The Animation Podcast » Podcasts

Show 31* – Disney Talent Development Alumni (*Animation Mentor Exclusive)

Clay — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:20:25 +0000

“You learn everything from every production that you’re on, even if it’s, you know, a commercial that lasts three weeks. You learn something from it.”

It’s finally here – my exclusive podcast for Animation Mentor! It marks a few firsts: my first podcast in over a year; my first roundtable with five guests; my first women guests! Since this is an exclusive, you’ll need to head over to Animation Mentor to listen and download the show. My focus for this show was to grab five artists at Disney who recently went through the Talent Development Program at Disney and talk about how they got there and what it’s like to work at the studio. My guests include Story Artist Jeremy Spears, Visual Development Artist Lorelay Bove, Rough Inbetweener/Jack of all Trades Joe Pitt, 2D Animator Sarah Airriess, and CG Animator (and Animation Mentor alumni) Kira Lehtomaki. Please leave your comments and feedback on this this post. I’d love to hear what you think.

Show 030 – Eric Goldberg, Part Two

Clay — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 07:23:08 +0000

“I like to draw everything that has a sense of give to it, and a sense of life, and everything that will support the idea of the pose and then build the anatomy on top.”

The interview concludes in Part Two where Eric Goldberg shares his extensive knowledge and appreciation for animating as he talks about many of the projects he has directed including Pocahontas, Rhapsody in Blue, and The Monkey’s Tale while the conversation continues to touch down on the details of the craft of animation. Eric is currently animating on the upcoming film The Princess and the Frog.

Continue for Show Notes, audio file download links, and comments…

Get the MP3 here: Show 30: Eric Goldberg, Part Two
(29.1MB, 1:03:19 minutes)

Or get the enhanced version playable only with Quicktime, iTunes, or iPods.
(Includes chapter breaks, pictures and links in addition to the audio.)
Get the enhanced podcast here: Show 30: Eric Goldberg, Part Two
(30.9MB, 1:03:19 minutes)

Amazon.com Widgets

SHOWNOTES

00:00 The Intro Voice
00:05 Sponsored by –
00:23 Introduction
Character Animation Crash Course
01:36 Approach to drawing
05:29 Anything to add on the Genie?
09:31 The style and tone of Pocahontas
14:13 Pocahontas: Adventurous art direction
17:02 Pocahontas: Most difficult film to date
19:35 Pocahontas: Defending its biggest criticisms
22:11 Directing shorts vs. features
25:49 The breadth of sidekicks
28:37 Less accessible projects – The Monkey’s Tale
36:41 Storyboarding for animation
42:46 Eric Goldberg – cartoon voice
44:48 What is possible in CG that hasn’t happened?
56:06 How is it at Disney today?
57:42 Conclusion
57:55 Voicemails/Feedback info – Email Clay – Link to Voicemail
1:02:16 BOLT
1:02:42 Sponsored by –

Show 029 – Eric Goldberg, Part One

Clay — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:24:59 +0000

“So much can be expressed through a walk, you know. I think that’s one of the things that a lot of animators don’t do these days, is actually crack the walk so that it actually says something about the character.”

Eric Goldberg is one of the most admired animators working today. After years of developing his craft in the commercial business in London, he exploded on the feature animation scene with the Genie in Aladdin. After that, he co-directed Pocahontas and later directed two classic sequences from Fantasia 2000 – Rhapsody in Blue and Carnival of the Animals. Eric was also responsible for animating Phil in Hercules and he is currently animating on the upcoming film The Princess and the Frog.

Continue for Show Notes, audio file download links, and comments…

Get the MP3 here: Show 29: Eric Goldberg, Part One
(40.2MB, 1:27:39 minutes)

Or get the enhanced version playable only with Quicktime, iTunes, or iPods.
(Includes chapter breaks, pictures and links in addition to the audio.)
Get the enhanced podcast here: Show 29: Eric Goldberg, Part One
(42.2MB, 1:27:39 minutes)

Amazon.com Widgets

SHOWNOTES

00:00 The Intro Voice
00:05 Sponsored by –
00:21 Theme Song by DJ Sweettooth (Joe Moshier)
01:05 Introduction
02:00 Character Animation Crash Course
08:34 On TV as a child animation prodigy
12:09 Early animation
13:28 Learning animation at age six
17:12 Searching out animation
21:10 Career goals
24:36 Ken Harris and Art Babbit at Richard Williams’ Studio
31:03 Richard Purdum, Russell Hall
34:55 Workflow at Richard Williams’ Studio
40:25 Dick Williams – master of analysis
43:33 How to analyze footage
45:11 Expression through walks
49:09 Pizazz Pictures
52:48 Catching the eye of Disney
54:44 Being cast as the Genie
57:39 Grim Natwick’s 100th birthday party
59:42 Voicemails/Feedback info – Email Clay – Link to Voicemail
Ryan from Austin – Reanimators Podcast
1:07:23 What Clay is up to – BOLT – ADAPT Conference, Montreal
1:08:25 Sponsored by –
1:08:44 Closing

Show 028 – Ken Duncan, Part Three

Clay — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:17:21 +0000

“It’s really great trying something out and then seeing how people react and if they don’t kind of react the way you think they should, it’s wise to be honest with yourself and try to analyze the work.”

Ken Duncan owns Duncan Studio in Pasadena, CA. Before that he animated Meg in Hercules, Jane in Tarzan, Capt. Amelia and Scroop in Treasure Planet, and he served as a sequence supervisor on Dreamworks’ Sharktale. In this final part of the interview, Ken shares more of his experiences on Hercules and Tarzan as well as futher insights in to his approaches to performance and how he approaches running his own animation studio.

Continue for Show Notes, audio file download links, and comments…

Get the MP3 here: Show 28: Ken Duncan, Part Three
(40.2MB, 1:27:39 minutes)

Or get the enhanced version playable only with Quicktime, iTunes, or iPods.
(Includes chapter breaks, pictures and links in addition to the audio.)
Get the enhanced podcast here: Show 28: Ken Duncan, Part Three
(42.2MB, 1:27:39 minutes)

Amazon.com Widgets

SHOWNOTES

00:00 The Intro Voice
00:05 Sponsored by –
00:21 Introduction – Duncan Studio
01:08 On acting and observing reality
03:12 Definition of texture in animation
06:01 Various structures of supervising on films
08:58 Animating Meg on Hercules
12:49 Dealing with criticism and getting better
14:30 Strength of female characters
14:53 Supervising at different studios
17:05 Animating a song
18:07 3/4 inch video tape
19:56 Style of Hercules – Gerald Scarf and cartooniness
21:01 Portraying women in animation
24:16 Actresses of the 40s – Barbara Stanwyck and Jean Arthur
25:26 Animating Jane in Tarzan
29:42 Supervising in 2D vs CG
31:23 Traditional animation methodology
36:12 Getting the right reaction
38:55 Analyzing and the human touch
42:47 Taking characters off model
45:14 Jane’s physical transformation
47:54 Treasure Planet
50:24 Starting in to CG – Oskar Urretabizkaia
55:48 Sharktale
1:00:41 The atmosphere at Dreamworks
1:01:37 Analyzing European animation styles
1:03:26 Other animation is going on out there
1:07:09 Setting up Duncan Studio
1:13:46 Opportunities for experimentation
1:17:44 Conclusion
1:17:57 Question about show length
1:18:14 Feedback info/Voicemails – Email Clay – Link to Voicemail
1:21:33 Preview of next show – Eric Goldberg
1:27:09 Sponsored by –
1:27:29 Closing

Show 027 – Ken Duncan, Part Two

Clay — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 07:05:05 +0000

“To me it’s not about moving stuff around. It’s about thinking about a personality within a story.”

The conversation with Ken Duncan continues. In this second part of the interview, Ken talks about some of the his earlier films at Disney. Then the conversation focuses on his personal approaches to acting and his general workflow for animating productively.

Continue for Show Notes, audio file download links, and comments…

Get the MP3 here: Show 27: Ken Duncan, Part Two
(25MB, 54:20 minutes)

Amazon.com Widgets

SHOWNOTES

00:00 The Intro Voice
00:05 Sponsored by –
00:21 Introduction – Duncan Studio
01:03 Coming to Disney from Bluth
03:35 The experience of working at Disney
05:09 Rescuers Down Under and meeting his wife
06:14 Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin
08:33 Pocahontas and supervising Thomas
10:04 Dialog recording sessions
11:06 Figuring out acting
17:02 Boleslavsky – Acting: The First Six Lessons
21:06 Choreography of characters – The Odd Couple
24:02 Finding meaning in performances
30:10 Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold LLoyd
35:31 Animating in red for clean-up pt. 1
36:58 What is a breakdown?
37:57 Animating in red for clean-up pt. 2
39:55 A process to animate a large piece of the film
41:41 Discipline to rely on knowledge and not technology
44:12 Animation: a commercial art with finite schedules
47:07 Inspired by other actors’ approaches
48:57 Animators who lead the artform
49:59 Animation is a crazy idea
50:40 Conclusion
50:51 Question about show length
51:09 Feedback info/Voicemails – Email Clay – Link to Voicemail – Link to Michael’s blog
53:55 Sponsored by –
54:06 Closing

Show 026 – Ken Duncan, Part One

Clay — Mon, 05 May 2008 11:38:43 +0000

“That to me is one of the funnest things about animation; is experimentation. And that’s…that’s the spirit of animation.”

Ken Duncan has served as a supervising animator on four Disney films. His characters include Thomas (Pocahontas), Meg (Hercules), Jane (Tarzan), Captain Amelia and Scroop (Treasure Planet). Ken was also a sequence supervisor on Dreamworks’ Sharktale. He currently is running his own studio, Duncan Studio, based in Pasadena, California. This is part one of the interview.

Continue for Show Notes, audio file download links, and comments…

Get the MP3 here: Show 26: Ken Duncan, Part One
(26.3MB, 56:58 minutes)

SHOWNOTES

00:00 The Intro Voice
00:05 Theme Song by DJ Sweettooth (Joe Moshier)
00:50 Sponsored by –
01:06 Introduction – Duncan Studio
02:24 Animating for 24 years
03:20 Sheridan College
04:10 Learning about animation, developing skills
07:30 Goals in animation
09:08 Intruiged by early CG animation
11:05 First work after Sheridan
12:58 Canadians + animation
13:41 Working in Paris on Asterisk
15:18 Oscar Grillo – blog
19:03 Working in Madrid on BFG
21:02 American vs. European art
24:23 Interest in more involved performances
26:04 Working at Bluth in Ireland
28:25 Learning the ropes along the way
33:08 Acting
37:28 Supervising CG characters
40:15 Styles and influences of different animators
47:09 Animating female characters
50:19 Expanding performaces in CG
51:28 Conclusion
51:38 Feedback info/Voicemails – Email Clay – Link to Voicemail
56:33 Sponsored by –
56:44 Closing

Show 025 – James Baxter, Part Three

Clay — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 07:43:10 +0000

“It’s still really intriguing for me to see the trick happen, to see things come to life. That has not got boring.”

The interview concludes with part three as James Baxter talks about learning from the old masters, what inspires him, and his experiences on films from Beauty and the Beast through Madagascar. James was the supervising animator of Belle, Rafiki, Quasimodo, Spirit, and director of the animation for Enchanted. This is part three of a three part interview.

Continue for Show Notes, audio file download links, and comments…

Get the MP3 here: Show 25: James Baxter, Part Three
(25.7MB, 55:39 minutes)

Or get the enhanced version playable only with Quicktime, iTunes, or iPods.
(Includes pictures and links in addition to the audio.)
Get the enhanced podcast here: Show 25: James Baxter, Part Three
(26.3MB, 55:39 minutes)

SHOWNOTES

00:00 The Intro Voice
00:05 Welcome & Thanks for 25 Episodes!
01:11 Sponsored by –
01:28 Welcome & Thanks for 25 Episodes!
01:46 The Animation Podcast Swag Shop – Link to Shop
02:24 New blog section – Q & A
02:24 Advertise on The Animation Podcast – Contact form
02:55 Intro – James Baxter Animation
03:22 Studying animation voraciously – reading The Illusion of Life

04:30 Learning from past masters
05:21 Supervising at a young age
07:49 Philosophy on supervising
10:06 Who inspires James today
11:53 Creating original performances in animation
14:21 The potential for traditional animation
17:49 Teaching interns – starting with fundamentals
19:28 Looking deeper in to the twelve points of animation
20:43 Beauty and the Beast
21:32 Quitting Disney and going to Passion Pictures
23:29 Supervising Rafiki on Lion King
26:20 Designing The Hunchback of Notre Dame characters with Tony Fucile
28:04 The Ronald Searle influence on Hunchback
28:43 Supervising on Quasimodo
29:29 Going to Dreamworks – The Prince of Egypt
34:17 El Dorado
35:41 Spirit – learning to animate horses
39:51 Sinbad
41:19 Shrek & Shrek 2
43:00 Things learned from CG
48:21 Madagascar
48:54 Starting a studio – James Baxter Animation
51:22 Closing comments
52:12 Conclusion
52:31 Feedback info – Email Clay
52:50 Voicemail – Link to Voicemail
55:02 The Animation Podcast Swag Shop – Link to Shop
55:08 Sponsored by –

55:23 Closing

Show 024 – James Baxter, Part Two

Clay — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 17:04:19 +0000

“That’s probably the hardest part, I think, is to be able to capture that lightening in a bottle and, you know, to be able to take that moment of inspiration and for the next week or two weeks maintain that spontaneity.”

Part two of the interview continues with James Baxter, supervising animator of Belle, Rafiki, Quasimodo, Spirit, and director of the animation for Enchanted. The conversation goes in to deeper detail regarding the technical aspects and processes James applies to his animation and acting – a must-listen for any animators looking to improve their workflow and craft. This is part two of a three part interview.

Continue for Show Notes, audio file download links, and comments…

Get the MP3 here: Show 24: James Baxter, Part Two
(19.6MB, 42:14 minutes)

Or get the enhanced version playable only with Quicktime, iTunes, or iPods.
(Includes pictures and links in addition to the audio.)
Get the enhanced podcast here: Show 24: James Baxter, Part Two
(17.7MB, 42:14 minutes)

SHOWNOTES

00:00 Sponsor

00:17 Intro – James Baxter Animation
01:18 Planning animation
04:25 Timing out action
08:12 The first phase of animating a shot
09:52 Tying down pass
12:49 More on first scribble pass
15:50 Finishing up, including overlap
18:03 Transitioning to CG
20:33 Drawing and the trickery of animation
23:11 Planning animation in CG
24:33 Analyzing acting and movement
29:46 Acting in animation
31:38 The perfect animator
33:46 Acting stuff out
38:09 Different schools of acting
41:34 Conclusion
41:45 Feedback info – Link to Voicemail
41:52 Sponsor

42:04 Closing

Show 023 – James Baxter, Part One

Clay — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 10:32:57 +0000

“I think the thing that came to me quickest was probably the understanding of how things move… It took me a lot longer to try and conquer things like good communication and character and drawing and expressions and acting and the really important stuff.”

James Baxter is one of the most talented animators working today. As a supervising animator at Disney and Dreamworks some of the characters he brought to life include Belle, Rafiki, Quasimodo, Moses, and Spirit. On the CG side, he also served as a supervising animator on Shrek 2 and Madagascar. James’ latest work was creating all the animation sequences for Enchanted at his studio, James Baxter Animation. This is the first part of this interview.

Continue for Show Notes, audio file download links, and comments…

Get the MP3 here: Show 23: James Baxter, Part One
(18.4MB, 39:48 minutes)

Or get the enhanced version playable only with Quicktime, iTunes, or iPods.
(Includes pictures and links in addition to the audio.)
Get the enhanced podcast here: Show 23: James Baxter, Part One
(16.7MB, 39:48 minutes)

SHOWNOTES

00:00 The Intro Voice
00:05 Sponsor

00:21 Theme Song by DJ Sweettooth (Joe Moshier)
01:06 Intro – James Baxter Animation
01:47 Education and early animation
08:34 Who Framed Roger Rabbit
12:19 Spacing and the technical aspects of animation
14:49 Framing through animation and live-action
16:40 Animating on Roger Rabbit
21:41 Struggling early on – The Little Mermaid
24:46 Rescuers Down Under
27:32 Finding a workflow
29:27 Analysing Milt Kahl
36:19 Working hard and learning
38:38 Conclusion
38:47 Feedback info – Link to Voicemail
39:22 Sponsor

39:35 Closing

Show 022 – Dale Baer, Part Two

Clay — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 07:01:51 +0000

“When things get down and people get scared and they get nervous, are they’re running around, like, saying, ‘What’s happening? The world’s coming to an end,’ it’s just part of the – that wierdness of this business.”

Dale Baer came to Disney’s as an animation trainee in the late sixties, when the era of the Nine Old Men was coming to a close. He has worked for Filmation, Disney, Ralph Bakshi, and at his own studio, Baer Animation. Dale has been back at Walt Disney Animation Studios since The Emperor’s New Groove and his credits include supervising the characters of Yzma, Slim from Home on the Range, and Wilbur from Meet the Robinsons. Dale recently finished animating on the latest Goofy short How to Hook Up Your Home Theater, and he’s currently working on the upcoming film The Princess and the Frog. This is part two of a two part interview.

Continue for Show Notes and audio file download links…

Get the MP3 here: Show 22: Dale Baer, Part Two
(20.7MB, 45:02 minutes)

Or get the enhanced version playable only with Quicktime, iTunes, or iPods.
(Includes pictures and links in addition to the audio.)
Get the enhanced podcast here: Show 22: Dale Baer, Part Two
(19.2MB, 45:02 minutes)

SHOWNOTES

00:00 The Intro Voice
00:05 Sponsor

00:22 Intro – Dale Baer at IMDB
01:10 Working with Ralph Bakshi
05:10 Working for Richard Williams and Quartet

Mike Lah – Wikipedia

07:37 Striking out on his own
10:26 Facilities & equipment for a studio
12:21 How to improve at drawing
13:22 EPCOT Living Seas Pavillion
14:14 Looking for work – Roger Rabbit

17:23 Peter Schneider & Jeffrey Katzenberg
18:30 Working with the crew on Roger Rabbit
20:20 Keeping ties with Disney – Black Cauldron

22:01 Keeping a working studio
22:46 Disney changed – Bluth out, Eisner in
23:58 The cyclic nature of animation
25:46 Working for Peanuts

27:12 Storyboards for Hanna-Barbera

29:47 Advice for freelancing
32:31 Pros and cons of your own animation business
35:18 Making a cozy studio – Jay Ward Productions
36:36 A studio is like a family
37:42 A saving grace: digital Ink & Paint
40:19 Winding down after ten years
43:11 The Emperor’s New Groove

44:01 Conclusion and feedback info – Link to Voicemail
44:44 Sponsor