What was the first big project you worked on?
and making things and creating art. I didn’t know what else to do, so I was like, ‘Can I do this for a living?’ Going to high school and learning about making a career as an artist, that was gamechanging for me. We visited the Disney Animation studio in Florida, and that showed me all the possibilities of what you can do.
I’ve been doing this now for close to 20 years, but the first project I worked on was for NBC. It was a prime-time animated show by David Spade called Sammy. It was very short-lived [the series ran from August 8-15 in 2000]. I worked on a lot of Men in Black, Rugrats, The Wild Thornberrys and Rocket Power. The first major film I worked on was at Disney [and] was called Rapunzel at the time. [It later became Tangled.]
What is one of the biggest challenges of telling a story in a visual medium?
One of the biggest challenges we’re facing right now is that the films we create have to compete with these giant blockbusters. It’s a constant challenge. Before, there might be three animated films a year. Now there might be 15 animated films. But you’re not only competing against those 15 animated films. One studio may have 30-50 films out a year. You’re competing against all that.
Do you have any preference between 2D and 3D animation?
I love both, only because at the end of the day, behind these films and projects, whether they’re 2D or 3D, is the artists. It’s still created by a bunch of creative people. We’re still using the same skillset, but the tools are different. They each have ‘How to Train Your their limits. It’s kind of like picking between two of your favourite children — it’s so hard.
Animation seems to advance into new realms every year. What’s next?
There’s this big thing right now with VR [virtual reality]. I think that’s still very new for animation, in general. I’m really excited to see what they do. The new thing for us is to create content
Yeah… For example, Game of Thrones or Stranger Things, or even Trollhunters from DreamWorks Animations, [they have] storylines that carry over. There’s room for all different types of stories, whether it’s a short story, whether it’s 11 minutes, or a season. What’s great about serialised content, it becomes an opportunity to develop each character and tell their own story. You can watch one episode on one of our secondary characters the whole time.
If you have to choose one, what’s your favourite animation of all time?
Oh my god, that’s a really hard question. That is so hard. Okay, I’m going to say Disney’s Peter Pan, only because that’s what inspired my love of animation. There’s so many parts of it — this idea of going to another world and just having fun, and being able to fly. But I think if I can pick one that inspires me personally it’s How to Train Your Dragon, also. Being a part of that, and how much I was able to pour myself into that film, is probably also very important. I’m kind of cheating a little bit.
What advice would you give to storyboard artists who want to work for big studios? Attend -ING Creative. It’s one of the major reasons why I’m doing it. What -ING represents to me is a place of learning and getting inspired. It’s really about getting out there and meeting like-minded people. That kind of inspiration is something you can take home with you that will last with you the rest of your life. That’s what happened to me when I visited the Disney Animation studio. ‘Kung Fu
What’s your workshop at -ING going to look like?
The workshop is structured in three different ways. The first workshop is about the creation of the idea. The second workshop is about taking that idea and breaking it down into a movie moment. Movies are about memorable moments. The third workshop is about visual storytelling. At the end of the day, film and animation are all visuals.