Doug Sweetland Spline Cast - Part 1
Well, I finally got the chance to edit the Doug Sweetland interview. This is part one. Enjoy and let us know what you think. It is available on iTunes as well. Search for Spline Cast.
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John Kahrs Spline Cast - Polish
This may be the first interview I did. Its with animator John Kahrs. John Worked here from 1997 to 2007. He was nominated for 2 annie awards for his work on Monsters and Incredibles. His work on the films was always among the best. It had a great sense of weight, physicality and a high level of polish. I thought it would be good to interview him to help with teaching and just to talk to him about his process. John recently left Pixar and is now working at Disney Feature Animation.Enjoy. Again, sorry for the lack of sound quality.
It was recorded directly onto an ipod
Download: John Kahrs Spline Cast -
More Brad Bird
Here is a really cool interview a fellow animator found with Brad Bird on “Airtalk”
Download: Brad Bird NPR InterviewLink to Airtalk interview (requires realplayer)
its also available on itunes as a podcast. Keyword: airtalk
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Why We Animate…
I was listening to a great interview with Woody Allen on NPR radio today. It was about a new film he is coming out with. The interviewer asked him why he does what he does. His answer was “To escape everyday life.” Ultimately he wants to go into another world and leave the regular life behind. I guess for me, animating is similar. I’m trying to create this performance that takes place in a virtual world. When I’m animating, I am trying to get into the characters skin and really feel what they are feeling. Animation is different from live action in that its not improvisational. It takes alot of sweat to recreate a performance that looks natural. What I found interesting about the Woody Allen interview is that he, with all his stardom, still wants to escape every day life. He also said he does not have many friends. Work is his ultimate passion. At 72 he still has the same drive. I ask myself… will I be able to animate with the same passion in another 10 to 20 years, much less 30 or 40? I think it comes down to alot of factors. One, is never feeling like you have arrived. One thing that Woody said was “Don’t listen to them when they tell you are great, and don’t worry what they say if they don’t like your work. Just shut up and work.” I think that egos can get in the way of good work. I think its so important to try different things. If you are an animator, you have to challenge yourself to do different characters and scenes. I think what I find most difficult these days is putting the grease and polish back into the shots. Some of my students that work here now, have polish that blows me away. I love asking them what they are doing to get that. You really always need to be a student in order to keep up. Sometimes, when I’m sitting in my office, I forget to pull in a buddy to get their opinion on a shot. Its so important to do. I guess the point of all this is to stay hungry and understand why we love what we do. Its very easy to get jaded in this industry, but ultimately, animating, and creating character is one of the best jobs out there. Take a listen to the interview. If you take one thing away from it that you can use, it was worth it.-Andrew
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BRAD BIRD SPLINECAST!!!
NOW ON ITUNES…
On Valentines day we are trying to show the love.
Adam Burke and I did an interview with Brad on January 8th. Its a great interview and we think you will really like it. Please post your comments. Yes I know some of the audio is low, but most of it is great. Expect it on itunes in the next week or so. Special thanks to Brad for taking the time to do this and to Adam Burke for helping organize it.
ENJOY!
