How and why did your journey into animation begin?
I have always liked animation, but never expected to make animated films. A friend got me involved in “Film Racing” and I was immediately drawn to wanting to do something remarkable. What I noticed was that newish, even seasoned filmmakers in film races struggled a lot with the basics in a short time period. Things like sound, location, acting, etc. I knew I couldn’t and didn’t want to compete technically so I thought about what was remarkable to me, in and out of film races. Having an art background, we started working with miniatures, and gradually acquired the skills and talents to do full stop motion animation with puppets for 48-72 hour competitions.
What are your sources of inspiration?
I grew up with things like Clash of the Titans (the Medusa sequence was very inspirational), and the works of the Brothers Quay and other eastern European animators. I’ve always been drawn to art house and harder weirder sci fi and horror, but also the whimsical.
Tell us about your creative process.
For races, we typically have some themes, settings or art styles in mind before the race. Then once the race starts we work on getting the story basics, settings, and characters nailed-down as we need to get started making art almost immediately. 3/4 of the race is usually crafting art, and usually animation is done in the last 1/4, including assembly/sound, editing. During a larger project (outside a film race) The process can be very different, and is more affected by schedules.
Is there a part of the process that bores you? And instead which part is the one that excites you?
Not really. I’ve worked with a lot of artists, and ironically animating is probably my weakest skill, but I try to know enough about every aspect of the process, so that I’m not reliant on any one artist to execute my ideas.
How would you define the animation scene not linked to big brands? Is there an audience? What channels do you use to post and reach as many viewers as possible?
Although I come from an area full of animators, I have only had limited contact with the animation community, and still consider myself an amateur. I think it’s been a great time for stop motion as a response to CG animation, because it is more visceral to audiences, and CGI can be so abstract to audiences. Miniatures and stop motion are skills that feel grounded and appealing. I am not against CGI in any way, myself, but I find hand crafted, hand animated work very appealing.
New projects in the pipeline?
Currently we are working on an animated mini-series, called Umbrage, that is a historical sci-fi horror story taking place in the Alaskan territories, just at the start of the cold war, dealing with indigenous stories of creation, the Russian Orthodox Church, and the oppression of cultures through expansion. It should feature the weird sci-fi horror elements I love. We are also assisting on the series Robotany with Wilmfredle’s Oddities.
