Selmer Kastalje is a self-taught animator, artist and filmmaker based in Copenhagen.
The 6 questions:
How and why did your journey into animation begin?
I have always been a fan of animation and as a child I made some short films with Lego and clay, and then completely forgot about it for years, until about 5 years ago, when I rediscovered my love for this amazing art form.
What are your sources of inspiration?
My inspiration comes from everywhere. I love the films of Jim Jarmusch , David Lynch , and Satoshi Kon , and animators like Robert Morgan , Nicholas D’Agostino , and Phil Tippett . And I find a lot of inspiration in old abandoned buildings falling apart, basically just old things falling apart in general.
Tell us about your creative process.
I usually start by building a character and as I build it I figure out who it is and what story it will be part of. I find it easier to figure out who and what the story will be when I have the main character in my hands. And for sets I usually have a very rough idea in my head, and then I build it without thinking too much about size and perfection. It’s a very fluid way of working.
Is there a part of the process that bores you? And what part excites you?
Not really. Maybe rigging removal and fixing stupid mistakes in post. I try to do one scene at a time so I don’t get bored with one part of the process, so I basically build, shoot and edit one scene and then the next.
How would you define the non-branded animation scene? Is there an audience? What channels do you use to publish and reach as many viewers as possible?
Any new projects in the pipeline?
I’m currently writing a 20-30 minute sci-fi short film that will be in the works for the next couple of years, and I’m also making music videos to actually earn some income.
