Daniel Snaddon brings creative genius to life
MBOMBELA - He might have been born in the USA, but he is a Lowveld boytjie at heart, who believes it was these very surroundings and endearing upbringing that gave him the edge to be the successful director at the award-winning animation studio he is at today.
"Triggerfish as a studio has racked up some pretty neat awards with the films we've made together, including the Cristal for best TV production in 2015 for Stick Man, the BAFTA and an International Emmy for Revolting Rhymes (which also got an Oscar nomination) in 2017, and a Royal Television Society Award and an International Emmy for Zog which I directed with Max Lang," said Daniel Snaddon (37), who became a Lowvelder in 1988.
His father, Rob Snaddon, is a past MD of HL Hall & Sons and the family has been in the area since the late 1800s.
"My father was actually born on Matsafeni in the house I grew up in. I attended Uplands from 1989 to 1995 and then Penryn from 1996 to 2000," Daniel said.
"'Weird and intense' I think best describes me."
He recalled how, at Uplands, they performed Revolting Rhymes when he was about nine or 10. He described the film as one of the most exciting projects he has ever worked on.
Currently, Daniel is developing a feature film with Triggerfish based on the graphic novel Kariba by Dan and James Clarke.
"I can't understate how much my parents have shaped who I am, and how grateful I am for their support and love. If I had to talk specifically about my career, I think both of them recognised early on that I had a bit of a fixation on films and computers and encouraged me to follow my passions.”
"Coming from a farming and engineering background, I think it took a lot of courage for my dad to support me taking the leap into the creative field, but he is very courageous. The fact that he and my mother as a mixed race couple (my mother is Australian-born Chinese) moved back to South Africa when the future was so uncertain in the late '80s is something of a marvel to me, and I've become very grateful to the Lowveld community over the years for the warm welcome that they received," he said.
"I'm grateful for the friends I had growing up and the communities we were part of through our church, St Michael's, and the schools. They taught me that people is what it's all about at the end of the day," he said.
After he matriculated, he studied at
Boston Media House, Wits and Griffith University in Australia, and then became a director for a boutique animation studio called Bug Box.
Daniel fell in love, got married and moved down to Cape Town to work for Triggerfish, first on its second feature Khumba, and then as co-director of its first BBC special Stick Man.
"As a director, the most fun part is imagining what the film should be, and doing storyboards or writing a treatment. The second most fun part is at the end when the picture is done and you're in London listening to a whole 32-piece orchestra playing wonderful music that was written especially for the movie you imagined one and a half years earlier. In between, it's mainly about gathering lots of talented people together and figuring out how to get from A to B, and to keep reminding yourselves where you are going," he explained.
When asked what the animation industry is like in South Africa, Daniel said like everything else in the country, it is very diverse. "I'm especially excited to see that finally there are some young talented black artists forming studios and doing amazing work for big American companies. SA has some serious talent."
> Photo: Sarah Scrimgeour
Currently, Daniel is developing a feature film with Triggerfish based on the graphic novel by Dan and James Clarke