JZZ1ElC-cEh3JB-3KxBRMU-BxS9z64XqUO3MVhHaThxHVY5cIETXddqZ8Zk2nvQbroVcGKWwGI7_aVXb-2bV-YDPvCIYcJ9I97uKCXyqdhvAGD2N-utwN_GIAR5Ei7dKE/s1600/Hey-Arnold-hey-arnold-13243790-640-480.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiioyfUdKUc875JZZ1ElC-cEh3JB-3KxBRMU-BxS9z64XqUO3MVhHaThxHVY5cIETXddqZ8Zk2nvQbroVcGKWwGI7_aVXb-2bV-YDPvCIYcJ9I97uKCXyqdhvAGD2N-utwN_GIAR5Ei7dKE/s320/Hey-Arnold-hey-arnold-13243790-640-480.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5723842934132970210" /></a>David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-59462635834501881522012-03-16T08:52:00.084-07:002012-03-19T04:21:14.765-07:00BOW TIE: Yah! Yah! Yah!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZSYklFBvau9XLwADMXQccFV_82KdcJ1NYUIRRmYiFgvGM_vR4NRzlAPbstoCXOECgcXTq6k7AekOuWDxiRmi_4SEenXG0KvGfm_x-uZUR5mIdJrU8N2Dz6dQINxc7wRtxaWz4uTLuX68/s1600/Bow.Tie.still.image.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZSYklFBvau9XLwADMXQccFV_82KdcJ1NYUIRRmYiFgvGM_vR4NRzlAPbstoCXOECgcXTq6k7AekOuWDxiRmi_4SEenXG0KvGfm_x-uZUR5mIdJrU8N2Dz6dQINxc7wRtxaWz4uTLuX68/s320/Bow.Tie.still.image.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5720532958678169618" /></a>I am so late to the party. <br /><br />As an adolescent I drew hundreds of short comic books with original characters and stories, sharing them with a close circle of friends. Handing my comic to a friend was my release date. It was me and my audience with nothing in between. <br /><br />So when YouTube launched in 2005, did I snap up the new opportunity to make and distribute my own short cartoons a-la the comic books of my youth? <br /><br />Nope.<br /><br />It took me until 2012. <br /><br />But, better late than never. <br /><br />The catalyst to create and share my own cartoons was my recent pitch trip to L.A. where I once again experienced the deflating feeling of sitting through the average network pitch where execs poke, prod, and judge your creation. Sometimes they liked it, sometimes they didn't. And, no matter how professional and pleasant the meetings go, the results are nearly always the same: no dice. <br /><br />But instead of hitting the hotel bar, I used my evenings to record new cartoon soundtracks into my iPhone. When I got home I was ready to try out some new ideas and experiment with a blend of characters, stories, and comedy. A month later I had 4 minutes of original cartoons. And, to further connect it to my childhood comic books, I used a character that dates back to when I was 13 years old: BOW TIE.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNSj_S_H7iBXGSfe8qfpSQDFCNs_olRCk0XzNOliELt_LUy1NKyUtCQUz35n3fIsbk0rB35E_QLvXCEZUagjBgAcDHH7DZvIe98GA8o5jV1FHV-s52vuPCpiChtRM5KdtJ19VbUYYQ7dss/s1600/Bow.Tie.logo.yellow.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNSj_S_H7iBXGSfe8qfpSQDFCNs_olRCk0XzNOliELt_LUy1NKyUtCQUz35n3fIsbk0rB35E_QLvXCEZUagjBgAcDHH7DZvIe98GA8o5jV1FHV-s52vuPCpiChtRM5KdtJ19VbUYYQ7dss/s320/Bow.Tie.logo.yellow.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5720537877819860866" /></a>This has been an opportunity to explore odd little moments of everyday life by turning autobiographical events into fodder for short (and hopefully funny) cartoons. Ordinary life can be a wonderful source of inspiration. <a href="http://www.emilyhubley.com/shorts/shorts.html#selfish">Emily Hubley</a> has based several films on entries in her personal journals, such as her memorable film "One Self: Fish/Girl." Don Hertzfeldt packs a lot of autobiographical material into his groundbreaking <a href="http://www.bitterfilms.com/">trilogy</a> of films. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuriy_Norshteyn">Yuri Norstein</a> included a recurring fight with his mother in law over an umbrella in the lovely "The Heron and the Crane." Signe Baumane mined some private material in her brilliant and funny <a href="http://www.teatbeat.com/">Teat Beat of Sex</a> series.<br /><br />When you start with something personal you might be surprised what bubbles up...<br /><br />Sometimes the result is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q42IsmwLhrA&context=C482f8f5ADvjVQa1PpcFMrex7ZAVE6ve5VkmxcPiGRTQpERLQ3cLQ=">bittersweet.</a><br /><br />Sometimes <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWh16poVm3A&context=C4058cb4ADvjVQa1PpcFMrex7ZAVE6vfCHLnspNnVPPO6CFhgGDgc=">mundane</a>.<br /><br />Sometimes plain <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MMeDCLNxf4&context=C41f8089ADvjVQa1PpcFMrex7ZAVE6vWKJvPXRRLQj2T0tLDaRMqo=">odd.</a><br /><br />Sometimes <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HWBBwf51e4&feature=context&context=C482f8f5ADvjVQa1PpcFMrex7ZAVE6ve5VkmxcPiGRTQpERLQ3cLQ=">weird</a>.<br /><br />Sometimes <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjimeAQdDRg">painful.<span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span></a><br /><br />But most often with an "I- know-that-feeling" <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOM9ke_RpeE&context=C44563f1ADvjVQa1PpcFMrex7ZAVE6vT5-dj8ySNDlbTNYdhZp5LA=">quality.</a><br /><br />So far the most popular cartoon of the bunch has even been passed around as a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoRP0WRebnk&context=C4d29e27ADvjVQa1PpcFMrex7ZAVE6vVNZR79V1AaQon3RCPITC3w=">"birthday greeting."</a><br /><br />Best of all, since these are stories from life, it's impossible to run out of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3f-Vwi1Bns&context=C4b9e6ebADvjVQa1PpcFMrex7ZAVE6vaqivYddOzjgD2B2LPb2oMY=">material.</a><br /><br />BOW TIE episodes start as a list of anecdotes that I use as talking points to create a spontaneous script. I do all the voices myself (another new experience for me!), recording in story order from beginning to end. Most sound effects are verbal too, and occasionally supplemented by foley pulled in my apartment.<br /><br />Next I lock the audio in After Effects, making a radio play of sorts. When it feels right I start animation. After a couple of hours I'm finished and importing the layers into AE for testing.<br /><br />A critical next step is showing the test to my wife, Debbie, who has a great eye and sense of humor. Often she'll have a key note or set of suggestions that always improve upon the original. <br /><br />Then (in no time flat) it's uploaded to the Aphids J. Kaboodle channel on YouTube. Every Wednesday morning I release a new cartoon by posting it on Facebook. And enthusiastic feedback has poured in from friends and industry folks alike, I even set up a <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/aphids">Zazzle store</a> with t-shirts featuring BOW TIE and friends. <br /><br />Development execs and networks like to define and lock down creations. That BOW TIE drives a car in one episode and is driven around by his friend's mom in another, acts like a kid in one and has a job in the next wouldn't make sense to them. But it makes perfect sense to me. Most importantly, it's the perfect outlet for almost instant self-expression in animation.<br /><br />I can't tell you how gratifying it has been to see friends and colleagues spreading the word by sharing the cartoon links through Twitter, Facebook, and e-mail. BOW TIE was even part of the shorts screening at the on-going comedy film festival <a href="http://www.92y.org/Tribeca/The-Iron-Mule-Short-Comedy-Film-Festival.aspx">The Iron Mule</a> at the TriBeCa 92nd Street Y, where Aphids won the audience award!<br /><br />So who is Aphids J. Kaboodle? You might be sick of David B. Levy and David B. Levy might be sick of you, but Aphids is brand new and can't wait to start alienating people!<br /><br />I hope you take a minute or two to visit the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/aphidsjkaboodle?feature=watch">Aphids J. Kaboodle Channel </a>on YouTube, and maybe subscribe. And, if you're moved to share a cartoon or two with your friends, Mr. Kaboodle is in your debt...<br /><br />Have fun! And, remember that it's okay to be late to the party, so long as you eventually arrive and bring a six pack of cider.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJr94DBhZy3Xldd16vkOHPYPWYlxllfMG7hfnptOu04jyO1LgD7lUnSx6qGqscQakppw6kSGyDr5kUTWZab1s2BTaS6rfYxytWfommb4xG6SiGsVa5YB67DV8Ssv94daQ3EC47J5mMZ4na/s1600/birthday.tshirt.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJr94DBhZy3Xldd16vkOHPYPWYlxllfMG7hfnptOu04jyO1LgD7lUnSx6qGqscQakppw6kSGyDr5kUTWZab1s2BTaS6rfYxytWfommb4xG6SiGsVa5YB67DV8Ssv94daQ3EC47J5mMZ4na/s320/birthday.tshirt.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5720538252693789826" /></a>David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-2631019947891038102012-03-11T12:07:00.016-07:002012-03-12T04:42:41.324-07:00Pushing for POE<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxYl88z5e24irB7VrGMZTVSr-iVyL2rhqCj8NC4VPDYL_KB67QySurI8eQe7EJCCVaiy5i-9GmzQtqDpVqt94CiPKHLxHjjuNgc4DKpwaM6FgZYgKxCb2AFp_2XczVd78Gdq8VFAFkycSF/s1600/_Poe+Poster2+SM.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxYl88z5e24irB7VrGMZTVSr-iVyL2rhqCj8NC4VPDYL_KB67QySurI8eQe7EJCCVaiy5i-9GmzQtqDpVqt94CiPKHLxHjjuNgc4DKpwaM6FgZYgKxCb2AFp_2XczVd78Gdq8VFAFkycSF/s320/_Poe+Poster2+SM.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718721313608425330" /></a>Sometimes a single opportunity can allow us to support a worthy project, a friend, and help promote an art form itself. On March 6th Oscar-nominated filmmaker Michael Sporn announced his first-ever <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1706789719/poe-project">Kickstarter campaign</a> to help raise funds to complete a few minutes of final animation for his animated feature film POE. It’s my pleasure to use this week’s Animondays post to help his cause. <br /><br />First, on the project of POE, everyone who works in animation or enjoys the medium as a fan has something to gain by supporting this film. Today, animation is flourishing in mainstream feature films for children and families, through special effects in big action blockbusters, through innovative video games, in prime time and late night programing for “adults,” in preschool and children’s TV entertainment, as well as through the new media platforms of eBooks and apps. But, the one area that has the most untapped potential is in the intelligent and artful indie animated feature. POE is the rare project where subject, medium, and filmmaker (including collaborators such as the brilliant animator Tissa David), may all line up to help create something that can’t be found anywhere else. <br /><br />Michael happens to be a friend of mine, but even if you don’t know him, he’s probably already helped you become a more thoughtful animator through his insightful and inspirational <a href="http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/">Splog</a> posts since 2005, and maybe also stretched your perception of what the animated film can be. On the latter, his studio has led by example since 1980, making some of the most artful, daring, and affecting animated films of all time (go to the screenings button on this <a href="http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/index.html">link</a> to see this month’s TV schedule peppered with opportunities to see some of his films). A few of my all-time favorites include “Dr. Desoto,” "Abel's Island," “Morris’s Disappearing Bag,” “The Man Who Walked Between The Towers,” “Mona Mon Amour,” “Champagne,” “Ira Sleeps Over,” “The Marzipan Pig,” and “The Hunting of the Snark.” <br /><br />As the owner/operator of one of the longest standing independent studios in the history of US animation, and through his formative years being trained in the art and craft of animation by the likes of John Hubley, Tissa David, and Richard Williams, Michael is a key creative link between animation’s golden age and today. <br /><br />Michael has said that with POE he’d like to “give animation a grown up push.” <br /><br />As grown ups who both love and work in animation, let’s help the man <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1706789719/poe-project">push.</a>David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-67836418824488264162012-03-03T13:33:00.022-08:002012-03-05T05:07:38.402-08:00A Secret World of Quiet Dignity<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh56LObHaTeqOt8b79wLUJatbXG6HREPLm1hDBymMJ7cvShnEPRTlJF4axL3UedU7jfm-M7WvRuV_nT0fmZlPr2jnIYxOgf_RA475D5akMib7hzhDSYd7b1wXMOYlxHd1cmMlqD6pcQDeZn/s1600/The-Secret-World-of-Arrietty-Official-Trailer-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 174px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh56LObHaTeqOt8b79wLUJatbXG6HREPLm1hDBymMJ7cvShnEPRTlJF4axL3UedU7jfm-M7WvRuV_nT0fmZlPr2jnIYxOgf_RA475D5akMib7hzhDSYd7b1wXMOYlxHd1cmMlqD6pcQDeZn/s320/The-Secret-World-of-Arrietty-Official-Trailer-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5715788661500449874" /></a><br />I didn’t plan on writing about <a href="http://www.sunraince.com/the-secret-world-of-arrietty-official-trailer.html">The Secret World of Arrietty</a>, the new feature film from Japan’s Studio Ghibli, and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi. But, after seeing the movie this week, there was no way I couldn’t write about it. <br /><br />First some criticism (spoiler alert), because I had some issues with the film. The mother felt pretty one dimensional and old fashioned in the “hysterical female” stereotype, not to mention the oddness that she looked more like Arrietty’s grandmother than her mother. Also it was hard for me to believe that such a feisty and independent heroine could be raised by such a fearful mother. In contrast, the dad was all quiet stoicism. He was the calm to the mother’s storm. But, knowing how Miyazaki (who co-wrote the screenplay) is an expert in coloring characters with shades of gray, I wondered why he gave us such one-dimensional parental units. <br /><br />My second, and only other issue in the film, is that when Arrietty is tested to do big things to save her mother’s life, her father is inexplicably absent. Maybe I missed something, but it seemed to me that there was no explanation on where the father was when the borrowers' home was invaded and the mother was abducted. Earlier we see the father had an injured leg but there’s no way that would have stopped him from protecting his family. I wonder if something was lost in the English translation.<br /><br />But, these issues aside I really enjoyed the film. It would be easy to frame any discussion about this work in the 2D versus 3D context, but the qualities I love about Arrietty have little to do with that. In fact, the models of the characters in this film are so rigidly (and stiffly) followed in the animation that they may as well be unchanging 3D character rigs. <br /><br />For me, the magic of this film is how it conveys big feelings and emotional moments through a low-key approach. I've been trying to explore a similar approach in my recent short films.<br /><br />There’s a moment in Arrietty that took my breath away. Hollywood features try to do that with a big chase sequence, but in Arrietty the moment comes with absolute silence and a series of long confident shots. Arrietty is on her first mission as a borrower, being trained in the trade of survival by her father. Tissue was on her mother’s shopping list so the young girl and her dad scale a table to reach an ordinary tissue box. The two take their positions to grab at the tissue from either side but, in mid motion Arrietty notices (to her astonishment) that she’s being watched by a 12-year old human being, the sickly boy Shawn who is staying in his Aunt’s house to rest up before a heart operation. Shawn watches her with a sleep-awake stare and talks to her softly as if speaking from a dream. The whole moment freezes time and burned into my memory, replaying long after the film was over. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYLT7Mr0w0NGLlBBzJceTq45q5ECQpA81a_N-gKu2gH3JqoRYc-UnHp5pGL86xAMquVlvhDcPy3acYT7Z8WsW8w334SLtnUewtHONUyMgaP9ZKuTQrmUMaR0essc4KnLtPO4OH3m0DU69/s1600/human-curiosity-films-photo-u1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYLT7Mr0w0NGLlBBzJceTq45q5ECQpA81a_N-gKu2gH3JqoRYc-UnHp5pGL86xAMquVlvhDcPy3acYT7Z8WsW8w334SLtnUewtHONUyMgaP9ZKuTQrmUMaR0essc4KnLtPO4OH3m0DU69/s320/human-curiosity-films-photo-u1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5715791557859075202" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Arrietty frozen in fear mixed with curiosity in the moment described above.</span><br /><br />And, there’s other things I appreciate just because, however slight and unimportant, they add to the experience:<br />-Shawn’s Aunt pulls up to their driveway and sees an exterminator’s truck parked in front of her. As her car pulls in and she gets out of the vehicle you can feel the smallness of the driveway, the tightness of the space. It’s a nice thing to have things like this in a movie dealing with size and scale. <br />-Shawn laying in a field of flowers (show above), as seen by Arrietty. A moment all the more potent because the distance allows Arrietty to see him as her size. Also, he's enveloped by the beauty the natural world––something she surrounds herself with in her bedroom decked out with flowers and plants. It makes this moment a double connection between the two.<br />- Arrietty plays with a pill bug and then releases it. For a moment we follow the insect as it makes its way back to the grass and encounters another pill bug. In a Hollywood movie, to stay on this action would be in the service of setting up a crude gag, but here it’s simply another moment that helps create a convincing world. <br />-There’s a scene showing the beginning of a rain shower. We see a view of the concrete and delicate patter of the drops, gently hitting, and then very slowly expanding to stain the ground. <br /><br />My excuse to see this film was to fill in a two-hour hole between errands in Manhattan, but what I got was a rich film with a quiet dignity. The latter of which is a term I seldom get to use to describe an animated feature.David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-17204818447939856782012-02-27T05:47:00.007-08:002012-02-27T06:01:00.260-08:00Warning Signs<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEDjrd4xDegyl0vLfrfPTm48fN_ovu8Y_lBKknz6o4OoJpEFu1K5TT7OeJ79WTHSN77PfAtlcN8337KhygHngZ-eaakNu7NQV2XkP7qLBM6mjYgQgvYs5_rTQul_iDc_ODnyEqGmej_a7I/s1600/bytowne2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEDjrd4xDegyl0vLfrfPTm48fN_ovu8Y_lBKknz6o4OoJpEFu1K5TT7OeJ79WTHSN77PfAtlcN8337KhygHngZ-eaakNu7NQV2XkP7qLBM6mjYgQgvYs5_rTQul_iDc_ODnyEqGmej_a7I/s320/bytowne2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713813201916880434" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">(photo snapped at the Ottawa International Animation Festival by Fran Kraus)</span><br /><br />When it comes to relationships in this biz I try to rely on my “spidey” sense, which is that little gut feeling that something is wrong. You can tell a lot about people based on how they follow through on a plan or how they handle themselves in a situation. <br /><br />The first time I realized this I was working as a shift manager at a Pizza Hut when I was 17 years old. I had just come off three years working for McDonalds where I had worked up to the same position, so when I was hired at Pizza Hut they quickly bumped me up to the management position after a couple of weeks. They gave me a manager’s uniform, nametag, and made me the only manager on duty for most of my shifts. The woman who hired me, the head manager of the store, seemed very nice at first. Then, I noticed that the raise I was promised (that went along with my increased responsibilities) never materialized. Time dragged on but the head manager explained that the payroll situation was being resolved and promised there would be a retroactive check to account for the owed monies. <br /><br />As much as I held out faith that I would be paid, the point of no return was three months later when my patience ran out. I was determined to have it out with her one day, but she was working up a step ladder, cleaning out an air filter with a rag. I asked her if we could discuss the money issue when she was done and she said, “No, we can talk about it now.” And, she proceeded to keep cleaning, never once looking back down at me while we talked about my missing raise. Plus, the discussion was in public. Any employee walking by could have heard us talking. The message in her attitude was so clear at this moment that it convinced me I was never getting the money that was owed me. I quit that day with no regrets. <br /><br />Years later, when I began directing at Blue’s Clues, became president of ASIFA-East, and first started to build a reputation for myself in the larger industry beyond NYC, I attended the Ottawa International Animation Festival where a Hollywood bigwig took an interest in me and asked me to breakfast the next morning. <br /><br />“I want to discuss your career and an opportunity for you,” he said. <br /><br />The next morning we met at the agreed restaurant and as soon as we walked in, the Hollywood guy spotted a more important industry person than me and invited him to eat with us. Needless to say, the discussion about my career never took place and the supposed opportunity wasn’t brought up either. While that was disappointing, I was grateful that the Hollywood guy showed his colors so quickly. Here was someone I didn’t need to waste my time with. <br /><br />I make a lot of mistakes, but I’m grateful for any moments of clarity where I had the sense to listen to my gut and avoid trouble or larger disappointments. I think everyone can better learn to listen to that inner voice that warns us to steer clear of some one or some thing. We're gonna get older either way, so we might as well also get wiser.David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-47366950050711798302012-02-18T08:44:00.001-08:002012-02-20T05:59:28.024-08:00The Kansas City Art Institute<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwscD4LqN5kLs61Cw4ZldB7c4IwoNysNLW8DBVpc9OtAThq1RbAntFfX18jR4qn3gC2PGykw-Fiawoqd2wYyzCdcT551UtJ0_1bPN5IROxLIwY6iBV7wTPG2iSHhL-UWM29ff7kOWBle5Z/s1600/Campus-map-color-Sept-web-490x521.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 301px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwscD4LqN5kLs61Cw4ZldB7c4IwoNysNLW8DBVpc9OtAThq1RbAntFfX18jR4qn3gC2PGykw-Fiawoqd2wYyzCdcT551UtJ0_1bPN5IROxLIwY6iBV7wTPG2iSHhL-UWM29ff7kOWBle5Z/s320/Campus-map-color-Sept-web-490x521.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711190669589800082" /></a>This past Thursday/Friday I was invited to speak at the <a href="http://www.kcai.edu/academics/majors/animation">Kansas City Art Institute</a> by it's affable animation chair Doug Hudson. Doug, who has an MFA degree in Experimental Animation at Cal Arts where he was mentored by the late great Jules Engel, is also a multimedia artist and musician. He established the Student Academy Award-winning animation department for the Kansas City Art Institute in 2004. Past guest lecturers to the KCAI animation program have included John Canemaker, Suzan Pitt, Joanna Priestley, and Phil Mulloy.<br /><br />Upon arrival to the school, Doug took me out to dinner with two of his esteemed faculty: John Baker (Digital Media and Animation teacher) and Christoph Steger (assistant professor and documentary animation filmmaker). Besides comparing notes as fellow animation instructors, the friendly bunch filled me with tales of local history, such as the plethora of underground railroad tunnels dug before the Civil War.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmZhyphenhyphenH5tpSCiOY2dfYeyAE94rfWUCiPoCpaD7EcatPg7qsoAv2zjsvcvfxpUCwMnzuKeLW9gbihnlsC7_BmrXK18zw3NdfCz5zAS37IOGFk_zDiOruHb9Q1FvN7mhr0WYs2sR3GYlreJ9o/s1600/dlev_5063.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 191px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmZhyphenhyphenH5tpSCiOY2dfYeyAE94rfWUCiPoCpaD7EcatPg7qsoAv2zjsvcvfxpUCwMnzuKeLW9gbihnlsC7_BmrXK18zw3NdfCz5zAS37IOGFk_zDiOruHb9Q1FvN7mhr0WYs2sR3GYlreJ9o/s320/dlev_5063.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711189661362064002" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Pre-lecture I enjoyed a relaxing chat with Christoph Steger (pictured right), where he told me he recently worked on an hour-long animated documentary made in the UK.</span> (photo by John Baker).<br /><br />My Thursday night lecture was a two-hour version of my SVA career class. My spiel is based on 14 key lessons I've learned from my time in the industry. Each lesson feels as personal to me as the films I've been making as of late. When I'm reliving each story in front of the students it feels like one part confession, one part motivational speech and one part the ravings of an animation Rabbi. What all that adds up to I have no idea, but I think everyone had a good time. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRmz-zArMrbN1haKYYhi52YRfB6KkuR2My4FlZ2sQ8hEoOXFYdn3Zlxnt8WzlmmWaXPfwn4tkBPnGAX9Mmkk0J-t9V4tQPVhocu0YUyDkYJOVtulKkHxaGbGbjM1yXG7YhpPBWJ7UeTPCX/s1600/dlev_5107b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 254px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRmz-zArMrbN1haKYYhi52YRfB6KkuR2My4FlZ2sQ8hEoOXFYdn3Zlxnt8WzlmmWaXPfwn4tkBPnGAX9Mmkk0J-t9V4tQPVhocu0YUyDkYJOVtulKkHxaGbGbjM1yXG7YhpPBWJ7UeTPCX/s320/dlev_5107b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711193784490033746" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Captured in the moment by John Baker, surely reliving some industry trauma or hard-lesson learned. </span><br /><br />The second day was a more informal chat with Doug's nine-member senior class. Knee-deep into their thesis films, some of them got up and presented animation tests, snippets of music or sound, and color studies from their works in process. The KCIA animation thesis track reminded me of RISD in the blend of experimental and narrative films on display. In addition, some students were working on projects that were part gallery installations. <br /><br />After a lunch consisting of the greatest Rueben Sandwich in recorded history (great recommendation, Doug!!), I spent the rest of the afternoon having one-on-one chats with the students as they labored in a large studio space that would make cramped NYC animation students green with envy.<br /><br />There are a lot of talented students in this program, and their passion to make it in this industry was undeniable. But, there was also a lot of humbleness in the air. Is that a Midwestern thing? Whatever the reason, it was refreshing to see. <br /><br />The students had an acute awareness that upon graduation they needed to move to either NYC or LA. While it's true that animation artists can live anywhere today, it's important to first spend some amount of years working in an industry hub city, building up a reputation, and making contacts. After that, working from home (from anywhere) becomes a viable option. I can see some graduates of this program going out into the world and bringing those skills back to Kansas City and growing the local industry. Until then, as the students venture into this art/craft/business, I hope that they could somehow hold onto their wonderment of animation, their unassuming natures, and their obvious affection and support for each other.David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-80702710329866805102012-02-11T04:56:00.000-08:002012-02-13T05:51:34.066-08:00Animondays Interview: Stephen Hillenburg<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcOadD0KowQv3CUhO0gOkfIkrh6HWY0a_yl5qxQz1eKE6zKBOx90hS8D5tlOZezTKveGGnZqbIwyDW1thP5kbtr9oFG3gDhZ6ySIx7P-gEGGDDj5xmhz24py_MUp4QHFitGdJCOocM7gmw/s1600/stephen-hillenburg-06.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 210px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcOadD0KowQv3CUhO0gOkfIkrh6HWY0a_yl5qxQz1eKE6zKBOx90hS8D5tlOZezTKveGGnZqbIwyDW1thP5kbtr9oFG3gDhZ6ySIx7P-gEGGDDj5xmhz24py_MUp4QHFitGdJCOocM7gmw/s320/stephen-hillenburg-06.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707875392752391890" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">As an employee on a Nickelodeon production for over eight years, one of my perks was being able to attend company staff meetings where then-Nick president Herb Scannell would warmly explain the state of the company. If that wasn't enough, there was free Snapple. As part of his spiel, there would usually be video clips of upcoming Nick shows or movies. One day the clip introduced a little yellow sponge that would soon take the world by storm.<br /><br />If you've never taken the SpongeBob plunge, may I recommend seasons 1-3. They are simply magic.<br /><br />On one hand SpongeBob was simply part of the continuum of Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker, and other trickster characters with big personalities and signature loud laughs. On the other hand SpongeBob was innovative in that he ushered in the modern era of the innocent rube-like character, the naive man-child who looks at the world with unspoiled eyes. Of course this character type has existed before in literature, theatre, film, and TV, but SpongeBob gave us a new spin on the tradition and created a trend-setting phenomenon. Post SpongeBob, this character-type has echoed in animation, influencing such series as Cartoon Network's Chowder and Flap Jack. <br /><br />While working at Nick in NYC, season one of SpongeBob became our water cooler conversation. So, one day I got the notion to call creator Stephen Hillenburg in Burbank to see if he'd agree to do an interview for the ASIFA-East newsletter. He agreed immediately and sent me back a great set of answers. Without further ado, here's a snapshot of the early days of SpongeBob from an interview dated April 2, 2001, and appearing for the first time in its entirety online. Enjoy!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxH4MHHjMB7S0LyW-T8zgYPsCgPc6pEDzvU-QaftRrQoEbrBvSS6v_aNqy_s_Q-vK5OgEJGj8WtoQq3llSgYz597FAIHxcdGqk2wKkapz3V9aVh6jhdpNCS9ImYWy130Nt_MMszicxbQVj/s1600/Spongebob-spongebob-squarepants-1595657-1024-768.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxH4MHHjMB7S0LyW-T8zgYPsCgPc6pEDzvU-QaftRrQoEbrBvSS6v_aNqy_s_Q-vK5OgEJGj8WtoQq3llSgYz597FAIHxcdGqk2wKkapz3V9aVh6jhdpNCS9ImYWy130Nt_MMszicxbQVj/s320/Spongebob-spongebob-squarepants-1595657-1024-768.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707875318791334738" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What was your background in animation before creating, developing and producing<br />Spongebob?</span><br />I attended CalArts and participated in the Experimental Animation graduate program under Jules Engel. During this time I produced two animated films, 'The Green Beret'( a short envolving a GirlScout with enormous hands) and 'Wormholes'( a short about a fly landing on a watch in 'relativityland') both of which toured the festival scene. I also created another film of straight ahead animation titled 'Animation Diary' which consisted of 365 drawings (one drawing drawn per day for the year 1991). After graduating I was hired to work on the Nickelodeon series 'Rocko's Modern Life'. I directed for three seasons and was promoted to Creative Director for the fourth season.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What pitch materials did you use to "sell" Spongebob to Nickelodeon?</span><br />I created a bible and a few paintings to explain the characters and their world. To supplement this I sculpted SpongeBob, Patrick and Squidward and put them in an aquarium where they were propelled by an air pump. I also recorded a temp theme song on a small tape recorder and mounted it inside a conch shell with a mercury switch, the song would play whenever the shell was lifted to the ear. I was also nude.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">How much did the initial vision for Spongebob change or evolve from the original concept?<br />Did minor characters develop into more prominent roles?</span><br />Originally I wanted the show to focus on this innocent, optimistic, overly enthusiastic, sometimes odd and even magical character(SpongeBob) living this nautical fantasy world. I think we've pretty much stayed on course. The key has been finding stories where either SpongeBob prevails innocently or where his innocence causes a conflict for himself. I wanted the overall sensiblity of the world to be wild and surreal yet have logic. Most of the original cast remains with no real change in their importance. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">How did you come to meet the people who work on the show like Derek Drymon, Aaron Springer, Mr. Lawrence, Sherm Cohen, and Paul Tibbitt? </span><br />I'm lucky I guess! There is a direct relationship between the success of this show and my immensely creative staff. These guys and all the other crew members are hard to find and hard to replace.A few people (Derek Drymon for example) worked on 'Rocko'. Most of the people I find through word of mouth.You have somebody on the staff you like and trust, they recommend someone they think would fit in nicely on the show. Often you're searching for someone that has the right sensibility, the appropriate sense of humor ( someone who 'gets it' ).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What, if any, roles have you taken on in producing Spongebob that you don't enjoy?</span><br />Managing people is an essential part of producing a show but managing people can be tiring. I like going to work and being creative. When the other stuff gets in the way it's a drag.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Many of the new wave of television cartoons including Courage the Cowardly Dog, Power Puff Girls and your show feature the storyboard credit prominently before each cartoon, alongside the director's name. What is the role of storyboard artists on Spongebob? In addition to their work on boards, do they make major writing and directorial contributions to the show?</span><br />On SpongeBob a writing team writes the premise. Then a Director and Storyboard artist 'team' write the episode in 'comic' or storyboard form. We do not storyboard from script. <br /><br />The story ideas for spongebob are very simple, well told, entertaining and full of great little touches like the poor fish who keeps getting hit by the anchor toss in the muscle beach competition in the episode where Spongebob gets fake muscle arms. At what point do the smaller details that end up contributing so much to the overall effect get into your show? Where do these ideas come from? Do you ever wonder if one more gag or one less gag could make or break a sequence?<br /><br />Our overall philosophy has been keep it simple. Try to find humor in a simple situation ( that hopefully reaches absurd proportions). Put the characters together and watch what happens...you know like red ants and black ants. We are only doing eleven minute stories so there are not alot of subplots. Sometimes we will build an entire act around one silly concept. SpongeBob and Patrick both have candy bars. Patrick is so stupid that he forgets that he has just eaten his and believes the one SpongeBob holds was his. SpongeBob is now a thief. The humor should always come from character. The ideas come from everywhere and anyone. Things like childhood memories. When developing stories we often play non-linear thinking exercises ( like pulling words out of a hat and writing a situation inspired by the word ). Ultimately the ideas that stick are the ones that consistently make everyone laugh. As far as the number of gags goes, I definitely think the pacing of a section can be bogged down by too many jokes.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Some entire episodes of Spongebob can be understood with the sound turned off....for instance, the episode in which Spongebob delights in the limitless joys of a simple piece of paper. How do you balance the visual to verbal content of the show from each episode's inception?</span><br />What probably helps most here is reviewing all drafts of the story ( after the outline stage) either as a storyboard or an animatic, <br />doing visual and verbal rewrites simultaneuosly.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Several episodes of Spongebob feature terrific song segments that are woven effectively into the plot lines, such as the "friendship song" sung by Plankton and SB, the "ripped my pants" song and Sandy's "wish I was back in Texas". Did the song ideas evolve out of the plot lines or did the plot lines evolve out of the song ideas?</span><br />All the above songs were written after the plot was determined. <br /><br />There is an LA based group of artists that draw heavily upon cartoon (and animation) imagery in their work (Mike Kelley, Paul McCarthy, etc.) Have these artists or any other contemporary art world influences inspired Spongebob in any way?<br /><br />I was at this museum once that had a room full of cartoony Mike Kelley drawings that were all really bizarre. A group of elementary kids led by a museum docent entered the room and got really excited about the drawings. A few were examining this depiction of I think Abe Lincoln with brain waves and others were pointing at this one drawing of a goose biting a little boy on the penis. The docent was clearly uncomfortable and quickly ushered them out of the room (against their will ) to the next exhibit. I've always wanted SpongeBob to be that compelling....did I answer the question?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Did you experience any resistance from "the network" in incorporating live-action elements into SB? (Like in "The Suds" episode when the hand reaches in and grabs the characters and washes them out)</span><br />No. They were a little worried about 'Patchy the Pirate' though.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">How do you maintain the high quality look of your show when dealing with an overseas studio handling the animation?</span><br />Our overseas studio is Rough Draft. They are really the best studio in Korea for cartoony animation. Sure there's communication barriers but those guys work really hard and have some talented cartoonists on board. Also they are quite familiar with other Nickelodeon shows such as 'Ren and Stimpy' and 'Rocko's Modern Life' where layouts were done from detailed storyboards.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Did you cast the show yourself? Do you ever do any VOs on the show?</span><br />Donna Grillo and I cast the show. I would explain to Donna the specific voices I had in mind for each character and she would recommend a list of candidates. I did the voice of 'Potty' the parrot in the 'Patchy the Pirate' live action segments. Anybody can do a parrot. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What's your personal favorite SB episode to date and why?</span><br />Being so close to the project it's impossible for me to have a favorite. I think the shows get better and better. The characters become more developed, the animation more consistent.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Were Spongebob's nocturnal dream traveling adventures at least partially inspired by the Sour Puss and Gandy cartoons made at Terrytoons in the early 1940s?</span><br /> I'm not sure.That was an idea Doug Lawrence hatched. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The character of Bubble Bass and Spongebob seem to have a Jerry and Newman relationship, a-la Seinfeld. What films, television shows, comics...etc, do you draw creative inspiration from?</span><br />For this particular series anything that deals with 'Candide'-like innocence. Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, Pee-Wee,<br />The Muppets. Movies like 'My Life as a Dog' or 'A Christmas Story'. Also Popeye, Beany and Cecil, Krazy Kat, Dr.Suess, Yellow Submarine, Calvin and Hobbes. I should mention that a great deal of the inspiration for the series came from my interest in marine biology and surf culture.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Spongebob draws a large adult following. Are you surprised that adults have taken to your show?</span><br />Yes and no. It is Saturday am TV, but since we write things that make us laugh one could assume other adults would also find the show amusing. We definitely don't pander to kids...but we also try not to write over their heads. I was more surprised to hear about college students playing drinking games while watching 'Blue's Clues'.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What animated shows, if any, do you measure your work on Spongebob against or consider your creative competition. </span><br />'Ren and Stimpy' and 'The Simpsons' raised the bar for all TV animation. Those shows really inspired us to try to do something memorable or maybe even groundbreaking. At they same time we are fighting hard to not copy them. Always asking 'How can we not be like those shows?' <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What independent animators/animated films do you admire?</span><br />Jules Engel. He's singlehandedly taught and inspired countless independent animators. His age is a mystery.<br /><br />Paul Driessen. When I was thirteen I went to a Tournee of Animation and saw 'The Killing of an Egg'. That film made a lasting impression on me. <br /><br />Richard Condie. 'The Big Snit' has got to be one of the greatest indies ever. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">If you had three wishes, what would they be? </span><br />1.Pleasure for all things living and non-living.<br />2.To never have to 'high five' an industry executive.<br />3.That they resume production of 'Tombow'2B pencil.David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-80808806824397754972012-02-05T12:14:00.000-08:002012-02-06T05:03:27.243-08:00Animondays Interview: Nina Paley<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0PYANLbQou_e_Ki97u9jS3iRqkXco4DvaFAG4jE1Z5laYeLrbqhyphenhyphenqnunnanRX7U5RBEelIUFRbtf_hDnOjaZpm-ox8Y79PsFody-bixjKeXjO_u2EuOk6SFqKfRonarGHJihM5xntJT1/s1600/IFC1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0PYANLbQou_e_Ki97u9jS3iRqkXco4DvaFAG4jE1Z5laYeLrbqhyphenhyphenqnunnanRX7U5RBEelIUFRbtf_hDnOjaZpm-ox8Y79PsFody-bixjKeXjO_u2EuOk6SFqKfRonarGHJihM5xntJT1/s320/IFC1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705750656536863090" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Nina Paley beaming with pride in front of NYC's IFC Theatre with her film on the Marquee. Her feature ran at the theatre from Dec 25-31, 2009.</span><br /><br />When I wrote my recent book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Directing-Animation-David-B-Levy/dp/1581157460/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328474469&sr=8-1">Directing Animation</a>, it was an absolute must to talk to <a href="http://blog.ninapaley.com/">Nina Paley</a> for two reasons. One, she made a wonderful and practically self-funded and self-produced feature length animated film: <a href="http://sitasingstheblues.com/watch.html">Sita Sings the Blues</a>. And, two, she inadvertently pioneered a new means of distribution in the process. When I asked Nina if she'd agree to an interview for my book, her one condition was that we chat on the phone instead of emailing a set of questions and answers back and forth. This worked out really well and allowed me to better explore certain areas with follow up questions. Luckily I was able to type as fast as we talked. Maybe if my animation career stalls I can fall back as a Steno.<br /><br />Without further ado, appearing for the first time in its entirety, here's my interview with Nina Paley from September 16, 2009:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLCFvXPugZ9n5v1OFjf2aV1PqJZZdYtbBeMDkj9zTZ0ytLz9WEluU7OFiOxDbMgYcYfes56g_Dum8-Rxjg6j1r8qak1UUVT59d2_cbcva0ljCwIGxEyKkgfS707Gu5zVHS0glU5oNP0B55/s1600/09.SitaCriesARiver.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLCFvXPugZ9n5v1OFjf2aV1PqJZZdYtbBeMDkj9zTZ0ytLz9WEluU7OFiOxDbMgYcYfes56g_Dum8-Rxjg6j1r8qak1UUVT59d2_cbcva0ljCwIGxEyKkgfS707Gu5zVHS0glU5oNP0B55/s320/09.SitaCriesARiver.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705753098373774402" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">An emotional moment from "Sita," in a film chock-full of them.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1-What skill sets go into directing animation for a feature film?</span><br />I directed my computer, not other animators... so from my experience, the important part was knowing how to use and work with my computer. Sita happened magically. Its based on an old and long story. It appeared with the story structure in place, the beginning, middle and end were already there.<br /><br />I wasn't sitting around wanting to do a feature. I had no intention of doing a feature film. But, I felt compelled to make it real. There's a reason I'm not making another feature. I will only do it if another idea comes along that makes me <span style="font-style:italic;">have</span> to do it.<br /><br />I get lots of ideas, so I can't possibly make all of them into pieces of art... but, some of them stick and won't go away...my next thing is a book, but not because I want to write a book.<br /><br />I don't know what's a good or bad reason to make art.. there's all kinds of motiviations.... being an artist is hard, there's not really money in it... so having a motivation other then money seems good. There should be some reason to do it other than money.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2-Can you list some common mistakes and challenges that are faced by the first time feature animation director?</span><br />I only made one feature... but, I will say that one man's mistake is another man's virtue. People give you a lot of warnings about mistakes you can make... I think that sometimes the biggest mistake you can make is listening to those warnings, especially listening on copyright issues. The advice there is wrong, technically and morally wrong. Listen to your quiet inner voice instead. Sita would not have existed if I had listened to the advice I got. <br /><br />There are lawyers that are writing this info on copyright, warning us: just don't use old stuff, only use stuff that's clear, and raise the money first. But, you don't have to raise the money first nowadays... art doesn't obey any laws. Tell that to the muse... or don't tell it to the muse. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3-How, if at all, is directing a feature different then directing shorts?</span><br />There were differences... I knew the story would have to be structurally different... there had to be something that held everything together. It doesn't always come together... I see a lot of features where something is just not there. Possibly I was lucky becasuse (as a solo effort) I wasn't destroyed by committee.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4-What part of directing a feature gave you the most satisfaction?</span><br />A lot of things. One thing was the commitment of it. Knowing what it was.. having a large and clear goal... Every day I felt I could work on it. There was a daily communion with art. Once I made the commitment, I didn't worry about whether it was crazy, I just did what I needed to do each day.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5-Where did you learn your sense of timing, acting, staging, and storytelling that is so essential in directing feature animation?</span><br />I was not formally trained. Probably I learned like how you learn how to talk: by listening. It's like a language. I picked it up by observing and being exposed to media.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimrXWJ3iSID4DStbPAo1nQhc2oUO8aY038ci7kDFiO301VRRq2LsEdmP4AYTVJTQSEuDFutmeh060Gtgm554hD22UNHI_y-NxFTnt_VB55qjY0NzuXU07FvXrowAxBg6Lf3YYo4jBh4vMG/s1600/05.RamSitaGods.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimrXWJ3iSID4DStbPAo1nQhc2oUO8aY038ci7kDFiO301VRRq2LsEdmP4AYTVJTQSEuDFutmeh060Gtgm554hD22UNHI_y-NxFTnt_VB55qjY0NzuXU07FvXrowAxBg6Lf3YYo4jBh4vMG/s320/05.RamSitaGods.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705753095526203826" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Another eye-popping moment from "Sita." </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6-How long did your feature production take, how did you pay for it, and how would you describe your distribution model?</span><br />3 years of work spread over 5 years of time. I started in 2005, finished in 2008. The very beginnings of it were in 2002, as a short. I took a few breaks to do freelance work. One really great thing, once I was committed to the project and willing to be poor, I called my parents to ask if I ran out of money, if I could go back and live with them...and they said, "yes." So I had that to fall back on. I very consciously avoided worrying about the money. I had a new age approach to it that it will work out: "You'll be OK no matter what. You can sleep on peoples' sofas...people won't let you die." <br /><br />I read the comments on cartoonbrew and talk to artists, and there is a real fear of starving to death, but the fact is your friends and family won't let you starve to death... even me (and I have a stressful relationship with my family). And, I will take care of others the same way. <br /><br />3 ways to reckon the budget is: it was $80,000 for production costs, without food and rent. This included sound design, commisioning music, actors, dubs and prints. <br /><br />If you include food and rent, the total cost would be $200,000. My primary expense was me. The costs of licensing the music was $70,000. That broke down to $50,000 in license fees and 20,000 for transactions costs. <br /><br />I didn't think of finishing the film as a tool to raise this money. And when I was finished, I was prohibited by law to give it away for free. The law distinguishes between commercial and non commercial infringement. Either way I could have gone to jail. I cleared these things because I wanted to show it for free... There's more money in showing it for free than with a proprietary conventional distrubition model. You need a ton of money to promote a feature, and access to theatres. If you are an independent, you don't control the media stream. A film that has a small promotion budget is a killer, so many small films have been released but there haven't been enough publicity around them. Their costs are never recouped. Most feature filmmakers I've talked to have made zero dollars on the back end. Their investors paid them a salary/advance to make the film, 10 or 20 thousand dollars. <br /><br />If you're lucky, people will see your film. I can be broke without the help of a distributor. More can see it if I release it freely. <br />Ten years ago it would have been very different. The film could not exist. Ten years ago it would have gone through a conventional distribution. Now the internet offers all these fab ways to share information...<br /><br />Today the only limited resource is peoples' minds. There's not enough hours in the day to pay attention to all the good stuff. There's so much stuff I want to read and look at each day. There's competition over eyeballs... over peoples' attention.<br /><br />The good thing about competition is if things are good, they are likelier to... you know, quality is a kind of the survival of the fittest right now. The model we are emerging from is the winner takes all, and a few things take over everything––becoming mega popular. The execs are all looking for that... something that can be really good but only attract a small audience won't interest that old exec. In the new model you can get some kind of audience for almost anything, but it takes time and there's a lot of stuff competing... The stuff that will get eyeballs is stuff people recommend to other people. Things don't have to be blockbusters. <br /><br />There were a lot of steaming turds that did fine in the three-network TV days because we all just watched what was on TV that night, but, nowadays if you make a turd, it competes with a lot of other stuff that people might like more because it's better. That's why old media has its nickers in a twist.David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-81593410939108895672012-01-29T07:37:00.000-08:002012-01-30T04:54:15.859-08:00The Loneliness of the Long Distance Pitcher<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH4iwmnzWrdkIrx-dvowtyHx7FPnBftonT0UZfJyDTsxCuWTpUgF6ENX0nHm5oYm1CLz6byjVgIG_LYEjz2cf8YpBHNYYaKbpu35Ix8NPCJJpUMAJ5EohzFOR3RdCnT1Ew6RX9MY8WHAEp/s1600/photo-14.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH4iwmnzWrdkIrx-dvowtyHx7FPnBftonT0UZfJyDTsxCuWTpUgF6ENX0nHm5oYm1CLz6byjVgIG_LYEjz2cf8YpBHNYYaKbpu35Ix8NPCJJpUMAJ5EohzFOR3RdCnT1Ew6RX9MY8WHAEp/s320/photo-14.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5703078976644997138" /></a><br />Last week I crammed in a three-day whirlwind trip to LA to pitch a new project with my co-creators, the Levinson bros. Our reception ran the full rollercoaster from red hot "I wouldn't change a thing" and "this is just what were looking for," to "Love it, but we don't need it" to "I like the tone, and one of the characters, but..." to a scathing rejection of every single element. Ouch!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Three things I was reminded of this week:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">One</span> is that development execs are people like you and me (duh), albeit probably better paid. As with any group of "real" people, they can't be reduced to a single stereotype. The execs we met with were motherly, aloof, sympathetic, bored, excitable, opinionated, tight-lipped, lackluster, and inspirational.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Two</span>, because of the above, showing a project is akin to a rorschach test, probably saying as much about the exec's pysche as anything else... The variety of reactions on one project could be comical at times. One exec said "your character is too mild and meek," the same day another declared "I'm not seeing the mild and meek side of the character." Moments like that can actually help a creator relax. Because, what does it all mean anyway?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Three</span>, during the pitch process creators collect A LOT of data on what the networks are currently looking for. And this brings up the great dilemma: what the hell to do with that info? If you want, you can let this outside influence in, and return with a paint-by-numbers show tailor-made to these instructions. In the past, that's just what I'd do. It was like a game to me. But how often did that new idea really connect with "me"? The truth is that the best creation comes from within. When Pen Ward built the odd, random, and fun world of Adventure Time he did so from an honest place that was so real to him... It WAS him. But now some execs use his show as what they expect from you too.<br /><br />One exec summed up what they are looking for as being louder, wilder, and even more random than Adventure Time. But I can't help believing that the next big thing won't be defined by Adventure Time, just as Adventure Time wasn't defined by SpongeBob. History taught us: Looney Tunes beat Disney by not being Disney.<br /><br />So what to do with this feedback? Maybe it's my age (half my stubble is gray now), but I'd rather be ME even if it paints me eternally uncool and uncommercial because I've learned-- if it ain't personal, it's nothing.<br /><br />Speaking of the personal, this trip gave me a chance to meet up with two sets of cousins from my fathers side of the family, whom even my father has never met. So it was pitching by day and family reunions at night. Ironic, in a way, because that's like following one type of stress with another. As accustomed as I am to pitching now, it still requires a great deal of energy and nerve. After a meeting, the toll of the experience hits me. There's always a deep breath as I walk out the door.<br /><br />But, instead of creating added stress, these pitches made meeting "new" family seem like a break or reward at the end of the day. Happily, my new extended family were all wonderful people. It was a joy to make their acquaintance and help build a bridge across time.<br /><br />We are all the descendants of my Great Grandfather Isaac Levy. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_56zGEmULnY3LurnjCB_fNC-LWuGHmFk6NOKi-m_s6glcqq05j_vqudr_3GtU4oC-PG9lgrSCYYSnYoDGVjzk9ychmrmPj7YvvBxUhoHA1tZI5bpWF5lZ4OTpXGFtJXP6bz8NXJEHFm1a/s1600/Isaac.Levy+and+his+troop.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 249px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_56zGEmULnY3LurnjCB_fNC-LWuGHmFk6NOKi-m_s6glcqq05j_vqudr_3GtU4oC-PG9lgrSCYYSnYoDGVjzk9ychmrmPj7YvvBxUhoHA1tZI5bpWF5lZ4OTpXGFtJXP6bz8NXJEHFm1a/s320/Isaac.Levy+and+his+troop.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5703080332199954866" /></a><br />Isaac was head of an acrobatic trio that preformed in vaudeville with my Great Grandfather being the strong man (bottom guy). They once shared a stage with Eddie Cantor. One of Isaac's daughters went into showbiz too, shaping her three children into a successful family of Flamenco dancers and singers that starred in an Oscar-nominated short called "Bombalera" in 1945. <br /><br />It seemed natural to be meeting some of Isaac's offspring in the industy town of Burbank all these years later. Whatever the fate of the pitches, connecting with my relatives gave me my "Hollywood" ending.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLkekl6taS3SRWKjMz4rWNy04ebnbA01ktB7EEejWGHv3_YI97nZDOOkaJus_CGK5RDbQPlEKm5LjjZGNleDznueEFYaJhU6qJU-cExEAGup9z5MoykqBXQhrCC2_9pBA4Ur__sabXSv3/s1600/photo-15.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLkekl6taS3SRWKjMz4rWNy04ebnbA01ktB7EEejWGHv3_YI97nZDOOkaJus_CGK5RDbQPlEKm5LjjZGNleDznueEFYaJhU6qJU-cExEAGup9z5MoykqBXQhrCC2_9pBA4Ur__sabXSv3/s320/photo-15.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5703078977216322306" /></a>David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-22050709147292081852012-01-17T17:40:00.000-08:002012-01-23T04:59:20.750-08:00Animation Career Round Up<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJTKIL8cSTCFofAwlIuMTOTVa4d8wsxdAHnZAYuc8aC8V2ue3SQ2nDPTSep3etZfzA3fx5O7f5hNugnEyjWSMbESRAakoYG4dI6UWSSmWQXG8ZGnIUNpv2xinimw720ljyCyTmH5IuuaZi/s1600/966564520_47e285aee7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJTKIL8cSTCFofAwlIuMTOTVa4d8wsxdAHnZAYuc8aC8V2ue3SQ2nDPTSep3etZfzA3fx5O7f5hNugnEyjWSMbESRAakoYG4dI6UWSSmWQXG8ZGnIUNpv2xinimw720ljyCyTmH5IuuaZi/s320/966564520_47e285aee7.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699702962479102674" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">*a snapshot of a panel called "Job or No Job" from the 2008 Platform Animation Festival in Portland, Oregon. Left to right: Heather Kenyon (moderator), and panelists Fred Seibert, Jason McHugh, me, Debra Blanchard, and Frank Gladstone.</span><br /><br />A very nice (and talented) former student recently ran into trouble finding work after his long-term job ended. Hearing his story brought back memories of my first animation layoff some 15 years ago. Lay offs are like rights of passage in this industry. Before they come along we work under the illusion of stability and consistency. My first lay off forever changed me, making me realize I was responsible for my own experience in this industry. <br /><br />To try and help my former student, I first rounded up 10 links to past <span style="font-style:italic;">Animondays</span> entries dealing with the subjects of finding work, keeping a job, and building a healthy and rewarding career in this industry. This is hard-won information, based on my experiences (mistakes and all) along with observations on others. Since it could be of use to others as well, I'm using this blog post to present those links.<br /><br />Even with ten essays, this is far from the whole story, so feel free to add your own additional links in the comments. It might be fun to follow this next week with a round up of similar links from <a href="http://aceandson.com/blog/">Richard O' Connor</a> and <a href="http://mayersononanimation.blogspot.com/">Mark Mayerson</a>, who have also written extensively on the subject from their own areas of expertise. <br /><br /><a href="http://animondays.blogspot.com/2008/01/relationships-stupid.html">On the role and importance of relationships to your career.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://animondays.blogspot.com/2008/02/comparison-job-to-job-vrs-career.html">On the difference between a job-to-job existence vrs. having a career plan.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://animondays.blogspot.com/2009/05/its-small-world-after-all.html">On the difficulty of breaking in to the business. </a><br /><br /><a href="http://animondays.blogspot.com/2009/06/all-things-being-equal.html">On techniques you can use to give yourself an edge in the market place. </a><br /><br /><a href="http://animondays.blogspot.com/2009/07/ignoring-poison-mentors.html">On avoiding bad mentors and bad advice in the workplace. </a><br /><br /><a href="http://animondays.blogspot.com/2010/12/theres-always-more-we-could-be-doing.html">On what's missing from unsuccessful job hunts. </a><br /><br /><a href="http://animondays.blogspot.com/2011/01/animation-hiatus-survival-guide.html">On surviving downtime. </a><br /><br /><a href="http://animondays.blogspot.com/2011/04/checkin-in-one-of-secrets-to-getting.html">On the role of staying connected and staying in touch to ensure continued employment. </a><br /><br /><a href="http://animondays.blogspot.com/2011/04/juggling-match.html">On the importance of being able to juggle all the aspects that make up a successful long-term career in animation.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://animondays.blogspot.com/2011/10/full-lessons-from-part-time-jobs.html">On how your non-animation related work can teach you lessons that are also applicable to this industry. </a>David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-11508857498866932792012-01-14T05:20:00.000-08:002012-01-16T06:34:41.950-08:00Booking<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhILlaxv6F-RhgoDjBF81bjE0Wz-BfUiy1THXFrm3MXCfyQQaMdhXCJVg_WMTl7anvd7zbtsGDFfmMFJ2N70nL7EEvLhkizCZvQcRQ_VsUFijP5E88PIjifkkNu1KcM9IsYgxP-mgUx0486/s1600/image+117+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 190px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhILlaxv6F-RhgoDjBF81bjE0Wz-BfUiy1THXFrm3MXCfyQQaMdhXCJVg_WMTl7anvd7zbtsGDFfmMFJ2N70nL7EEvLhkizCZvQcRQ_VsUFijP5E88PIjifkkNu1KcM9IsYgxP-mgUx0486/s320/image+117+copy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697478757532751506" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">The one and only <a href="http://www.mowillems.com/">Mo Willems</a>, animation superstar turned amazing children's book author, caught in a snapshot while attending an ASIFA-East festival last decade.</span><br /><br />Over the years I’ve flirted with the idea of trying to develop as a children’s book author. Starting in the late 90s, I illustrated a steady stream of books for Simon & Schuster, Scholastic, and Golden Books. These were all <span style="font-style:italic;">Blue’s Clues</span> titles. This opportunity came from working on the series that spawned them. All I had to do, initially, was take a test to get on the approved list of illustrators. After that you just waited for the phone to ring. <br /><br />Starting around 2004, I wrote a half dozen original manuscripts of my own book ideas, created some concept art, and submitted to an agent or two and the odd publisher. Despite some interest and encouragement, no deals were forthcoming. Then, one day I asked my friend, Mo Willems, for advice. He said that putting a viable children’s book together is much more work than people think, and advised that it’s absolutely necessary to rough out the entire book before approaching an agent. <br /><br />Unlike the world of pitching animated series ideas, when it comes to children’s books, you absolutely need an agent. Publishers only want to look at books that come through agents, knowing that agents only represent books/authors that have merit and sales potential. Agents act as the buffer zone for publishers. They fend off all the "unsuitable" books that publishers don't have to see. <br /><br />Once I was armed with Mo’s good advice I can’t say that followed it. Instead, I tried another handful of book pitches in my own half-lazy way with no success. Up until six months ago I would have said that my so-called attempts at cracking the world of children’s books were over. But, half the fun of a career is not being able to predict what’s ahead. <br /><br />While making an original animated series pitch with a couple of partners, we enlisted a wonderful comedienne/writer/actress to voice one of our characters. I loved her voice and she loved our project (the latter of which comes in handy when you’re asking an established talent to work on spec). Half way through our production, she asked me if I would be willing to do some spec work for her, illustrating a children’s book she wanted to write. She presented two raw ideas and I picked the one I was interested in. She wrote a few drafts and I designed the characters. <br /><br />A couple of months drifted by until I could jump back on the book project, but when I did I remembered Mo’s advice: “rough out the entire book before approaching an agent.” <br /><br />So, I decided to rough out the entire 32 page book and take 5 or so spreads to full finished color. Laying out the book, figuring out the page flow, type design, etc., has been a blast. I see now what Mo meant. The book just isn’t there until you go through that process. Sure, there’s the “voice” of the author’s writing, but the other “voice” is how that story unfolds into a page-by-page visual experience. Why would an agent or publisher “get it” without you having done that work?<br /><br />My experience finally utilizing Mo’s wisdom reminds me how often we go around collecting good advice, but so seldom use it. Still, better late than never.David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-47114798425293848422012-01-07T09:55:00.000-08:002012-01-09T04:56:34.754-08:00Guest Speakers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO89lIxcZf3OreEkfCPM-00KFfgO3FRZ7oVUb8PDoxH6arNeLRvVTEkoOv40GWer7uDkI6kwbLcUJtSK2oLqVyUlUzt4G9oHfnhcuUea3Wp9vH4YIHKpSd7Qn9ddLSlj5TNf_AsErxcVtf/s1600/471px-Sva_logo_stacked.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 251px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO89lIxcZf3OreEkfCPM-00KFfgO3FRZ7oVUb8PDoxH6arNeLRvVTEkoOv40GWer7uDkI6kwbLcUJtSK2oLqVyUlUzt4G9oHfnhcuUea3Wp9vH4YIHKpSd7Qn9ddLSlj5TNf_AsErxcVtf/s320/471px-Sva_logo_stacked.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694974136999040082" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />My favorite class to teach is the animation career strategies class at <a href="http://www.schoolofvisualarts.edu/">SVA</a>, which is titled Animation Promotion/PR (Public Relations). As I’ve mentioned before, when I was a student at SVA, Linda Simensky taught this class, where she brought in a who’s who of local animation talent to share the ups and downs of working-in-animation. <br /><br />It’s been my pleasure to keep that same tradition going by bringing in talented guest speakers over the years such as PES, Patrick Smith, Candy Kugel, Mo Willems, Tom Warburton, Xeth Feinberg, Tina Moglia, Ray Kosarin, Allan Neuwirth, Debra Solomon, John R. Dilworth, Otis Brayboy, Ian Jones Quartey, Jake Armstrong, and many others. My rule for guest speakers is that they must have unique experiences different from my own (since the students are already stuck with me), and that each speaker represent a specific career path. <br /><br />The 15-week course spun off into my first <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Your-Career-Animation-Survive-Thrive/dp/1581154453/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325963758&sr=1-1">book</a> in 2006, ensuring the information gathered has reached beyond my classroom. But, the best thing for me is how teaching this class gives me the privilege of meeting and connecting with a new wave of talent each year, and how through the students' questions and guest speakers' advice, I have a chance to learn something new too. <br /><br />At the end of the fall 2011 term of my class, I compiled a visiting guest speaker list, so I could summarize the wisdom offered by each one. As a way to kick in 2012, I thought it would be fun to post this list below. Best wishes on your career in animation in the new year!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/eileen-kohlhepp/6/32b/7">Eileen Kohlhepp</a>- stop motion animator – </span><br />As a stop-motion animator (her current gig is animating for Henry Selick on his new feature!) she’s had to move around a lot and work in different cities, so she relies on staying in touch with people to help ensure future work. With each booking she updates her roster of clients as to her schedule––what she’s working on, when she’ll finish, etc. Giving former clients such updates has made it easier from them to hire her. Not a bad strategy. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://danmeth.com/">Dan Meth</a>- web animator-</span> <br />Anyone who earns a living writing/directing/and producing his own animated cartoons deserves our attention and admiration, so I’m always happy to have Dan visit my class. This semester, he presented a power point lecture that included a slide displaying the logos for Tumblr, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Vimeo with a headline above saying “Don’t Fight These.” Dan’s point is that social media as a powerful tool for today’s creative people, and one that has allowed him to spread his brand across the airwaves. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://thiskevin.blogspot.com/">Kevin Maher</a>- writer- </span><br />This human ball of creative energy, whom I’ve written about before <a href="http://animondays.blogspot.com/2011/09/of-geeks-and-go-getters.html">here</a>, told us that before taking on any freelance job he evaluates it based on how well it scores on a series of factors, giving it a 1-5 score on: money, creative satisfaction, ability to lead to new contacts, how limited an impact it will have on family time, and if it represents a clear step forward in his career. For Kevin to take on a gig it has to score at an 18 or higher.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://campbellfirm.com/attorneys/emily_campbell.aspx">Emily Campbell</a>- Entertainment Lawyer-</span><br />“Be your own business agent,” advised entertainment lawyer Emily Campbell. She cautioned that animation artists that run their own studio businesses should never entrust the job of business manager to anyone but themselves. The thinking behind this is that nobody but the owner/operator knows what money is coming in and out and how to properly manage it. Plus she added that many times when people entrust their books to someone else it results in getting ripped off. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.ispyrecruiting.com/">ila Abramson</a>- Owner/recruiter of Ispy Recruiting-</span><br />North America's top expert in how to prepare yourself and stay prepared as an animation industry professional, ila explained how your resume/reel/portfolio, etc. are always in process, for your whole career. As a survival skill, animation artists must be in the habit of constantly updating their work to keep it current. ila told many cautionary tales of artists that didn’t do so and once their jobs ended (or the studios that employed them closed down), they found it impossible to retrieve samples of their work. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://lizartinian.com/">Liz Artinian</a>- BG and color supervisor “The Venture Bros.” and founder of 2Art for TV- </span><br />Speaking to students as the next generation to enter the workforce, Liz stressed the importance of being professional in the work place and not to make the mistake of creating another “high school” environment on the job. She gave examples how holding a poor or immature attitude holds back achievement in a collaborative atmosphere of an animation studio. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://rickritter.blogspot.com/">Rick Ritter</a>- storyboard artist on Nick Jr’s Team Umizoomi- </span><br />Rick, through his dead pan humor, explained that although he hadn’t trained to work in the animation industry, he was able to pick up much of his skills as a storyboard artist by learning from everyone around him––picking and choosing from the best of his co-workers skills. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://pilartoons.com/">Pilar Newton</a>- home studio owner/operator of PilarToons, LLC-</span><br />In her naturally enthusiastic delivery, Pilar reminded the students not to forget that they’re artists and not just defined by animation-specific jobs that they get or don’t get. “You can work in other areas, such as silk screen, graphic design, illustration, etc…,” she said. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://rauchbrothers.com/">Tim and Mike Rauch</a> -Indie Directing & Producing team- </span><br />If the job you want doesn’t exist, invent it and put in the sweat equity to make it happen––so was the example provided by the Rauch Brothers. In short, there was no studio, no job for which to apply to that would allow them to make powerful and gripping animated documentaries full of humanity. So, over a painstaking three-year period they tapped into their connections, developed their creative approach to the medium, proved what they could do by executing three fantastic sample films, and (all the while) sacrificing financially until all the planets aligned. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://frederator.com/fred-seibert/">Fred Seibert</a>- Founder and Exec Producer of Frederator & Media Entrepreneur- </span><br />If you know Fred at all, you can guess that he had the students’ attention from his first word, telling us truths such as buyers (networks, media companies, etc.) only pay attention to people who make things (films, comics, etc.) because these are the people that have something to say/sell. On the entrepreneurial side, Fred cautioned that his plans that failed were always the ones that were rushed and not properly thought through.David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-35480664106069765502012-01-02T05:28:00.000-08:002012-01-02T06:15:29.525-08:00Animondays Interview: Linda Simensky -part II<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin9T9m4bOGYzkpALcVOUk2Vazijwhj8ufZ97GLNQQniIIeFZBCQQO96-l0iMBQVpA6FpXGpneKeECExPqZjktLwEhtQ9nu4PLr08K4BT4CkI_4R8HYxWNaaV-f-xRFzc637I6IxZR-mQQo/s1600/_Annecy+4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin9T9m4bOGYzkpALcVOUk2Vazijwhj8ufZ97GLNQQniIIeFZBCQQO96-l0iMBQVpA6FpXGpneKeECExPqZjktLwEhtQ9nu4PLr08K4BT4CkI_4R8HYxWNaaV-f-xRFzc637I6IxZR-mQQo/s320/_Annecy+4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693033952548296818" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">*I'm a sucker for photos filled with my animation heroes. Here's a photo via Michael Sporn from a 2007 <a href="http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/?p=944">post</a> on Annecy. Left to right are Sporn, John R. Dilworth, and Linda Simensky in 1992.</span><br /><br />Happy New Year to all! As my first post of 2012 I'm happy to present the conclusion to my interview with the PBS Kids VP of Children's Programming, Linda Simensky. <br /><br />For all those pitching in 2012, best of luck to you. Enjoy the experience, get as much as you can out of it, and be open to other measures of success. You may not sell your project out of the gate, but you'll be on the road to building better communication/storytelling skills, and make important new relationships with producers and development execs that could lead to job opportunities (if not a deal on your creations down the line).<br /><br />Linda's answers are straight-forward, practical, and should help you on your way. Good luck!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">13-How useful have pitching extras (such as a bit of finished animation, voice or song track) been to you in a typical pitch meeting?</span><br />Seeing a demo of the animation can sometimes help show us more about the idea. There have been times, such as in the WordGirl pitch, where Soup 2 Nuts came in with a very funny piece of animation, and we all fell in love with it. On the other hand, we've seen a number of horrible demos that have pretty much killed the projects for us. As for other extras, such as theme songs or voice samples, if we already like the idea for the show, these are often interesting to see, but I can't think of time when the extras made us change our minds about an idea.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">14-How much time should a creator give a network to get back to them with a verdict after a pitch meeting?</span><br />It varies, but I'd say that it often takes a fair amount of time. You can get a rejection fairly quickly but contructive feedback takes time. If several people are going to look at an idea, and someone is going to put some notes together, it can take a while. Also, the higher up the executive is in the company, the more time it will take to hear back from them. <br /> <br />I tend to look at projects in relation to each other, and that adds time to the process.<br /><br />Since our department does more than just development, sometimes production takes precedence over development.<br /><br />It is okay to call or email and check on the status of your project, as long as you don't start to nag. You might get a faster answer if you pose your question as "I am curious to know what you thought," as opposed to "Please give me an answer as soon as possible." <br /><br />I am usually swamped at work to begin with, and there's usually something going in production on that needs immediate attention.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">15-Is the Paper Development deal (where a network options a project and commissions more scripts, designs, or storyboards) the standard first deal in your development process, or do some projects go right to pilot or series? If so, why?</span><br />In past jobs, there were always the development deals, followed by pilots. At PBS, we have a slightly different process, and the experience for each show is different. The producer and the producer's experience, the kind of show, and what the show seems to need all determine the approach we will take with that property. Some go right to series, some start with a set of shorts or a Web site, some go to pilot, and some may go direct to broadband, an option we are currently in the midst of designing. <br /><br />If a series is pitched by someone we are already working with, we may determine we are comfortable with that producer and move ahead to a series without a pilot. But when we have questions about a show or a creator, we might ask for a pilot or some further development to answer those questions.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">16- What amount of each year's green lit projects are initiated by or that involved celebrities as a selling point?</span><br />None at present, but people often end up casting more famous voices. PBS seems to attract a number of actors who are interested in being connected with PBS, either for their kids or because of their appreciation of PBS from their own childhoods. <br /><br />There hasn't been a point, either, where we've felt that we should pick up a show just because it featured a celebrity. It all comes down to the strength of the show, with our without the celebrity. After all, the chance of that celebrity dropping out of the show for some other obligation is pretty high, so a show needs to work on concept alone.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">17- What is your opinion of shorts programs (such as What a Cartoon! at CN, and Random Cartoons from Frederator/Nick)? What are the pros/cons of such programs?</span><br />These types of programs are great for giving emerging artists the chance to make a short and get experience. The odds of getting a series through these sorts of programs are pretty small, though, probably smaller than if you just pitched to the network.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">18-Besides looking at pitches, what are some of the other duties a network development executive juggles?</span><br />At PBS, there is no member of the kids programming department who handles only development. We oversee all of kids programming, so we handle program strategy and scheduling, development, and current series. In addition, we work closely with other departments, so we are involved with Interactive, Marketing and Branding, Business Affairs, and several aspects of management at different levels. We speak at and arrange a number of meetings each year with the PBS stations, as well. We're always in meetings about any number of topics.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">19- How open are you to re-looking at a previously pitched (and rejected) project, assuming that the creator has made a large amount of changes and improvement?</span><br />Sure. We have looked at many projects at several different stages. I can think of several projects that came to us that weren't what we were looking for. After numerous discussions and changes, a few have ended up in our commissioning rounds. I think it is rare for an idea to come in fully figured out and fitting perfectly into our lineup. Everything usually requires some feedback. <br /><br />For some projects, though, if they aren't working after a few tries, it's usually best to move on.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">20- How much experience should a would-be creator have before they are ready for their own pilot or series? And where should they best get that experience?</span><br />At PBS, producers and creators must have series experience, and preferably experience in kids educational programming, as well. People starting out should want to have experience -- I would imagine it is fairly daunting to be running a 40-episode first season order with no background in producing. Given this huge level of responsibility and how much freedom a producer gets, I would prefer to work with people who have experience producing a series. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">21-Any advice for new comers to pitching on how to best manage & cope with the emotional rollercoaster inherent in the pitching process?</span><br />Go into the process expecting to hear "no" most of the time. Use your experiences to learn more about pitching and more about the networks you are pitching to. Try to get as much experience as possible working on other shows.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">22- How, if at all, do you think new platforms for animation such as on smart phones, ipads and the internet will change the future of the network development process?</span> <span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">*NOTE: this Q & A dates from 2009.<span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span></span><br />At PBS, new platforms have already changed the development process from creating a series to to creating a multi-platform property. Certainly now there are more opportunities to get ideas seen in other media, and more opportunities to get experience. Eventually, there will be a number of creators who will be able to say they got their start on the web or on cell phones, but at this time, there aren't that many. There is something about those formats that emphasizes quick laughs over character development and storytelling, which are still the cornerstones of TV series.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">23- How much effort have you made in building relationships and friendships with would be creators, and how important is it to do so?</span><br />I wouldn't call it an effort, as much as a positive side effect of working in the kids TV and animation industries. At this point, many of my friends are from the industry and we've become friends because we are interested in the same things. I wouldn't say I have attempted to befriend everyone I've worked with, but many of us spend a fair amount of time together, either on the phone or in meetings or at meals, and we've gotten to know each other pretty well. These relationships help because they allow us to be honest with each other. But these sorts of work friendships have to happen naturally. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">24- How much effort do you put towards monitoring trends, fads, and other factors that might effect the sellability of shows? If so, how does this effect your network's development process?</span><br />At PBS, we do focus on different areas each year, but the changing directions tend to have more to do with what we feel we need to close programming gaps. We notice fads, but we don't have to do anything about them. As far as trends go, we've always been more interested in creating trends than following them. It's hard not to notice if several people are doing similar shows, but there's never any pressure to follow anyone else.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">25-Can you estimate, in a year, how many pitches your network receives, options, and picks for pilot production?</span><br />We probably receive somewhere between 200 and 300 pitches per year. Only about 20% meet our criteria and get serious consideration, such as feedback. About 10-12 make it to the two final greenlighting rounds, and two to three shows per year go to series.David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-76180511610872408862011-12-22T06:09:00.001-08:002011-12-26T06:45:32.955-08:00Animondays Interview: Linda Simensky -part I<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRdMtctfB134w5Yo-24bpW8g9N3FDKEhhp_v-YNE9tINRj9guchV2WEEFZiM679x38vlao0LdFZ4j-t3ipB5ZmJa_zFnD0H86rE5ErPTNDFyZPms8eWLBclQJQNRBr_Qe2siSu-9T5zb7s/s1600/lindasimensky.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRdMtctfB134w5Yo-24bpW8g9N3FDKEhhp_v-YNE9tINRj9guchV2WEEFZiM679x38vlao0LdFZ4j-t3ipB5ZmJa_zFnD0H86rE5ErPTNDFyZPms8eWLBclQJQNRBr_Qe2siSu-9T5zb7s/s320/lindasimensky.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689060118609244370" /></a><br />Pitching is on my mind these days because I'm prepping (along with my partners, The Levinson bros.) an original 5 min self-produced pilot and mini bible for use in a major round of pitching in January and February. Pitching is not for everyone, nor does it line up with everyone's goals for what they want to achieve or explore in the art and industry of animation. But, those that are curious about this interesting area may find this post useful. <br /><br />Linda Simensky, PBS Kids VP of Children's Programming, was the first animation development executive I ever met. Level-headed, funny, and an expert in her field, she's been a trusted friend and mentor to me for almost two decades.<br /><br />Simenksy's official bio:<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">In her role as VP of Children’s Programming, Linda Simensky collaborates with producers, co-production partners and distributors throughout development, production, post-production and broadcast for existing and new series including Curious George, Dinosaur Train, The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That, Super Why!, Martha Speaks and Sid the Science Kid for PBS Kids, as well as WordGirl, The Electric Company and Wild Kratts for PBS Kids GO! Prior to joining PBS, Linda was SVP of Original Animation for Cartoon Network, where she oversaw the development and series production of The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Courage the Cowardly Dog and other major projects. Linda began her career with a nine-year stint at Nickelodeon, where she helped build the animation department and launch such popular series as Rugrats, Doug and The Ren & Stimpy Show.</span><br /><br />Without further ado, here's part 1 of my interview with Linda Simensky (pictured above and, below, in cartoon form from PBS Kids' WordGirl), conducted in 2009 for use in my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1581156618/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d1_g14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0T91QJ7GADPWPRYJXDJM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846">book</a>, and appearing here in it's entirety for the first time. Enjoy!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZM_JqdALn7qGHjJUsEU9Zwof7ZYRnM_cj5Fje_1l96tsXxnLpY4M51T3OXGXCoUaeFL7OVXN53K3uwCX3gB7JS7FGfd4sKllFEnIl-_2sjugt0QpjJw8oqABMO-vJcGCuJRG4ixKME2I_/s1600/lindapaul1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZM_JqdALn7qGHjJUsEU9Zwof7ZYRnM_cj5Fje_1l96tsXxnLpY4M51T3OXGXCoUaeFL7OVXN53K3uwCX3gB7JS7FGfd4sKllFEnIl-_2sjugt0QpjJw8oqABMO-vJcGCuJRG4ixKME2I_/s320/lindapaul1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689060622218283506" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1-What do you think the most common frustrations creators have with the typical network pitching and development process?</span><br /> I am lucky that in the course of my career, I've been able to work with a number of people who have done great work, and I've had shows and even pitches where the experience has been completely positive. Those moments come when the creator not only has a good idea, but understands the goals of whatever network I am working for. I, in turn, find it works best when I understand the goals and bigger vision of the creator I am working with. These moments are the ones that make a development job worth it. <br /> <br />On the other hand, there are certainly many times when pitches are painful -- boring, not interesting looking, or just wrong for us. But what I think the creators are feeling is just an overwhelming amount of stress. I have been taking pitches for a while now, in three different companies, and the experience is fairly consistent. The pitching process is fairly stressful for both sides! If you are on the network side, you have to walk into each pitch thinking "this might be our next show." I often sense that the creators are walking in thinking, "these people don't understand how great my project is going to be."<br /><br />I always get the sense that creators and producers sense that we are holding information back -- that we know the answers or we know exactly what we are looking for and we're just not sharing it. I think they tend to have the sense that development executives are not being completely honest. <br /><br />I also think that creators often feel that if they could just speak to the person in charge (if they are pitching to the rest of the department, for example,) that person would love the project and it would get picked up. Of course, a good project will generally excite anyone in the department.<br /><br />Also, I think that creators sense the development executives get bored easily and are looking at their watches. This may be true some of the time. On the other hand, sometimes a minor crisis of some sort is unfolding, and then it's 2:00 and you are off to a pitch. It's impossible not to seem distracted and unfocused. Sometimes it helps to be honest about being distracted. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"> 2-What, if anything, about this process would you change if you had the power to do so?</span><br />First, I'd find some way to make the process much less stressful. I used to joke that I was renaming the pitching process "come in and tell us about your idea," so it would sound less stressful. But the nature of the process is that it is stressful. <br /> <br />Also, many people who pitch are either not that great at representing their property, and many don't seem to know it well enough to make the pitch completely sound enticing. What creators can do is know their properties and be able to talk about them, rather than reading from the pitch or doing an unfocused pitch that doesn't really represent the idea. Give examples of how a show is funny, rather than saying it's going to be funny.<br /><br /> <span style="font-style:italic;">There are some other mistakes that creators and producers make when pitching:</span><br /> - When you are pitching to a network, know what shows they produce and watch them before coming in.<br /> - Don't think that your show needs to be exactly like the other shows on the network. They have those shows already. <br /> - Don't insist that you know a network better than the executives sitting there. Maybe someone's trying to do something different.<br /> - Don't tell me that other networks really like the idea and are interested. The pitching process is a lot like dating. So if you wanted to date someone, would you tell that person that many other people were interested in dating you? Or that you were interested in dating other people? Your goal is to convince the networks why your project is perfect for their network.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"> There are also some mistakes that executives make when taking pitches.</span><br /> - Be as honest as possible. It is hard to say no, but I think most people would rather have an honest answer than to think the pitch was great and then get rejected.<br /> - Don't act too self important. Someday, you might be on the other side of the desk, pitching to this person.<br /> - Sometimes the pitch you are looking at isn't one you fall in love with, but perhaps this creator will be back with something better next time. You can offer feedback and/or encouragement, rather than just some terse comments.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"> 3-What are some common problems you often see in show art in a pitch bible?</span><br />There usually isn't enough art. If you are pitching and you've only bothered to draw one drawing each of the main characters, that doesn't usually capture the feel of the show. And if the characters are posed for presentation or a character lineup, they can look pretty static. The optimum pitch, from my point of view, has rough art as well as finished art, and shows characters in a variety of situations or actions. If the show is meant to be humorous, the designs should convey that.<br /> <br />Many times, people will put badly drawn art in a bible. For those who do not have a background in designing characters for animation, consider hiring someone who does. The ability to illustrate is not the same as the ability to design for animation. And someone's ability to "draw just like a Disney animator" is not the same as actually being an animator. Unattractive, badly drawn or amateurish designs often ruin what otherwise might be a good idea. <br /><br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;">4- What are some common problems you often see in plot synopsis's in a pitch bible?</span><br />Much of the time, there is too much written and it doesn't really tell much about the show. Try to be succinct, and most importantly, make sure it is an interesting read. <br /> <br />I always have a stack of pitches waiting, and I tend to read the shortest ones first. And if a pitch doesn't interest me right away, I don't always finish it. If a pitch isn't interesting to read, the show probably won't be much better. I should be hooked at the very beginning of the pitch.<br /> <br />Don't spend much of the pitch telling us how funny it will be, make it actually seem funny and that will go along way in convincing us you have the right tone.<br /><br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;">5- What are some common problems you often see in character descriptions in a pitch bible?</span><br />Sometimes a great deal can be written about a character, and yet we still don't know much about this character. Sometimes, people have very little information about the character, othen that how funny they are going to be. Try to describe the character using terms that capture the character as if it were a real person. Make us believe this character is believable and interesting. If you want people to tune in every day to see what this character is doing, make us care about the character. When creators use very basic and bland terms to describe a character, you end up with a character who doesn't seem particularly interesting. If you need to practice, write a description of yourself, the way you'd want to be described. Most people have more than one or two character traits.<br /><br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;">6- What are some common problems you often see in world/set-up descriptions in a pitch bible?</span><br />Creators often come up with very high concept ideas that are interesting in the pitch for a few minutes, and then just seem like they take time away from the more important parts of the shows. When someone pitches an idea where the world concept is highly stylized and everyone has names that are animals or plants or colors, I usually end up thinking that if I don't love the characters, I don't care how cleverly their world was constructed or how high their high concept was.<br /> <br />Sometimes a world just isn't believable and a creator's defense is often, " Well, this is my vision, in this world, dogs fly. That's how I see it." But there is often something missing or underdeveloped that makes you continue questioning the world. <br /><br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;">7-For a first meeting with a creator, do you prefer to see a few of their ideas roughed out on two sheets before they go through the larger effort of creating a full pitch bible?</span><br />This tends to be a matter of personal preference. I prefer to see something at the very beginning, and at this point, I can tell people if the idea is interesting and a good fit for us.Then they can go back with some feedback and develop it a little more fully for us specifically. When people walk in with the foamcore-mounted characters or a finished pilot, I usually sense that they aren't open to much feedback. But on the other hand, it's very rare that someone walks in with something that works perfectly for us with no additional feedback.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"> 8-How many pages should a pitch bible be?</span><br />I find that the initial pitch can be around five or six pages and that can include everything that I would need to see in a first draft. A typical pitch for PBS will end up fairly lengthy in the end since the show needs to be educational as well as entertaining, and the pitch also needs to be for all platforms, not just for television. But there is no need to communicate much more than the basics at first. These basics include the initial idea, the main characters, their world, the visuals, the curriculum, and five or six stories. In a final pitch, the curriculum document would be much longer, their would be an interactive/web plan and a list of advisors, as well as several other items, for example. But that just underscores the difference between a pitch for a series and a pitch that represents the idea across platforms.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"> 9- How important is presentation in a pitch bible? For example, if the show is about furry green monsters, should the pitch bible be bound and covered in furry green fluff?</span><br />This is a matter of personal taste, I believe. I personally have no particular interest in how well the show is packaged if I don't fall in love with the basic idea. I have never picked up a show because it was packaged well for the pitch. I have wondered in some cases if the person behind the pitch might be better suited for a marketing job at times. But again, it is a matter of personal taste -- some people are driven by visuals to the point where the thought of sending something that wasn't cleverly packaged just seems wrong to them. But we tend not to pay much attention to the packaging, unless it makes the project unwieldy. (It's true, green fur doesn't file well...)<br /><br />We have an ongoing joke about people who have their projects professionally bound at the printers, because the first thing we usually do is tear the binding off to have copies made.<br /><br />If you want to put your time into something aesthetic, put it into making the artwork in the pitch as compelling as possible. If someone were pitching a show that had a comic book feel to it and they made the cover look like a comic book, or they did a few pages of a fake comic book that made me laugh, I'd be much more impressed.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10-Do you like to be thumbing through a pitch bible during a pitch meeting or is it a distraction?</span><br />It's a distraction to me to be thumbing through a pitch. I'd rather have someone just talk to me about the show. After all these years of taking pitches, I still have no idea if I am supposed to follow along with a pitch or not unless someone tells me specifically what I should do. It's different from pitch to pitch. The easiest for me is when someone brings art they can hold up, and then at the end, they hand out takeaway pitches for us to review.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11-What is the best way for a creator to present an animated pitch in a pitch meeting?</span><br />I prefer when someone comes in and can talk fluently about the show, can show artwork by holding up a bunch of examples, and can then capture the idea in the pitch they hand me to review. I also prefer smaller pitch meetings, as the conversation is usually better and more natural. What I hate most in a pitch meeting is when people read to me.<br /><br />People usually want to know if they have to have some animation to show. They don't, but I can think of a few times when people walked in with some Flash animation that was pretty funny, and it certainly helped to get us excited about the idea. On the other hand, I can think of many more times where a weak demo killed the property for us right then.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">12-How much of your development content is found or pitched to you at industry events such as MIPCOM or Kidscreen each year?</span><br />Many projects are pitched at these events, but few turn out to be right for us. I find events such as Kidscreen helpful for meeting people, but I find pitches at these events to be rushed and awkward. I find myself taking pitches from people who are not familiar with what we are looking for and are trying to pitch to as many people as possible. <br /> <br />In a typical pitch in my office, there would be some time to chat and learn more about the person pitching and for them to learn more about what we are looking for. The whole pitching process can be a little more relaxed, and more feedback can be shared. At Kidscreen, chances are that I am scheduled with back to back 15- and 30-minute pitches all day and after about the third or fourth pitch, my ability to concentrate is shot. At Kidscreen, I prefer taking pitches from people I'd have no chance to see during the rest of the year. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">***Stay tuned for part II of my interview with Linda Simensky next week! Till then, Happy New Year!</span>David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-81728761793184595002011-12-19T04:47:00.000-08:002011-12-19T05:51:45.266-08:00Creativity and Writer's Block<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXSMtl7g6gbOfKBXliPNo6nheFJwiQHvxnoVYqfkw2FTAMkXgdDe6_T9xttceTkUZyhUoF50RNrCMid0fD1jN5Rqo8-io4QQi1ba2D7QMFIE0jHklj96JPO4TJ4jZGQTP8NQGwzk00WETN/s1600/sb014.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXSMtl7g6gbOfKBXliPNo6nheFJwiQHvxnoVYqfkw2FTAMkXgdDe6_T9xttceTkUZyhUoF50RNrCMid0fD1jN5Rqo8-io4QQi1ba2D7QMFIE0jHklj96JPO4TJ4jZGQTP8NQGwzk00WETN/s320/sb014.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687834567905702722" /></a><br />Tonight is the last day of my SVA Animation Careers class. This is the first time I've taught the class in the fall and it's been a real pleasure. In the past the only opportunity seniors had to take my class (which is a graduation requirement) was the Spring, smack in the middle of the mad rush to complete their thesis films. But whichever season the class hits, there's been one consistent variable among the students: a fear of writer's block. I get a lot of questions about that and it's a curious thing. <br /><br />After the writers block questions flared up this term I asked the students, "How many of you have gotten ideas for future films you'd like to make as you've been working on your thesis films?" Every single hand in the room went up. <br /><br />When you are being creative and in-process on something, ideas just seem to flow––ideas and solutions for what you're working on and stray bits of new ideas you'd like to explore in the future. <br /><br />I've brought this up before, but I think I learned something about creativity by being the son of an Ad man. My dad would use his entire 4 hours-per-day commute to fill backs of envelopes and scraps of paper with scribbles of new campaigns, concepts, logos, etc. One doodle would lead to the next. But, he would have never gotten to the best stuff without having gone through that process. Quantity of ideas lead to quality. His job was just to put them all down on paper (as fast as his hand would allow) and with the understanding that the good ideas will stand out. Creativity and editing are separate stages. I think a lack of awareness in this area is what is confused with writer's block. <br /><br />For example, I develop, write, and pitch proposals to networks each year, but I don't think I would be accomplishing that if I began development with my editorial hat on. To start that way would be saying, "What's the best possible idea I could think of?" That would be a sure way to kill creativity because it sets an impossible standard for any ideas to follow. A better beginning would be to ask your self: "What do I enjoy?," "What areas of interest of mine can I start with to get things flowing?" <br /><br />After all is said, writer's block does exist--just ask Stephen King, who has used it as a central topic in many of his novels. No matter how comfortable we get in our brainstorm process, there will be times when we hit a wall. But, there's always options or exercises to help with that. <br /><br />When I had trouble starting the storyboards for my latest film, I engaged Willy Hartland to do the storyboard (see one of Willy's original panels above), thus allowing me to focus my attention elsewhere. And, you know what? Being able to build off of what Willy did gave me the confidence to get started, even allowing me to take some of his sequences to the next level and reboard certain sections with new ideas once I figured out what I was doing. And, none of that is to fault what Willy did. I love his storyboard. But, just a like a creative brainstorm, a first storyboard is a conversation starter. Solutions and the right path to the finish emerge as you work. They don't come as easily (or at all) by staring at a blank page.David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-47212471675794209902011-12-12T04:46:00.000-08:002011-12-12T05:14:55.839-08:00Fireworks<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8RVj0VUeSKTQ6qcLJ6FEf3wuKneZodrooTihuz61dcsMAK5JbXFNHnf7KGbCPVe56ixuDNlnAkcWD8OCRzK22HAFMRw3T5KCX4KJBq_BKaoIr02hio9XGPHusoKmGiGsENmCrrZUNTh9J/s1600/Cooper.Film.Levy.still.1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8RVj0VUeSKTQ6qcLJ6FEf3wuKneZodrooTihuz61dcsMAK5JbXFNHnf7KGbCPVe56ixuDNlnAkcWD8OCRzK22HAFMRw3T5KCX4KJBq_BKaoIr02hio9XGPHusoKmGiGsENmCrrZUNTh9J/s320/Cooper.Film.Levy.still.1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682043338788991346" /></a><br />I don’t know what I’ll be working on professionally, year-to-year, so the only way I know if my career is on track is by making sure I'll have new experiences. All of us get some degree of new experiences through the work we do for clients, but the most reliable source for new challenges is from creative works you generate your self. <br /><br />Since 2007, I’ve amped up the regularity by which I’m making indie films (averaging about 1 every year-and-a-half), and these projects ensure that whatever happens in the economy or to our industry, I’ll make my own new experiences no matter what. <br /><br />Films allow one to experiment with so many elements: the visual development that usually takes place at the beginning, the approach to the storytelling discovered in the storyboard, the pacing of the film established in the animatic, the style or design of the animation that emerges as you draw picture after picture, the audio styling that tells half your story and in ways that the visuals couldn’t alone, and the fabric that is all these elements stitched together in the final product. The indie short filmmaker has final say over all these ingredients–– there’s truly no other venue (as animation people) where that freedom exists. <br /><br />Another thing I appreciate, is how these projects give us something positive and creative to occupy our thoughts. Sometimes while I’m walking, about to go to sleep for the night, or brushing my teeth, I’ll get an idea of how to restage my scene-in-progress, or a solution for a tricky camera move, or maybe hatch a new name for the film. In short, when you’re working on a personal film, there really is no time away from it. You’re always thinking about it, improving it in your mind, and forever going through the creative process. I find this to be a very addictive.<br /><br />Once a film is done it’s like preparing to launch fireworks. Some are duds, and some explode to their full glory maybe even going beyond expectations. But, unlike fireworks, after a film burns through a two-year festival run, it still exists, building up a body of work for the filmmaker. Above and below are stills from my new short, which is only days away from completion. It’s almost time to aim it away from my face and light the fuse…<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQzxXMRpKCMLslhhH9o4BNWvyPeo68LgNcnhDBi3UhegQIqgWiwQuJr9QMW1e9QXjedV8h-gJRZWcEQDV-4IgBbid7653s_U8A9GfQGqqupxWJO3T7uJtX5PgyK4h1EL75vL-figDP6vG/s1600/Cooper.Film.Levy.still.2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQzxXMRpKCMLslhhH9o4BNWvyPeo68LgNcnhDBi3UhegQIqgWiwQuJr9QMW1e9QXjedV8h-gJRZWcEQDV-4IgBbid7653s_U8A9GfQGqqupxWJO3T7uJtX5PgyK4h1EL75vL-figDP6vG/s320/Cooper.Film.Levy.still.2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682043467436773794" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU0eKr__R2ofsChNdEZRLJPPMJZ0YNjN5wqqFzsa-nj2bJQMTpjuNvOy80mQ-_KN-0vgaLGxak967OLGRxN7ZDSlLZaOyQXP3dsCWX7IP3s-9GaY_cfc033CLVQgHwHGAX1-eEQlJwZ_D8/s1600/Cooper.Film.Levy.still.3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU0eKr__R2ofsChNdEZRLJPPMJZ0YNjN5wqqFzsa-nj2bJQMTpjuNvOy80mQ-_KN-0vgaLGxak967OLGRxN7ZDSlLZaOyQXP3dsCWX7IP3s-9GaY_cfc033CLVQgHwHGAX1-eEQlJwZ_D8/s320/Cooper.Film.Levy.still.3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682043724876134098" /></a>David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-50329721101285731332011-12-03T14:55:00.000-08:002011-12-05T04:52:29.769-08:00He Played it by Ear<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXx-w1qNUYGeD284xerwXIFvz_NUrhd3tdCt04nCsga4ETpBcyucT8a4CalwOgRQrXXIMsZnAVpzOwl5vQXoGPWoOeNFXpXTMz7wmkgfOGu7E1MWRDEI72AROomw9Uw-Fzo80ac1B0n8K/s1600/Ballad.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXx-w1qNUYGeD284xerwXIFvz_NUrhd3tdCt04nCsga4ETpBcyucT8a4CalwOgRQrXXIMsZnAVpzOwl5vQXoGPWoOeNFXpXTMz7wmkgfOGu7E1MWRDEI72AROomw9Uw-Fzo80ac1B0n8K/s320/Ballad.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682299877244398386" /></a> <span style="font-style:italic;">A still from "The Ballad of Archie Foley - he played it by ear," a 1995 film co-directed by Candy Kugel & Vincent Cafarelli.</span><br /><br />I was very sorry to hear that <a href="http://www.buzzzco.com/">Buzzco Associates, inc</a>. co-founder Vincent Cafarelli died last week. Vinnie was one of those people that you assume will always be around. Passing away at the age of 81, his career spanned from the days of the theatrical short (Famous Studios) through the golden age of NY animated commercials in the 1950s and 60s, and concluding in the present era's botique studio of the Hubley's model. <br /><br />I met Vinnie so many times over the years, going back to when I first attended an ASIFA-East board meeting at Buzzco in 1995. Vinnie didn't stick around for the meetings, but as he was heading out the door we always exchanged a few pleasant words. I was aware of his talent and reputation and I admired his warm and gentle disposition. In 1996 when I was on a layoff from Michael Sporn's studio, I officially interviewed at Buzzco where Vinnie and his studio partner, the friendly Candy Kugel, sat me down to check out my work. At the end of the interview, I asked if I could stick around to watch all their films, which they had compiled on a single video tape.<br /><br />I had already seen at least two of their films at ASIFA festivals, but this was the first chance I had to see the full body of their work. I was blown away by the variety and quality of the shorts. I particularly loved the films "A Warm Reception in L.A." and "We Love It," both of which were tongue-in-cheek looks at what it's like being an artist working in a commercial field. <br /><br />After the meeting, they invited me to stay for lunch and eat with their crew. For someone newish to the industry who was currently out of work, sitting down to a meal with the Buzzco family made me feel a little more hopeful, and a little less lonely before returning to my apartment to face the rest of my layoff. That was the shop that Vinnie and Candy built. A family atmosphere that happened to be professional animation folks churning out award-winning indie films and top-notch commercial assignments. <br /><br />I had the pleasure of seeing Vinnie only two weeks ago at an Academy screening, where we chatted about Brooklyn. Vinnie lived in Cobble Hill near my wife's Aunt. I told Vinnie I was living in Brooklyn too and that my dad was from Brownsville and my mother from Canarsie. Vinnie said to Candy, who standing near by, "We have another Brooklyn boy here."<br /><br />After I heard the news of Vinnie's passing, I kept thinking about Buzzco's 1995 film, <a href="http://www.buzzzco.com/Indie/BalladOfArchieFoley-Movie.htm">"The Ballad of Archie Foley,"</a> which depicts the life of a gentle man who spent his days in the entertainment biz, albeit in the largely uncelebrated role of foley sound recording. How apt a metaphor for animation people who similarly toil behind the scenes in anonymity. Still, I think the majority of us wouldn't have it any other way. We speak through our drawings and our films, and through the people left behind that absorb that work and it's lessons. <br /><br />Vincent Cafarelli has left behind a rich legacy and we are richer for having had him a part of NY Animation all these years. For a more detailed account of Vinnie's career be sure to visit Michael Sporn's <a href="http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/?p=2846#comments">post</a>. My thoughts are with Vinnie's family, Buzzco's extended family, and with his partners' Candy Kugel and Marilyn Kraemer.David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-50910583125955841512011-11-26T06:48:00.001-08:002011-11-28T04:58:56.335-08:00Magic Decade<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMHMkZwgmK-RUuNgkgh6rMLlJ6EfyrwlbF478edNzqM3BTednuB_hQv2Rz_6_JkwJTggK2MQbeaKPWjL8IjV_WYFCrgFuCzpCE_5o3Cb23uiNW28AfE6QpNI10DvUdT1OHVqahbqce7OEo/s1600/bob.levy.holiday.card.1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 242px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMHMkZwgmK-RUuNgkgh6rMLlJ6EfyrwlbF478edNzqM3BTednuB_hQv2Rz_6_JkwJTggK2MQbeaKPWjL8IjV_WYFCrgFuCzpCE_5o3Cb23uiNW28AfE6QpNI10DvUdT1OHVqahbqce7OEo/s320/bob.levy.holiday.card.1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679342531655948738" /></a><br />I don't think I'm unique in being fascinated by the time immediately before I was born. For me, that decade happens to be the fascinating and transformative 1960s, so that certainly doesn't hurt none. All my life, the 1960s have had a distinct pull for me from music to movies to history. Most importantly (on a personal level) it's when my parents met, married, and settled in Long Island where I was later born and raised. <br /><br />Now my lifelong interest in that era has gone one step further in that I'm making a short documentary animated film about how my dad, Bob Levy, unexpectedly came to go to Cooper Union, graduating in 1961. Each day on this film connects me with that time, and with my family's history. It's an experience I'm relishing, and maybe that's why a film I wanted to be finished in a month is taking me four times that long. <br /><br />Making personal films exploring family history, is allowing me to bridge gaps in my past and that of my ancestors. It's been said that you should write what you know, or do the research until you know what you write. As part of the research process, my dad and I turned his house upside down to find his artwork from the period so it can appear in the film at key moments. In one closet (as his three curious cats looked on) we stumbled upon some of his random creative and business projects from the early 1960s. There were original song lyrics (I had no idea he had tried to write songs), artifacts left over from a successful silkscreen printing business he co-owned and operated for two years, and a stack of cut-paper Christmas cards (images above and below) that he made but never got around to printing. <br /><br />I thought it would be fun to share some of these designs here, especially with the holiday season just around the corner. Happy Holidays from one magic decade to another.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGXIQ6d8smBMjhhQ4MrW2qwJdVh0fKfm6JMLaUwn4l8dqTBSOElJ8GG_xFhk3LvIpipB_YY0zRXfQN_aa-4ESdOTQFhh3MuXLvUlQrdgGoUSdD-0RnlWN7klXCdaO22tVOnYJTS5VWxCoc/s1600/bob.levy.holiday.card.6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 243px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGXIQ6d8smBMjhhQ4MrW2qwJdVh0fKfm6JMLaUwn4l8dqTBSOElJ8GG_xFhk3LvIpipB_YY0zRXfQN_aa-4ESdOTQFhh3MuXLvUlQrdgGoUSdD-0RnlWN7klXCdaO22tVOnYJTS5VWxCoc/s320/bob.levy.holiday.card.6.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679361096758569938" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJD1BIBkFz9fxbiXTPD6aWtzrLx_9atNcM7-q5iw4VkpD3SIs1Y3-DklaslD1eLCclo67AgLOXb23wOTkhyphenhyphenHVvFWIemkRpKQKeVu_Jz1VM0BLETkUVNHCdekvfGITIK1WaeFpiGooiIzE2/s1600/bob.levy.holiday.card.5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 244px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJD1BIBkFz9fxbiXTPD6aWtzrLx_9atNcM7-q5iw4VkpD3SIs1Y3-DklaslD1eLCclo67AgLOXb23wOTkhyphenhyphenHVvFWIemkRpKQKeVu_Jz1VM0BLETkUVNHCdekvfGITIK1WaeFpiGooiIzE2/s320/bob.levy.holiday.card.5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679345126954998098" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPZbvjt6UEJg5AssHvzq4eNKi9zepTaCmghabwfb8zj-c7vTlyo71Hr4JQulDxMK_R4TXgwKNN4J1HixGKjlzN8XgqpIDzFw1XxLn4hSqcqe0ZfxCJUp4VexZd6KOJlqsVdsnkG2tUME3p/s1600/bob.levy.holiday.card.4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 257px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPZbvjt6UEJg5AssHvzq4eNKi9zepTaCmghabwfb8zj-c7vTlyo71Hr4JQulDxMK_R4TXgwKNN4J1HixGKjlzN8XgqpIDzFw1XxLn4hSqcqe0ZfxCJUp4VexZd6KOJlqsVdsnkG2tUME3p/s320/bob.levy.holiday.card.4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679345034480690626" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhekhFT6lqt9-eVPjq7FmIQBGeQ_N2PgSjKNbFpzEn2q7OUUN-3lWjr6jx2LKdnluCb3mkr4NXCc7QxKLbW-TPfEEiGvSWW5jMppHILtLy0IT0lAG6A9ABzC_0OoTKtucmaoTZA80UG7qq7/s1600/bob.levy.holiday.card.3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 254px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhekhFT6lqt9-eVPjq7FmIQBGeQ_N2PgSjKNbFpzEn2q7OUUN-3lWjr6jx2LKdnluCb3mkr4NXCc7QxKLbW-TPfEEiGvSWW5jMppHILtLy0IT0lAG6A9ABzC_0OoTKtucmaoTZA80UG7qq7/s320/bob.levy.holiday.card.3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679342540416412354" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgymfkl8VpE0bbtYO_l-EuG6PJKpk_TiKiVnocNkw2Y-VBebTqjLjV1DozkEbQXWhqQfTgyVlWMUhQ-ILlWowDfCAq_cwqxsCGJafBMT_x_rlk2nvyVw7JBfIlwcNzUKranXYmHfEzSe8Ak/s1600/bob.levy.holiday.card.2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgymfkl8VpE0bbtYO_l-EuG6PJKpk_TiKiVnocNkw2Y-VBebTqjLjV1DozkEbQXWhqQfTgyVlWMUhQ-ILlWowDfCAq_cwqxsCGJafBMT_x_rlk2nvyVw7JBfIlwcNzUKranXYmHfEzSe8Ak/s320/bob.levy.holiday.card.2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679342535749176162" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">*all images © Robert S. Levy</span>David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-77728726544610704782011-11-18T14:40:00.000-08:002011-11-21T04:35:58.813-08:00PES by Numbers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsrRixq46oY-kQOFZdyF-FPFm8TIHVJVN3TZTBb2UCQFXSmF_beFAT8ZyQg1vD1g80sIo9bUKIFWayMqRASNnZyB0N5eiLsARTj641c_ugXjfzdi12dFdKRLiOw_QQFuxIixWroIh5D_Fi/s1600/sarto02_PES-03.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 309px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsrRixq46oY-kQOFZdyF-FPFm8TIHVJVN3TZTBb2UCQFXSmF_beFAT8ZyQg1vD1g80sIo9bUKIFWayMqRASNnZyB0N5eiLsARTj641c_ugXjfzdi12dFdKRLiOw_QQFuxIixWroIh5D_Fi/s320/sarto02_PES-03.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676471925162040482" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">PES, photo courtesy of AWN.com.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Currently based in L.A., the stop-motion animator/director PES first established his career in NYC where he became an important fixture of the local indie animation scene. PES represented a new type of indie animator, one whose creativity and ambition was matched by his savvy in self-promotion utilizing new media. Just as Bill Plympton broke ground by tapping into new markets such as MTV and tournées like Spike and Mike in the late 80s and early 90s, in the new century PES became the darling of viral videos that spread via e-mails, his website, and later on YouTube. <br /><br />I miss the guy and his energy, so today I thought I’d share PES’s complete essay written in 2005 for use my first book. Enjoy!<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br />“I shot my first film when I was 25. It was live-action and it was a short film, precisely 48 seconds long. It was more like a commercial than a traditional short film, with fast-paced editing and a surprise ending. <br /><br />I spent 700 dollars on it and called in lots of post-production favors. I had to figure it out from the ground up. I wrote it, directed it, produced it, cast it, did the costumes, built models to create my own effects in-camera and I even borrowed a 16 mm camera to shoot it. My goal was to discover, in a relatively low risk scenario, whether or not I enjoyed the process of making a film enough to continue doing it. <br /><br />At the time I was working in a large advertising agency in New York City. It was my first job after college. I was a “creative assistant,” in other words, a glorified secretary to an ad executive on the creative side. This means I had gotten m y foot in the door in a fun place to work, but that was about it. I was at the bottom of the totem pole. My days were spent doing menial tasks like booking flights and making popcorn in the reception area. Stuff you could do with your eyes closed. But at least I was getting paid, and I had lots of time to devote to developing some of my own ideas.<br /><br />The advertising agency was great for many things, one of which was RESOURCES. There were people, machines, tape stock -- anything and everything you could think of -- tens of thousands of dollars worth of goods and services. <br /><br />Another interesting thing about being in the advertising agency creative department was that I was surrounded by creative content from all over the world: commercials, short films, music videos, print advertisements and posters. I looked at everything in my spare time and was definitely influenced by it. I was drawn to the short storytelling format of comm ercials. A simple idea, you’re in and you’re out. Leave a viewer with a thought, make them laugh, but more than anything: get their attention. Show them something they’ll never forget. The big lesson I learned from advertising is that short can be powerful.<br /><br />After I made my first film (the 48 second “Dogs of War”) I promoted it to advertising press sources. I slapped a logo on the end and called it a “spec commercial,” a term used in advertising to refer to commercials that were not commissioned but are useful in getting a director paying work within the industry. The press sources ate my film up, even though it wasn’t a commissioned job. <br /><br />Calls from agents and commercial production companies looking for up-and-coming directors started coming in: What else do you have? And when can I see it? What’s your next project? Can you send me your reel? Unfortunately I had only those 48 seconds to my name. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2nEgDie4hPwC2_7YIxGyKXEJNWmds3FwiefMJRfihyphenhyphenpPCEqCZrnmW3HLU-N9lUacI3mE-s6Y2T2zLzfeeMnQo0SbBoblsBD_VsebOGzGrewIpDwmHV8LXP-hV9vBvteUHFaoq-zYGLJAf/s1600/whittlinwood1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 260px; height: 195px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2nEgDie4hPwC2_7YIxGyKXEJNWmds3FwiefMJRfihyphenhyphenpPCEqCZrnmW3HLU-N9lUacI3mE-s6Y2T2zLzfeeMnQo0SbBoblsBD_VsebOGzGrewIpDwmHV8LXP-hV9vBvteUHFaoq-zYGLJAf/s320/whittlinwood1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676473067199301874" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">The title card from "Whittlin' Wood," demonstrates how the filmmaker's signature design sense makes it to every aspect of his work.</span><br /><br />I planned my next films. The second was another live-action short film shot in a desert that could also function as a “spec commercial”. I called this idea “Whittlin’ Wood.” The third film was a little idea about two chairs that have sex on a New York City rooftop. It was to be an animation with objects. Two life-size chairs would need to move inch-by-inch on a real rooftop. I knew immediately had to quit my job in order to make these films because I would need lots of time to shoot the second one, “Roof Sex.” On top of that I had to teach myself how to animate. <br /><br />I took out 8 credit cards and quit my job. This was a scary leap, but necessary for me. It was the moment I placed all my faith in my own ideas and myself. <br /><br />I learned more about filmmaking in that year than any time at school could have taught me. I thought very hard about all my shots, and about how the films would play out. I considered many options for every scenario, choosing the ones that made the most sense to me. Since I was spending the only money I had access to, I had to make absolute sure both these films were good. A dud was out of the question. I never really believed in learning by making mistakes. My feeling was, if you think hard enough through an idea, and if you have a genuine feel for the medium, you can avoid simple pitfalls that a less-prepared filmmaker might make. <br /><br />One of the reasons I was drawn to start making films in a shorter format was that I felt I could have a better chance of making a great film all-around, with fewer compromises than I might have been forced to make on a larger film (given the financial constraints I was working with). So very early on I decided that for me a great 1-minute film was going to be 100 times more valuable than a mediocre 5-minute film. I believed in the inherent value of great short content, especially in an increasingly internet-savvy world.<br /><br />At the time I also wanted to get up and ru nning as a commercial director so that I could make money to finance future personal projects. Commercials were always how I planned on making my bread and butter. It was where the big money was, and I knew that from the very beginning. But aside from money, I knew commercials would be great for experimenting with techniques and equipment, working with A level Hollywood cinematographers and art directors, getting valuable experience directing large crews. As an added bonus, if you were lucky (and talented) you even might make something that gets absorbed into the bloodstream of popular culture. Above all, I felt commercials and music videos were a logical entrée to getting larger projects such as a feature off the ground sometime down the road. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwjVrWCfFZGjz8arDfJEb5wYIDbxPXUedR4ClJnMr43YWRDA7SvXIawaU8-k0QeOLTfpnWxAvWmcfhTV2wAzWWW8BTBD7AWCeNBu4kMZsGcAV8bVRXsC9wXiBUamFFsHAWpA4lZyIIo60H/s1600/roof_sex.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwjVrWCfFZGjz8arDfJEb5wYIDbxPXUedR4ClJnMr43YWRDA7SvXIawaU8-k0QeOLTfpnWxAvWmcfhTV2wAzWWW8BTBD7AWCeNBu4kMZsGcAV8bVRXsC9wXiBUamFFsHAWpA4lZyIIo60H/s320/roof_sex.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676472697001467826" /></a> <span style="font-style:italic;">Check out this still from Roof Sex. Anyone can drag some furniture on a roof, but how many can compose a shot like this? PES's cinematography paints the city scape as if he designed the buildings himself. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">How/why I started doing animation</span><br />Now I went back to the drawing table. At this point I will remind you that I had only done one animated film, this was not my “thing” yet. I had made Roof Sex ® because it was funny and I loved the idea of furniture porn, not because I wanted to make an animated film. I taught myself how to animate because I had a clear vision for this film and I didn’t want anyone else to fuck it up. I had to do it myself in order to be 100% certain it was exactly how I wanted it. However, the process of creating Roof Sex was so exciting for me that it was like opening up a chamber in my brain stuffed with hundreds of ideas about objects and now I wanted to make them all. Like Steinback said, ‘First you have one rabbit. Then you have a hundred.” <br /><br />Only thing was, that credit card debt was eating all my money and I had literally nothing to make my new films with. This turns out to have been the next critical juncture for me: I would start making the cheapest of these ideas first. I called up the armies of household objects, small stuff: peanuts, seashells, binder clips, and other assorted ≥ household objects. The more films I could make the better. I pushed myself. In no time I began to create several films with animated objects, some as short as 10 seconds. I was just following some of my ideas, within the realm of what I could afford to make. All this work was very experimental; I was really just playing around. Stop-motion animation just happened to be the best method for this crop of ideas, not the only type of film I ever wanted to make. But I persisted. <br /><br />The next important decision I made was to create a website where my films could have a home. Sarah my girlfriend was key in this process. She learned basic html and we put it up ourselves in a couple of weeks. I called it EatPES.com, and I offered my films up for free. The idea was to do something simple, focusing on the work. <br />On my website I posted my short animations along with Roof Sex. “Roof Sex” drew thousands of people to my site instantly, sin ce it already had a life of its own. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf5OeL9v5BkGnNvj6wqvRuPl24lXGQtixJ72MAZcX7KgDUkqbqr8FtaBMsot-Ju9P2b7Y8I3jmh5dxmfImwNo83WfEB6t-umrj3V4t_zhIAWn6EhXLNLAthOVvz62ArkAnszpCQWoNpQ0B/s1600/RoofSexw.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 143px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf5OeL9v5BkGnNvj6wqvRuPl24lXGQtixJ72MAZcX7KgDUkqbqr8FtaBMsot-Ju9P2b7Y8I3jmh5dxmfImwNo83WfEB6t-umrj3V4t_zhIAWn6EhXLNLAthOVvz62ArkAnszpCQWoNpQ0B/s320/RoofSexw.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676472691131004578" /></a> <span style="font-style:italic;">Furniture Fornication as art, in "Roof Sex."</span><br /><br />Traffic on my site began to climb over the following months, completely by word of mouth. People came to the site looking for “Roof Sex” and discovered a body of work, lots of ideas and executions. Films I had made 2 years before were now seen in the context of everything else I had made. This is very valuable to people out there because you suddenly leap from being a one hit wonder in the public’s eyes to an artist with a particular style and distinct point of view. This “fingerprint” is really the most valuable asset you have. It’s what makes people want to work with you. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">On Film Festivals</span><br />Annecy 2002 is when my life started to change. Roof Sex took a top prize for BEST FIRST FILM at Annecy. Overnight it became one of the most talked about films in the world. When we returned home to NYC the fax machine was flooded with papers and my first instinct was, what the hell happened here. But i t turned out to be licensing agreements for “Roof Sex”: TV channels all over the world had seen Roof Sex at Annecy and wanted to run it on TV. Better yet, they were offering to pay. I was dazzled by the requests – there was a genuine desire out there for short content. It confirmed everything I had been feeling when I first decided that short and memorable was the way to go. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">On Promotion</span><br />If you have something new to say, it’s only half the job to make it: you have to get it out there. Otherwise, you don’t give it a chance to have an impact and you lose out on the opportunity to experience any benefit the film may bring you. Promotion is a very important part of the equation. <br /><br />This weird thing happens when people get familiar with your work. They think they know you. They talk about you on a first name basis. For better or for worse, people start seeing you as a kind of brand: your taste, the ideas you make, the way you tell a story, the pacing you set. This is your fingerprint. People latch onto your name as a symbol that stands for the combined identity of all these things. “Have you heard of this guy PES?” “Oh he’s the guy who did that Nike thing…” or “Oh, the chair guy…” "That’s very PES," stuff like that. I believe it’s very important for artists to carve out their identities in the marketplace, really develop a distinct voice. When someone who's not involved in film knows about you, they want to see your next films. These are the people who enjoy your films for sheer entertainment value. When advertising, music video, television, and film people know about you, they enjoy your films but they also keep you in mind for future commissioned projects. Unless you have a trust fund an/ or are happy getting paid outside the industry, this is valuable turf for you. Do not underestimate the value here. It’s only a matter of time before they bite. <br /><br />So, after a couple of rollercoaster years of making films and promoting them in both the film and advertising industries, I finally got my opportunity to direct legitimate commissioned work. And this is working out great for me. It’s exactly as I thought it would be. Some projects are great and others are just so-so. But they all help finance my personal projects, which I rely on for my own artistic satisfaction. I haven’t had any terrible experiences with commercials so far. They are collaborations, and sometimes the creative compromises you make along the way (the client technically owns the film) are a bit depressing, but at the end of the day it’s just a commercial."David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-67418556282854402562011-11-12T06:41:00.000-08:002011-11-14T06:11:36.155-08:00Animondays Interview: Signe Baumane -part II<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_id_Y11joImOkSxiP8HysY3XEXAVzGJ99dcg4Us7bIrwXhimpzUjef9VFoLP5z9WauXUyC5niVX2SrzEKrKiadR8etuMGKjiH6_NL6p6LvKoPIefSwPGWU78hkQTQU-UF4SCcyOml9Hmh/s1600/120917%2526w%253D340.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 223px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_id_Y11joImOkSxiP8HysY3XEXAVzGJ99dcg4Us7bIrwXhimpzUjef9VFoLP5z9WauXUyC5niVX2SrzEKrKiadR8etuMGKjiH6_NL6p6LvKoPIefSwPGWU78hkQTQU-UF4SCcyOml9Hmh/s320/120917%2526w%253D340.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674129896375410914" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Above image from Signe Baumane's film, "The Gold of the Tigers."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Last week I presented part I of my interview with indie animator/director Signe Baumane. Today I'm pleased to share the 2nd and final installment in which Signe explains what sets indie animation apart from commercial animation, the difficulty she's had directing animators, and the painful (yet educational) act of sharing your work with an audience. <br /><br />Notice how she honestly critiques her work in the answers below. I think that's an important thing to be able to do if one wants to grow as an artist. Not that one should act as their own reviewer, but not being satisfied with one's previous works, and understanding why, allows the artist to push forward and keep creating/exploring. <br /><br />Without further ado, here's part II with Signe Baumane. Enjoy!</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1-What part of directing animation gives you the most satisfaction?</span><br />Nothing, really, It is a lot of hard work, and I have no patience to see how drop by drop the bathtub gets full. I am not cut out for working in animation. I hate to work, but in animation all you get is work, work, work. Ironically, I am always in a rush to finish a film, because I want it finished yesterday, but once it's done, I immediately start a new film. Why? I think I should get my head examined.<br /><br />Ok, there is one part of the process that makes it worthwhile––the excitement of conceiving the idea, having hopes that this is going to be the best project ever, living with my vision for months and months. Or years. But, inevitably, when it's done, it is a disappointment. It never is the best film ever. Maybe I work too fast? Maybe I don't invest enough time in thinking through minuscule details? But I can't. Working on something for too long kills me.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2-What methods have been the most effective in giving notes and feedback to your animators (assuming you do this)? And, what has not worked so well, and why?</span><br />I am not very good with working with animators. When I give them the task, we act the scene out, we play with it, have a great time and then the animator goes to work and when she comes back there is nothing left of what we acted out. The animators that I worked with always try to do some short cuts, give themselves slack and I dont know how to push them to work harder.<br /><br />There were about 4 occasions in my experience of work with animators when an animator truly gave me her best. It was like flying, like sex. We experienced great unity, intimacy and feeling of conspiracy. Those were the cases when animators wanted to prove something, to me or to themselves or to a producer. Mainly, the animators I worked with, regard me either as a cash machine (they want me to accept the scene so that they get paid) or their adversary (because at times they don't believe in my vision and think my ideas suck). Then I feel very lonely, deserted, and can only trust that my concept will carry the story and I edit the shit out of the mediocre footage I got. Meaning, editing and timing the scenes is also part of the work of a director. Am I too hard on my animators? : )<br /><br />It's all probably my fault...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJP8ONwrmieRZ047Hq8ZUAisZP3CQ9h_Y96rrii0z6xKwsJuFqQqrE1vGkcARqLiQTzS61uDToN7tKchakmzDG3rs7UsWvIEwUonJG2SIcoN99VQaBHDG6wqR3TPJJ3sWy3SP1OF4olA20/s1600/234247%2526w%253D145.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 145px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJP8ONwrmieRZ047Hq8ZUAisZP3CQ9h_Y96rrii0z6xKwsJuFqQqrE1vGkcARqLiQTzS61uDToN7tKchakmzDG3rs7UsWvIEwUonJG2SIcoN99VQaBHDG6wqR3TPJJ3sWy3SP1OF4olA20/s320/234247%2526w%253D145.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674129902328045522" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3-Where did you learn your sense of timing, acting, staging, and storytelling that is so essential in directing animation?</span><br />I definitely was not born with it. I was very sloppy with timing, and ignorant, too. The day I watched my first film "The Witch and the Cow" with an audience, I was in pain, what a horrible film, what a torture to sit through those 2 minutes 40 seconds!<br /><br />I decided to be better with my next film, but "Tiny Shoes" was too fast at times, too loaded with imagery for audience to understand everything I was trying to say. The next film "The Gold of the Tigers" was a directorial disaster, although I am still fond of the story. In short, constantly making a new film and watching it with an audience has been a great education for me.<br /><br />But please note, I havent made a perfect film yet. It's surprising, because some people get it with their first film, but not me.<br />I have made about 14 or more short films and still am guessing how to do this right.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVwj8tlBeFHLD0c9TI6bwrzM-FAc5sBXfFIqY1LaJm17zfpuJvClE1nGJvbe8MhqE3-k-Y3_COBewCi0H4KTaehSj7yREEn5gAzZHr4fOxtrxoFZYoS8-mCjehhA5WWZVivci9esSDXbXa/s1600/234113%2526w%253D230.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVwj8tlBeFHLD0c9TI6bwrzM-FAc5sBXfFIqY1LaJm17zfpuJvClE1nGJvbe8MhqE3-k-Y3_COBewCi0H4KTaehSj7yREEn5gAzZHr4fOxtrxoFZYoS8-mCjehhA5WWZVivci9esSDXbXa/s320/234113%2526w%253D230.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674129897609617186" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4- What has watching your films play to audience taught you, that you would not have discovered otherwise?</span><br />An audience can teach you a LOT. It's intuitive, visceral knowledge/learning that I can't quite describe.<br /><br />It's not the laughs am going for, it's a reaction, "Veterinarian" sometimes got a very emotional reaction from an audience,<br />at times––indifferent, and at times––bored, restless. Even with such a different reaction I can see where I failed to communicate the emotion, the message, and where I've succeeded. The mistake that some of us, indie animators make, is<br />that we think if audience doesnt laugh they are bored. So, just like standup comedians, we work for laughs every 10 seconds<br />in fear of boring the audience. <br /><br />But a laugh is only one kind of reaction and if you make them laugh every 10 seconds you might forget about building a character, making your story more meaningful, connecting with your audience in a different way. Not making them laugh every 10 seconds is taking a risk. With "Veterinarian" and "Birth" I took that risk, and YES it's painful for me to sit though those films with an audience, because I am never sure how they are going to react, they get very quiet sometimes and I am not sure if it is a good quiet or bad bored quiet. But each time I sit with the audience, I learn so much about filmmaking, my own filmmaking,<br />that I could never learn anywhere else. Education is painful.<br /><br />The audience rules. Unlike some filmmakers who claim that the audience doesn't matter to them, I make films to connect with people (imagine you are telling a good story or a joke in an empty room, what's the purpose of that?).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8T9aPz9oMphZjI4jhwjj0m9hF2iQa2zo0HdOXaaNTA16oFvbTh8mALfDkYgSXyIwRpV2BBq7NDzIz-U9oC6rkL0sWjFDS9gwAhDNVNM2BMhE-oOfDYL5MEE1Ka08mPulP_Bc9uqg755SG/s1600/veterinarians-500x333.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8T9aPz9oMphZjI4jhwjj0m9hF2iQa2zo0HdOXaaNTA16oFvbTh8mALfDkYgSXyIwRpV2BBq7NDzIz-U9oC6rkL0sWjFDS9gwAhDNVNM2BMhE-oOfDYL5MEE1Ka08mPulP_Bc9uqg755SG/s320/veterinarians-500x333.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674129888858671410" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgttAGFDSQGBYtmVmP9REQdwsdf5paTGSSrGrLl_nIptFcGjy0Qvb4aBsA6SghqKtPHe1bD34tZ2afw_VtS1OEJboMB6BBS-BjXiz_C_Ehs6OlMhBs3uSLJGJ0j-jK9WzdKvCigMFLZ37dE/s1600/2012_7_Birth_fixed.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgttAGFDSQGBYtmVmP9REQdwsdf5paTGSSrGrLl_nIptFcGjy0Qvb4aBsA6SghqKtPHe1bD34tZ2afw_VtS1OEJboMB6BBS-BjXiz_C_Ehs6OlMhBs3uSLJGJ0j-jK9WzdKvCigMFLZ37dE/s320/2012_7_Birth_fixed.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674129886404900530" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Above images from "Birth," and "Veterinarian."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5-What advice do you have for someone just starting out in animation with ambitions to make their own indie animated films?</span><br />Low overhead is the key for a successful career as an independent artist, be that an animator or a painter. People who buy cars or houses or have demanding girlfriends (they demand diamonds, you know) or have expensive habits (like heroin, fancy restaurants, etc.) have a hard time staying independent. Be modest with your budget. On the other hand, dont be modest about your ambition, goals and dreams. Dream BIG. But preserve your resources.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6- What is your secret to sticking with an indie film through to completion?</span><br />Passion. The story I want to tell. Ambition. The need to have a project. The irritation of something hanging around not finished.<br />DRIVE.<br /><br />It is a kind of character I have. I see that other people have other kinds of character and they dont have a burning need to finish anything. It's not good or bad. It's just the way we are.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7-What indie animation blogs do you visit most often and why?</span><br />I don't, really. <a href="http://www.cartoonbrew.com/">Cartoon Brew</a> probably is the most visited site by me and that's once in 4 months. <a href="http://asifaeast.com/">ASIFA-East </a>site and blogs - once in 5 months. <a href="http://www.awn.com/">AWN</a> - once in 6 months. I am just too busy, juggling work for money, sending my films to festivals, trying to work on my next project, seeing work of other people, replying to emails, staying informed about animation, politics, keeping up with my personal life and friends, I have to shower sometimes and eat, too.<br /><br />I dont have time for Facebook, Twitter or other excitements, I am basically overwhelmed the moment I wake up and open my emails.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8-How do you develop an original voice as an indie animation director in a world where your influences are all around you?</span><br />I think, one must have to have bad memory. My memory is so bad, I cant remember anything, so when I create something, it's coming from inside of me rather than from something I've seen. I also never studied animation nor art, so I dont know how to do things correctly, by the book. That is a HUGE help in staying original.<br /><br />Another thing -develop yourself as a person, find out who you really are and what interests you. That involves reading a lot of books (on philosophy and politics), and thinking about things that are around you, form an opinion about anything you see or observe. Originality comes from inside, it cant be taught in school, it takes developing yourself, working on your Eternal Soul.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9- What is it about the properties of animation that are unique to this medium and how should those be utilized when making an indie animated film?</span><br />Animation is a very condensed medium, you can tell a story in 1 minute that in live action would take an hour. Animation is a perfect medium for expressing abstract ideas, to play with meaning of words, cultural references, and many other things. Animation doesnt require a language (dialogue, voiceover) to communicate an idea or a story.<br /><br />The way that TV or feature animation uses animation as a medium is a little bit realistic and dialogue driven. Indie animation, on the other hand, if it doesnt try to imitate TV or features, tends to use animation for what it is best at - expressing one's soul, unique artistic vision, abstract ideas, and pure fun of doing things that are not possible in live action.David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-68062624674050542322011-11-04T12:23:00.000-07:002011-11-07T04:43:55.959-08:00Animondays Interview: Signe Baumane -part I<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibwz1n5rZmzmvwAikCeCeQmAS0dEBWLC1bCoJo7qc4ii7ApGBmNcIQwmlRwLKa8wpIE36UpEWituIAOwFrMKdLZl8C8zv776KHC90-aHmkrB0gglgxvbpRE4kqKyk51ewWK2VQjkgCL38d/s1600/katz03_SigneBaumane-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibwz1n5rZmzmvwAikCeCeQmAS0dEBWLC1bCoJo7qc4ii7ApGBmNcIQwmlRwLKa8wpIE36UpEWituIAOwFrMKdLZl8C8zv776KHC90-aHmkrB0gglgxvbpRE4kqKyk51ewWK2VQjkgCL38d/s320/katz03_SigneBaumane-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671237109848177490" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">*above photo of Signe Baumane taken by Katz. </span><br /><br />The longer I've known indie animation director/filmmaker Signe Baumane, the more I've admired, respected, and appreciated her both as an artist and a human being. She's genuinely interested in what others are doing, and always sincere and honest in her critiques. <br /><br />When I met Signe in the late 1990s, she was working for Bill Plympton, supervising his ink & paint assistants. While that period was where she built her NYC indie-scene cred, in my opinion, she hit her stride later with the sensational and personal series of shorts under the title <a href="http://www.teatbeat.com/">Teat Beat of Sex</a>. This was Signe at her most confessional, direct, and uncensored, and I think it's some of the finest and most powerful animated filmmaking ever done. Today, the director is at work on an indie animated feature film, "Rocks in my Pocket," and she's documenting her journey in fascinating posts on her <a href="http://rocksinmypocketsthemovie.wordpress.com/">blog</a>. <br /><br />I interviewed Signe in 2009 (for use in my "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Directing-Animation-David-B-Levy/dp/1581157460">Directing Animation</a>" book), and her answers were among the most useful and insightful. I'm happy to feature the part I of the interview on today's post. Enjoy!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCqPeCOF84QhoExcDzsdgDxK-qjx6QoJR-QwpUt3Ce8RZLYILXnIZ3ZnxvsayANS5s7UaO9_Gkq5kG0TD4UGnnflbahirGXqNLfhYGSYIv1UeAKA8UidCZEfZXuNEBHjUds2R_YQlCDdPQ/s1600/girlbottom.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 140px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCqPeCOF84QhoExcDzsdgDxK-qjx6QoJR-QwpUt3Ce8RZLYILXnIZ3ZnxvsayANS5s7UaO9_Gkq5kG0TD4UGnnflbahirGXqNLfhYGSYIv1UeAKA8UidCZEfZXuNEBHjUds2R_YQlCDdPQ/s320/girlbottom.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671253648380407954" /></a> <span style="font-style:italic;">A drawing from Signe's feature-in-progress.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1-What skill sets go into directing animation for your own independent film?</span><br />For me the most important work of a director, be that a director of animated short, feature, live action etc. is organizing the time of the film, structuring the visual material with the help of timing. Is that a skill? I dont know. It might be a talent. <br /><br />Quite often you see films that have great design, great concept, but something is missing, when you look closer, there is something wrong with the timing, it's either they give too much or too little time to visuals, usually too much,<br />and they forgot about pacing, it is too even. Change of pace is crucial.<br /><br />The director is the one with the vision, and she/he has to carry this vision into the reality. You could say, a writer has a vision, too. But the writer doesnt struggle to bring the story out into reality in full, it does stay in her/his head and on the paper if she/he writes it.<br /><br />In any case, as in indie animator, since I alone write, design, animate, direct my own films it took me a long time time to understand what directing really is. ASIFA-East judging nights really helped me: the independent films are judged by animation, writing/humor, directing, design, sound.<br /><br />You have to really think which is what and how to judge it. I think it is a GREAT exercise, when I teach animation, I make my students to do the same thing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2-How important is it to have worked in animation in other roles before being ready to direct?</span><br />No, not really. I mean, it doesnt hurt, but I think you dont need it. Although, lets say, if I was about to direct a feature film that 23 animators are going to animate in Flash and I don't know Flash (I am serious, I still don't know Flash and am proud of it) then, I personally, would drop any prejudices and learn Flash as soon as I can, so I would be able to communicate with my team.<br /><br />In Latvia, where my "Veterinarian" was animated by 8 animators, I would see some of the animators trace, for example, a hand moving across the screen, it looked like a cut-out, so I confronted the animator, and she said, "No, I did not trace, I animated."<br /><br />I said, "In that case, did you flip?"<br /><br />Judging from the smooth, untouched paper edges, she did not flip.<br /><br />She swore by her poor mother's health that she flips. What I was to say to that? I took the scene and animated the freaking hand myself during the night. Which is NOT a good example of what a director should do. It would have been so much better if I did not know how to animate and made the animator to do what I wanted her to do by persuasion or threats. I am too much of a wuss to push people around, that's why prefer to work on my own.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3- Who are your indie animation hereos and what has their work taught you? </span><br />Well, Bill Plympton, of course. He gives us a great example of how an independent animator can be independent and successful.<br />We all think, I can do it too. But no, we can't. It's impossible to do what Bill does. We all have our different path. But in any case, Bill does set a Golden Standard for indie animators. He is the North Star, a guide in the night. A beam of a hope. An encouragement to jump out of window and try to fly (I have seen people so inspired by Bill that they did something equal to jumping out of a window).<br /><br />When I met Bill in 1995, I had done 3 films in Latvia, on government grants, in a studio, where I had animators, painters, cameramen and a producer to pout at if something went wrong. Bills taught me that you can do it all yourself and he taught me not to pout when things go wrong.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4-Can you list some common mistakes and challenges that are faced by the first time indie animation director?</span><br />First, and the most important challenge of a first time filmmaker is that she or he cannot imagine how the movie in their head is going to come out into the reality and how the audience is going to understand the story. The fragile, fleeting images that you conceived, they look so crude and inept when drawn on paper or in computer. You have been waiting for so long, excited to draw what you had in mind but all of sudden you stop, disappointed and frustrated. You're right––the drawings are terrible, but please keep going, because only by confronting the reality and overcoming your limitations can you grow as an artist. You don't become an artist just by dreaming about it.<br /><br />The first time filmmakers sometimes can't see what is most important and what is not and they get very stubborn about totally stupid things, like: "I am not going to change the design of the horse, because that's the horse I've drawn!" Unfortunately, the horse looks like a dog and is easily confused with this other dog in the film and it is essential for the punchline that we understand the difference between the horse and the dog.<br /><br />Sometimes, first time filmmakers borrows from their teacher or people they admire. They try to imitate Bill Plympton or Simpsons or anime or what not. It is not going to get them very far. Because we already have Bill Plymton, Simpsons, anime and what not.<br /><br />Develop your unique voice, find your own story.<br /><br />Actually, I believe that a story has to come out of necessity, a need to tell it. There should be some intense fire it it for you to do it.<br /><br />First time filmmakers sometimes conceive totally complicated stories and try to squeeze them in 3 minutes, and then everything happens so fast that an audience is lost and confused.<br /><br />First time filmmakers sometimes try to tell one little punchline for 3 minutes, taking it so slow that those 3 minutes turn into 3 hours.<br /><br />First time filmmakers sometimes create an absolute work of perfection, I have seen it again and again and again.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5-What are the ingredients of a good production pipeline, process, and schedule? And, what role does this have on an indie production where there are not necessicarily any rules?</span><br />I don't know what are the ingredients, unless it is a good organization when everybody knows their place and work that has to be done, and files are easy to access and oversee.<br /><br />In indie production is the same thing: good organization even if you work alone or with 2 people.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6-In your indie films, in what areas have you sought out collaboration with other creative people and why?</span><br />I used to like to work with camera men although everybody hated them. I thought, they educated me on how things are done under camera. Now, of course, this knowledge is useless.<br /><br />I love working with sound designers. I am a control freak and I think it is good to break up your instincts and inclinations a little bit, so my collaboration with a sound designer gets things out of my hands, I let it go and I like it. It always comes out well, too.<br /><br />A composer is crucial for a project.<br /><br />A producer, too. Without a producer my "Teat Beat of Sex" would have never had happened. Or maybe it would, but not all 15 episodes.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfteDnujIjI9s7TPOkQfDcww1w5M6dvRx00VjoWgkl-c5rFOEbH_wvCZhsI-_j1mNyLQaW3YXhjCm1a54aak5Dw2e66wu_h8f7t4VDlSjItQ0dghXAD-bjPsQhg0VdjvfOP41uiy593EJH/s1600/SigneBaumane_414x227.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 175px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfteDnujIjI9s7TPOkQfDcww1w5M6dvRx00VjoWgkl-c5rFOEbH_wvCZhsI-_j1mNyLQaW3YXhjCm1a54aak5Dw2e66wu_h8f7t4VDlSjItQ0dghXAD-bjPsQhg0VdjvfOP41uiy593EJH/s320/SigneBaumane_414x227.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671236843326646418" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">A still from a Teat Beat of Sex short. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7-Is there a secret to good communication with your collaborators? </span><br />Be nice, but remember what you want.<br /><br />I actually don't know a secret to good communication with my collaborators. If they are nice, I am lucky. If they decide to push me around, or deliver bad stuff and claim its the best they can do, I cry and then I slip away in the night. I dont really have a good character for bossing people around or dealing with bullies. It destroys me, to do that.<br /><br />But, a collaborator, just like a dog, has to know who is the boss and you have to let her/him know this is your project and you are making the final decisions. Once, a sound designer aspired to direct my film that was already shot, he kept suggesting changes, funny, to his opinion, gags. I kept laughing it off but it didnt end well. We are not on speaking terms.<br /><br />I am not on speaking terms with another collaborator, a co-director, the production part was all fun, we enjoyed each other's creativity it was wonderful ... till the festivals came and we had to share a spotlight. Then it turned out, there was only one director of the film according to my co-director, and it wasnt me.<br /><br />Since that day I strongly advise not to co-direct anything with anybody unless it is your brother, sister or wife or husband.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8-What creative mistakes have you made as an indie director and what have they taught you?</span><br />Oh, endless mistakes! SO many I cant even count!!!!!! Each of my films is full of mistakes like a sick cat with flies. It is painful to sit through my films with an audience, but I make myself do that because that is the only way I can internalize what went wrong and why.<br /><br />But big mistakes? Like choosing sex as one of the subjects? : )<br /><br />NO, I dont regret that, but I advise my fellow indie filmmakers not to get carried away with the subject of sex. It only looks hot,<br />but causes major sufferings (no one wants my sex films, they are so hard to sell, even "Teat Beat of Sex" with the huge festival <br />success, hasn't gotten a distributor).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9-How is technology changing today's indie animation process?</span><br />I love working with computers! I was probably the last one in the industry to shoot on film (I shot "Dentist" on 35 mm in 2005).<br />But once I went digital (although not completely, I still do drawings by hand on paper, I love that handmade look) I don't think I'll ever go back. Computers allow me to work with timing, color and many other things till I can't improve them anymore (at one point you have to stop working on a project even if it's not perfect, there is always another project to work on!).<br /><br />I like that more and more people make animated films, (computers make it easy for everyone) because people who normally wouldnt know much about animation now are the experts! The animation field is growing, i think there are endless possibilities there!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKcr9EYWSG5yb99JU2uW_EYO88n-8pkhaCrCRkJSqKOu9Udm3ihYcrWyKivYPfnwgO8_iKWHpnUUFpHp5Ozok5KQBS_BOEyvgBrXIYCOPTiG9KF1JFSULqqGV3F0Oi2jfEVH1LGll3lpB6/s1600/Bill-and-Signe.liza.donnelly.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKcr9EYWSG5yb99JU2uW_EYO88n-8pkhaCrCRkJSqKOu9Udm3ihYcrWyKivYPfnwgO8_iKWHpnUUFpHp5Ozok5KQBS_BOEyvgBrXIYCOPTiG9KF1JFSULqqGV3F0Oi2jfEVH1LGll3lpB6/s320/Bill-and-Signe.liza.donnelly.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671237315157211106" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Partners in Crime: Bill Plympton and Signe Baumane hawking their wares at MoCCA Fest. Photo by Liza Donnelly </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10-Do indie animation directors get stereotyped as comedy or action or etc? And, if so, does that have a negative impact on one's industry career? And, what can be done about it?</span><br />Every time I show up at a festival for a Q&A people tell me that my work is just like Bill Plympton's. I always get upset, because it isn't. Bill doesnt do the kind of films I do. It turns out, Pat Smith gets the same reaction. And he gets upset, too. <br /><br />Then, one day, I was talking to George Griffin and I told him how people think my work is just like Bill's, and George laughed and laughed and he said that he put his "Club" (his film where all the members of a club are penises) on Atom Films and a few comments he got were something like this: "Oh, this guy is just ripping off Bill Plympton!" or: "This is nothing new, looks just like Bill Plympton." In fact, "Club" was made in 1978 when Bill was not making animated films yet. Indie animation gets stereotyped as "Bill Plympton," because that is what audience knows is indie animation, because Bill is so well known like none of us will ever be.<br /><br />So, is it a good or bad thing to be typecast as another Bill Plympton? I gave it a thought and came to conclusion, that it is a great thing, because it shows that Bill carved a niche for all of us.<br /><br />As to indie animation getting stereotyped as comedy or artsy stuff––not sure if I ever felt that.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">*Stay tuned for part II of this interview (coming next week, I promise)!</span>David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-33396730626039512762011-10-31T05:21:00.000-07:002011-10-31T05:41:28.739-07:00Make Mine Not Music<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88SAeBUbPdif1xTA5vHdFi4ihV-1Dq_FKC13wA3jdR33rm1dIG7JV-HRyV0IrCBDe_cDOaZXB1k99kXMqo5ajnIcWsWddDBwUTHnV2fT7T5A6iwoBPDQhvt77zQpkrMDLBznk0t8OEGtN/s1600/BC_Vintage_s.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 202px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88SAeBUbPdif1xTA5vHdFi4ihV-1Dq_FKC13wA3jdR33rm1dIG7JV-HRyV0IrCBDe_cDOaZXB1k99kXMqo5ajnIcWsWddDBwUTHnV2fT7T5A6iwoBPDQhvt77zQpkrMDLBznk0t8OEGtN/s320/BC_Vintage_s.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669631520971190578" /></a><br />One topic I’ve covered (maybe too infrequently) on this blog is the idea of that you have to be your own advocate and look out for your needs.<br /><br />I played clarinet in grammar school (for reasons I still don’t understand.) Maybe it was simply for a change of pace from playing with Legos. But, this exercise in futility caught up with me in Jr. High, because one could only take either band or art, not both. Sticking with my obligation I didn’t have any art classes for 7th and 8th grade. By 9th grade it was finally clear to me just how stupid that was. So, I asked my guidance counselor what I’d have to do to drop band to take make room for art class. All I needed was the band teacher’s signature. Not so tough, right? <br /><br />When I showed up in his office with the form in hand, he took one look at it and winced. “I don’t have to sign that,” he said, before asking me why I wanted to quit band. <br /><br />“Because as long as I’m taking band, they won’t let me take art. Art is important to me.”<br /><br />He reminded that band is just as important. So I told him that I was going to have a career in art, not music. <br /><br />That didn’t change his mind. He still wouldn’t sign it. <br /><br />So, I shot him. <br /><br />Okay, that’s not true, but I did come up with this snappy answer, telling him:<br />“I’ll be back in your office every day until you sign this paper.” <br /><br />Threatening him with my steady company must have done the trick because he snatched the paper out of my hand, signed it, and told me to get out. I left with the paper and a first victory in being my own advocate. <br /><br />It would be nice to say that from that point on in my life and career that I never missed an opportunity to be my own advocate, but that would be a lie. <br /><br />For instance, my first two layoffs in the business caught me by surprise because I had nothing else lined up. Don’t get me wrong, you can’t always have work lined up, but you can always have ready “connections” to other work. In this area “being my own advocate” took the shape of joining ASIFA-East, which allowed me to network with other animation folks––something that has a way of generating opportunity on both sides of the relationship. Even embarking on personal creative projects is a form of being your own advocate because it’s self-development. So this “advocate” concept encompasses a lot: from sticking up for yourself and your needs, to taking all career-enhancing matters into your own hands. <br /><br />Otherwise, you might end up playing the clarinet when you’d rather be holding a paintbrush.David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-49352479157448629412011-10-22T09:46:00.000-07:002011-10-24T04:34:01.358-07:00A Tri-Lev Production<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9iQakEqhBo-caDvjMOAnVH9ag1MPdj9_9TnZlmagyGD3Q41ydpnLtQx0Z74xNil3NvSBu7FbQgy1ZpwIrolmOue8pLcumxbQZkgCwnl9ClAoxGjPkXZU2mAP7J8IgKi_Unc2TfuOr0EJS/s1600/photo-9.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9iQakEqhBo-caDvjMOAnVH9ag1MPdj9_9TnZlmagyGD3Q41ydpnLtQx0Z74xNil3NvSBu7FbQgy1ZpwIrolmOue8pLcumxbQZkgCwnl9ClAoxGjPkXZU2mAP7J8IgKi_Unc2TfuOr0EJS/s320/photo-9.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666371135278406946" /></a>S<span style="font-style:italic;">tanding are my co-creators, Stephen Levinson and Joel Moss Levinson, with Peter Levin at the controls, as we record an actor at NYC's <a href="http://www.splash-studios.com/">Splash Studios</a>. Photo taken by me. </span><br /><br />How many <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levite">Levites</a> does it take to create a self-funded and self-produced animated pilot? It turns out, the answer is three. In the summer of 2010 I was on a animation development panel for the <a href="http://www.nytvf.com/">NYTVF</a> and sitting in the audience was a very alert Stephen Levinson. A comedy writer working by day on Comedy Central's Website, Stephen had been producing animated cartoons (with his brother Joel) for a Jewish online magazine called <a href="http://www.tabletmag.com/">Tablet.</a> <br /><br />After the panel, Stephen got in touch with me to show me a pilot he and his brother had created for pitching purposes. Featuring the voice talent of comedian Jonathan Katz along with the brothers sharp writing, I thought the project was terrific. But, while the brothers were in the process of pitching it around, they began to get antsy to develop another project. Over Skype (Joel lives in Los Angeles) we brainstormed a raw idea and very quickly started to see its potential. There and then we agreed to work together to not just develop this germ into a pitch, but to focus our energies on making our own pilot film. <br /><br />Making a film as pitching tool is a double edged sword. On the negative column it's sometimes better to let execs imagine how great your project can be instead of showing something tangible that doesn't live up to the expectation. Additionally, it takes a ton of time and effort to make a finished film, so going down this path ensures you won't quickly get to market. But, on the plus side, in this day of viral video, a film can be posted online and grow its own fan base. To put it in other words, nobody is logging on to the internet to read pitch bibles. A pitch bible is not alive. Films are. A pitch bible tries to hint at execution, while a film is execution. Not only that, a hot viral video proves itself in "hit" counts, something that can be a valuable asset to generate interest with a network. Lastly, making a film is simply fun, exciting, and satisfying. Not only will our film by alive, it will exist in three ways: a pitch tool at meetings, a viral video, and a festival film (probably only in children's film festivals or specific categories, but nonetheless). <br /><br />We started our pilot in ernest on December 2010. Stephen did the lion's share of the script writing, Joel (a gifted singer/songwriter) wrote 3 original songs and provided sound design, and I designed the characters and their world. But, while we each had a clear role, we all had a say in improving each other's work. Once we had a lock on the script, voice records began on both coasts. Among our stellar cast are two terrific and well-known comedians from TV and movies, both of whom worked for spec. After ironing out all the character designs, I enlisted the animation veteran Otis Brayboy to make story sketches from which it would make my job easier to create a storyboard/animatic. My friend and frequent collaborator, Adrian Urquidez, painted all the backgrounds. <br /><br />Our 8-minute film was animated by three of my favorite animators: Dale Clowdis, Mike Sanchez, and Dayna Gonzalez. As the animation director, I didn't do the animation myself, but I did the next best thing by designing all the puppeted pieces to make up each character rotation. While we're employing puppeted-style animation, all the art was drawn by hand, giving it a lot more warmth and looseness than a typical "Flash-based" children's show. The animators did a terrific job, going well beyond our expectations. <br /><br />Less than a year after starting from scratch, we're now a week away from finishing the animation! We can't wait to take it on the road and post it online. Between the three of us we have a lot of network connections and we aim to work just as hard to sell our series as we did to make this film. Stephen, Joel, and I each brought our A-game, and I believe we brought it out in each other. It was the perfect collaboration because each of us had a key area of expertise, helping to define our respective roles. That's a good way to choose partners. Each should bring a major element to the table that the other is lacking. <br /><br />The world of pitching can truly suck (for lack of a better word). Anyone who has a pitched a project even one time knows what I mean. But, the magic part is that through your efforts you're giving yourself permission to develop your talents, create freely, and earn your seat at the table. Ironically, the negative side to pitching is also a positive, in how it tests your passion, commitment, and skill sets. <br /><br />Stay tuned for the final product, coming soon!David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-32082492394808807992011-10-17T05:28:00.000-07:002011-10-17T05:54:06.488-07:00Animondays Interview: Rob Renzetti -part II<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYNM4h6yCE60If6GbY_Huv3SRmYSGKgnzTiIyUrKsbysYzb324IYsDW4GExEPKNmxIeKfZbqrxjkObEyvcdp1i34AWWEQ_aCpfF8Bku19ehvBDvnCSifk_EGhwuq7IytqWRYkKMPZB1sNy/s1600/RRenzettiTag.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 99px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYNM4h6yCE60If6GbY_Huv3SRmYSGKgnzTiIyUrKsbysYzb324IYsDW4GExEPKNmxIeKfZbqrxjkObEyvcdp1i34AWWEQ_aCpfF8Bku19ehvBDvnCSifk_EGhwuq7IytqWRYkKMPZB1sNy/s320/RRenzettiTag.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664442232993525810" /></a><br />*graphic above from: http://boing.libsyn.com/boing_9_rob_renzetti_interview<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Finally, here's part II of my interview with animation creator/director Rob Renzetti. This was conducted in 2009 for use in my book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Directing-Animation-David-B-Levy/dp/1581157460/ref=pd_sim_b3">Directing Animation.</a> It's fun timing to share this right now because I just spent the better part of the weekend sharing a booth with Bill Plympton at NYC's Comicon. It was really gratifying to connect with some of my readers and learn that my books have been helpful to them. In particular, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Your-Career-Animation-Survive-Thrive/dp/1581154453/ref=pd_sim_b2">Your Career in Animation</a>, seems to be a gateway book that a lot of animation artists pass through on their way into the business. <br /><br />In the spirit of sharing, here's the "directing specific" interview with Rob Renzetti. You'll notice it's not as personal as <a href="http://animondays.blogspot.com/2011/09/animondays-interview-rob-renzetti-part.html">part I</a>, and that's because of being on deadline and having to interview dozens of directors at once. But, there's still good information below. Enjoy! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1-What skill sets go into directing animation for a television series? And, is it important to have worked in animation in other roles before being ready to direct?</span><br />The most important experience is to have done some actual animation. Not a lot. But suffering through a few short films will give any aspiring timing director a much better sense of how long (in terms of frames) it takes for actions and expressions to “read”.<br /><br />Also working as a storyboard artist will help since storyboards are intrinsically linked with animation direction (at least in television animation).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2-What role does good people skills have in being a successful TV animation director?</span><br />If you are strictly doing timing you can hide in your room all day if you like and talk to no one. Of course, this would not bode well for your future employment. The more you are involved with other aspects of the production process the more people skills you will need.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3-Can you list some common mistakes and challenges that are faced by the first time animation director?</span><br />The biggest challenge is to get the cartoon to run in your head. You have to visualize the final animated project.<br /><br />The biggest mistake is playing things too slowly. Inevitably the work print will come back and things will be dragging. You quickly learn to push things faster.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4-What are the ingredients of a good production pipeline, process, and schedule? And, what role does an animation director have in setting that up and maintaining it?</span><br />Unless the director is also the creator of the production he will have very little role in setting up the production pipeline. A good pipeline leaves room for the inevitable delays, missteps and mistakes. Put some padding in every step of the way. Not a ton but a little. Want to fail? Then assume everything will go according to plan and leave no room for error. You will end up paying people to sit around waiting for others to catch up. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5-Is there a secret to good communication up and down the animation pipeline? What role does the animation director play in that?</span><br />This really falls to the line producer and production staff as well as the show creator. The main thing is too check in with your artists on a regular basis, make sure they are on task and on schedule and catch problems before they have a chance to fester for weeks and snowball out of your control. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6-What mistakes have you made as a director and what have they taught you?</span><br />Well, I used to time things too slowly when I first started as mentioned above. I also could get lost in the details of timing each little action without looking at the bigger picture, meaning the overall pacing of a sequence or of the entire cartoon. When the storyboard is strong this tends to happen less. A strong board will give you a strong indication of how to pace things. Ironically a crappy board is easy to work with as well. It’s obvious things aren’t working and you can go to the creator and suggests changes to strengthen it. I’ve been lucky enough to work with people who trust my sensibilities and value my input. A mediocre board is the toughest to work with because some things are working, maybe every sequence is working, but it doesn’t add up to a satisfying whole. But when you are lost in the details of each scene it’s easy to miss the fact that it just doesn’t add up to a good cartoon. You have to take the time to step back and look at the whole package before diving into the minutia.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7-What is the animation director's role in regards to collaborating with other departments such as storyboard, design, post production, etc?</span><br />A director will work most closely with the storyboard artists. In an ideal setup this is a two way street. The director will want to make sure that he or she is understanding what the board artists had in mind and the board artist will be open to changing things if the director needs adjustments for either technical or creative reasons. Having the board artists pitch to the crew is really helpful for directors in terms of getting the rhythm the board artists imagined for each sequence. Some directors take on post production responsibilities as well and may be involved in calling retakes, editing and spotting music & sfx. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8-What are the typical daily duties of an animation director on a TV series or feature production?</span><br />I can only speak about TV since I’ve never worked in features. Usually you are spending your time either slugging a board or doing x-sheets. If the show does animatics you will be involved in that as well. In all these tasks you are making timing decisions. Deciding about the overall pacing of the cartoon in the broadest strokes and determining the amount of time for the minutest of actions.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9-How is technology changing the way today's animation directors work?</span><br />In my own personal experience, new technology has not had a lot of impact except in terms of editing. Digital editing is a completely different experience than editing on film. You can do so much to adjust the rhythm of the picture. Creating holds where none existed, speeding actions up, slowing them down or even reversing them. It gives you an amazing amount of flexibility and saves so much money in retake costs.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10-Is your directing role and responsibilities different depending on whether you are directing an in house production or an outsourced one? </span><br />Almost all TV programming is actually animated overseas. The only exception for me has been Foster’s which was animated in Flash at CN Studios. Having the animators in house (and speaking English) was an amazing luxury. I was able to preview scenes before they were complete, make adjustments before we would get to the official retake session and when we did call retakes I could just walk over to the retake supervisor if there was any confusion or something too complicated to explain in a retake note. It was heaven.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11-How did you get your first opportunity to direct? </span><br />I was a storyboard artist on 2 Stupid Dogs and during the second season the creator Donovan Cook gave me the opportunity to direct the episodes I had boarded. So I would board an episode and then follow myself up directing it. I even had the chance to animate a scene or two along the way! <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">12- Since becoming an animation director, have you worked on projects or jobs where you filled other positions such as storyboards, design, layout etc?</span><br />I’ve probably done more directing than anything else but I have continued to do storyboards here and there as well as write outlines and scripts. On my own show I did a little bit of everything of course.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">13- Do animation directors get stereotyped as comedy or action?</span><br />I have not ever felt stereotyped. I have mostly worked in what I would call classic cartoon comedy but I’ve also worked on action when I directed on Samurai Jack and prime time sitcoms like Family Guy.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">14-What part of directing animation gives you the most satisfaction?</span><br />When you are watching a finished cartoon with an audience and they laugh at something that is funny purely because of the way you have timed that scene. I gives you the idea that you might know what you are doing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">15-Where did you learn your sense of timing, acting, staging, and storytelling that is so essential in directing animation?</span><br />As a consumer of pop culture, I think I mostly just acquired it through osmosis. You watch or read things that you find funny and as you grow up it all kind accumulates in your head, mixes in with your own experiences and your particular perspective on the world. If you’re a smart ass like I was, you start trying to make your family and friends laugh, you start acting up in class. You see what works and what doesn’t and you adjust. If you’re an artist you also start drawing for yourself and for the praise it garners from others. You start telling stories with your pictures. I also did a brief stint of acting in high school. Doing the same play 3 or 4 times for different audiences and adjusting your performance is a great way to hone your sense of timing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">16- After directing, what is the next goal you'd like to achieve in your career in animation? </span><br />I always wanted to have my own show and I was lucky enough to already have that dream come true. Right now I’m just enjoying helping other young artists get their chance at making their characters come to life.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">17-What advice do you have for someone just starting out in animation with ambitions to direct?</span><br />If you can go to an art school hopefully one with an animation program and actually do some animation! As I said, this is the best possible training you can get.David B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.com4