Show 003 – Andreas Deja, Part Three

May 23, 2005

It’s Deja vu all over again. The last installment of my first (but hopefully not the last) meeting with Andreas Deja is here. Hear his thoughts on his own work, as well as his friendship with animation legend Milt Kahl.

CORRECTION: At the end I say meant to say, “This conlcudes Part Three,” not part Two. Andreas’ German threw me off my game.

Get it here: Show 3: Andreas Deja, Part Three
(16MB, 23:19 minutes)

Continue for Show Notes…

0:00 May 23, 2005

0:05 Theme song by DJ Sweettooth

0:48 Welcome

1:05 Hanging out with Milt Kahl Bio The Spinnaker Restaurant in Sausalito

Map

The Black Cauldron

Ken Anderson Bio
Children’s Book

Bill Peet Books by Peet Bio

The Sword in the Stone

5:00 Bill Tytla Bio at Wikipedia
Bio by Disney

UPA Wikipedia article

5:38 Ollie Johnston – Animate Feelings Bio

7:00 Being critical of your own work

7:35 The Prince & the Pauper

8:09 Cinderella. Ward Kimball Bio. Frank Thomas Bio

8:50 Studying Animation. Tex Avery TexAvery.com

Tom & Jerry

9:30 Favorite Animation

Sleeping Beauty The Prince & King Hubert

The Rescuers Medusa

Frank Thomas Bio

11:39 German message

12:40 Feedback

Comments

45 responses to “Show 003 – Andreas Deja, Part Three”

May 23, 2005

Jason Campbell

This has been a great series, I can’t wait to hear what will follow.
Thanks again for putting this together.

J.

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May 23, 2005

jim m.

Quality sounds great! Much more audible (for me at least).

Do major studios still have the kind of training programs Deja described?

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May 23, 2005

AnimationPodcaster

Thanks for checking the audio Jim.

As far as training programs go, I can’t speak with much authority. On most Disney films there are a handful of spots called Animating Assistants. These are beginning, yet qualified animators who are paired with a Supervising Animator for mentorship. Animating Assistants work on tests as well as actual production scenes. Generally, by the end of the film these people are promoted to the position of Animator. I imagine most studios have a system similar to this.

In the case of someone who is really good, most studios will try to accomodate bringing that person on, even if they officially aren’t hiring. This is more for someone who is qualified to jump right in to production.

As far as I know, there isn’t a specific time of the year when training programs or interships happen at different studios. It’s more reliant on when productions will need trained animators.

If anyone knows of training opportunities, share them here. I’m sure there are many people who would be interested in that information.

-Clay

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May 23, 2005

stef

Great show!

You may wonder what Andreas was talking about at the end.
Basically, he said that he’ll be in his hometown (Dinslaken, Germany) in october to help support a Disney Festival there, celebrating his 25th anniversary at Disney.
He’ll be giving a drawing/animation class for children.
Those who are interested should look for infos on the web, he says.

I found this link, (in German)
http://www.kulturkreis-dinslaken.de/

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May 23, 2005

AnimationPodcaster

Thanks Stef! Even though I had no idea what he was saying, I thought it would be fun, especially for his fans back home.

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May 23, 2005

Benjamin De Schrijver

Since my motherlanguage Dutch is related to German, I could understand the most important stuff, but still thanks for the translation! I’ll keep this in mind, go there, and hopefully I’ll catch a glimps of him. There aren’t many of these kind of opportunities for us peeps on the continent, so I don’t want to miss it.

– Benjamin

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May 23, 2005

joaquin

thanks for this wonderful chat of animation,
its hard to finde good matirial on the web,
but this i would say is one of the best i had found.
sorry if i have put some mistake ,my motherlanguageis spanish i live in Uruguay , a small country in south america.

best wishes for this wonderful site

joaquin

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May 24, 2005

stef

Yeah it’s definitely cool to hear him talking in German.
Plus I didn’t know about those Disney Weeks before. If I can I’ll go there and check it out.
So, thanks again for putting all this together.

stef

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May 24, 2005

Warren

Loving the podcasts!

Just a minor tech note – the latest podcast (part 3) does not seem to be attached to the RSS feed, like the previous ones were. The ‘Download’ link doesn’t show up in my NewNewsWire.

No biggie, just thought you’d like to know (from a lazy guy who has to visit the site to get it!). 🙂

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May 24, 2005

Benjamin De Schrijver

stef: I guess it’s just a one-time thing, because he’s been at Disney for 25 years. So it’s definitly an opportunity we shouldn’t miss!

– Benjamin

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May 24, 2005

AnimationPodcaster

Thanks Warren. I’ve never used NNW to download a Podcast. I’ll look into it. It seems to work fine with iPodderX, so I’m not sure what’s going on.

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May 24, 2005

Henrik Kamsv?•g

Great interview. I realy enjoyed listening to this interview.

Cheers!

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May 25, 2005

Kaveh Michael

Again, very good show! and the audio quality is getting better, nice job Clay!

I have a few suggestions for your next shows, it would be great if you could talk with them, but don’t worry if you couldn’t, i’ll still be checking your site everyday 🙂

These are people that I assume you should know or at least met, but I could be wrong,

Mark Henn
Glen Keane
Ron Clements
Eric Goldberg
Nik Ranieri
John Musker

And one more suggestion, for your next shows, I was wondering if you could get a little more specific about certain shots, you know, every film has some shots that are animated superb and you always remember those when you think of that film ( like Baloo’s scratching his back with the tree in The Jungle Book or Prince John’s getting rubbed sequence in the Robin Hood) So maybe you could pick a few shots and get into details of how they went about animating that shot (ie. The idea, inspiration, the fight with the director, etc.)

..just an idea

thanks!

-Kaveh

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May 25, 2005

Benjamin De Schrijver

Great list Kaveh! But there are just so many great animators (James Baxter comes in mind) and directors (Mike Gabriel) and storymen and… that could be interviewed. Even if it’s somebody I don’t know, I’m sure it’ll be inspirational, at least for me.

Heh, I just realised this already is my third reply to this podcast, and I haven’t even thanked you for how great it was, Clay! So thank you and congrats! I’m superexcited about the ones that are coming, no matter who it is about. Any hints 😉 ? And when do you think the next one will be done? And when can we expect the one devoted to Joe Grant? Can’t wait!

– Benjamin

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May 25, 2005

AnimationPodcaster

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I’ve already interviewed one of the people you mentioned, so it looks like we’re thinking along the same lines. Believe me, my wishlist for guests is as long as my arm. This could be a full time job – except for the fact that it’s a non-paying hobby.

I made the mistake once of saying when I would have a show out and ended up killing myself to meet that deadline. They take me quite a long time to put together. I just don’t have the time to commit to any schedule, but I’m determined to work on these whenever I can.

Don’t worry, I won’t forget about Joe.

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May 25, 2005

Thomas Grummt

just finished show #3 and it’s really amazing! thanks so much for this podcast, i’m totally excited about the upcoming shows and artists.

since i live in germany i’m going to try to meet andreas at this little disney festival in his hometown, although it’s pretty much at the other end of the country;) i have met him once here in stuttgart and he was great, so i hope i get the chance to talk with him some more …

maybe we meet there, stef and benjamin, it sure would be fun!

so again thanks a lot clay, keep up the good work,
*thomas

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May 30, 2005

Kling Klong

Hi I think it wonderfull what you are doing. Right now I am working as a video game animamator, And you really inspire me, to go on. And its fun to hear that the even the top animators arn’t saticfied with their shots. So I am not the only one. Thank you for your wonderfull inspiration.

/kling klong

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May 31, 2005

AnimationPodcaster

Thanks Thomas and Mr. Kling, or is it Klong?
Either way, it’s good to know that the podcast is producing what I had hoped – inspiration. There can never be enough of that!
-Clay

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June 1, 2005

Ward

Another winner, Clay! It’s very inspiring to hear Andreas talk about scenes that he loves to watch over and over as well as the ones that he was particularly proud of. To get to hear this side of an animator, especially one as esteemed as he is, is very fascinating. Thanks again for devoting your time into this project, Clay. I completely understand how much blogging (and podcasting for you) can eat into your precious time. But you are definitely doing a great job with it. Patient for the next one, I will be. (Yoda-speak there. Just had to do it.)

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June 1, 2005

AnimationPodcaster

Thanks Ward.
Yep, it’s hard to keep up. Of course, the job (the real one) has got to come first, so I appreciate the patience – from everybody, really. I know people would love it if I just churned these out, but I do want to do it right. (There is no try, right Yoda?)
-Clay

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July 6, 2005

Gill

In your broadcast Andreas Deja part two, Andreas Deja told that he was going to be in Germany in october.
I am working as an animator in Austria and wanted to know when and where Andreas Deja will be in Germany, so I can plan to go meet him.

Thanks!

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July 6, 2005

AnimationPodcaster

Gill,
Read Stef’s comment above for a link to a German site that has more information. That’s the most I know about it.
-Clay

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August 19, 2005

John Ramirez

Hello Clay! Great show! I was Andreas Deja’s assistant on Jafar and on Scar.
The intensity in which he works was amazing… as well as his never ending enthusiasm for his work. When we’d be nearing a deadline, he’d have an incredible workload yet he was always full of energy. His rough drawings had such energy but wonder attention to detail in the expressions of his characters. In such simple shapes he would pose the characters and they would be full of expression! His rough drawings are fantastic pieces of art. It was a great experience working for him, I’m glad I could be part of his team and be part of Disney history. Besides that, he has such a great sense of humor.

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August 19, 2005

AnimationPodcaster

John-
You’re fortunate to have worked with him. The closest I ever got (so far) was on Fantasia 2000. He animated the shot right before one of mine, in the ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ sequence. John dancing with the monkey at the peanut stand was his, and then I did them walking in to the pet shop. That was my first official shot ever. Just knowing the first frame of my shot connected to the last of his was daunting. Then we actually had to meet and talk about the hookup. Man, I was so thrilled and scared but as we can all hear, he’s one of the nicest and most enthusiastic people you’ll ever meet.

Thanks for chiming in John!
-Clay

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September 17, 2005

Jerome

I’ve just listened to the whole Andreas Deja series and it was very interesting. Great work.

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December 10, 2005

Michael Herold

Oh noooooo… ! October! I¬¥m too late (for the festival Andreas mentioned) – would have gone for sure! 🙁

Again, thanks Clay for another AAA podcast!

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April 5, 2007

Teresa W.

wow that was a great interview. Does anyone know how i can contact Andreas ? I’m studying animation and want to ask him a few things and hopefully get a few tips.

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April 14, 2007

Samuel

Hey, Clay.

Thank you for this website. It is good to see that people still want to hear from the “Hand Drawn Animations Magicians” and they are there to talk to us.

Congratulations!

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March 9, 2008

Vic

we definatley need a show on the nine old men…

andreas is ready himself, i can hardly wait….

im a great fan of andreas deja…thank you for having him on the show…

he is such a great source of animation greatness…

continue with the good podcasts

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September 11, 2008

Viera

I had to tell you how amazing these podcasts are! Thank you for having Andreas Deja. He’s my favorite animator. I’ve only been able to read tiny quotes from him in books and articles on his work up to this point. I’ve been wanting to be a character designer since I first saw Beauty and the Beast at age 6, and I’m periodically told that there is no way to get there from where I am so it’s encouraging to hear about how other people made their way into animation–It’s really the coolest thing ever that you made this website. Thank you so much!

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November 11, 2008

Adam Temple

Just started listening to these, and they are the most wonderful way to start my day of animation. Thankyou so much.

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February 2, 2009

Liz

I just finished re-listening to this and happened to go out and buy the 2 disk special edition of “The Jungle Book”. It was wonderful to watch the extras and see Andreas Deja showing the original drawings and explaining so much. You can really see he has so much passion for animation and his work at Disney. 🙂

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March 20, 2009

Rio

Hi Clay,

I’ve listened to the Andreas interview about three times now. I typically listen to each of them several times. Thank you for all the work you do to give everyone an opportunity listen to these great animators share their thoughts. I have a notebook I write quotes in from just these interviews. I’m a student at AM and I didn’t realize how much I could learn from these interviews, but I now consider it part of my animation education. There is so much philosophy as well as practical methodology being shared by the animators you interview.

On a separate note, you mentioned your intention to interview Andreas about the Nine Old Men. I didn’t want to push you on it, but instead let you know I’d be thrilled to hear Andreas talk about these great masters. I hope this interview is in the works.

Thanks again Clay,
Rio

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June 22, 2009

Benny Mercader

Hello!
First of all, really great stuff, very inspirational! I definitely feel refreshed! Please keep up the updates really, really great stuff! Thank you so much!

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July 28, 2009

Nassim

Hi clay,

very good jop, i just love the podcast:) it’s really great..

My name is Nassim; I’ve E-mailed you before,

I just graduated from the bezalel, academy of art and design’s animation unit, in Jerusalem.

And I admit that it’s not the character Disney animation that I expected, and still want to learn and masteries.

My dream has always been to become a traditional Disney animator. I think I have a great knowledge and passion for animation. And I just have to do that.
I feel as if I know a lot about these great animator’s you have interviewed, I followed Their careers, and the progress of the animation world in general, since for ever, from When I was still a little kid. And as strange as this would sound, I feel as if I am Connected to them, I identified with what they gone through to get where they are today,
And all about the nine old men, and all of the Disney animation history, “the illusion of Life”… Frank and Ollie’s book, and all…

And it’s not just Disney; it’s this obsession with animation from every aspect of it.

Is the animation training program at Walt Disney animation studios is still on, and open For artist who just want to learn, and become Disney animators? Because animators like Andreas Deja and Glen keane (my heroes), describes it as if it was a natural and easy Thing to attend and learn there, back on those days. How can I enroll? I know things have changed a lot, but I need to know, how things are going there now? Does it all I have to do is Just sent portfolio and demo reel?

Can a guy like me from Nazareth, in Israel join the Program?
What about visa and staying there?. I feel like I forever fought for reaching that dream.
I just have to do that, and to be there…. to learn and practice and to be mentored I guess.., to see the real stuff….

and I swear I’m not a geek either … I’m 27 years old, and if I am, I think I would know that by now….hh.. I just think it’s time to be there, and to do this, yes it’s a desperation S.O.S E-mail!..sooo‚– HELP– LOL-..

Seriously I would be really grateful if you took the time and understanding to answer back, I would appreciate that.

Thanks a lot,
Sincerely

Nassim

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August 22, 2009

Clay

Hi Nassim, thanks for the heartfelt message. I can promise you that the Disney training program has never been easy to get into, even for Glen and Andreas. They both worked for years, training in art school and on their own to get good enough to impress the studio. The same goes for anyone today. It doesn’t matter where a person is from, if their work is up to the standard of Disney, then they will be considered.

Right now, the training program at Disney is geared toward people who are still in school or who have graduated in the last three years. Outside of that, anyone has to apply for a regular position along with the rest of the world. If you’d like more info, you can explore the details at the Walt Disney Animation Studios site.

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August 22, 2009

Clay

Rio, that’s a good idea and something Andreas and I have already talked about. We’ll have to get our act back together and record it!

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August 22, 2009

Nassim

Hii Clay,
Thanks for replaying back.

🙂 I hope i didn’t sound like i don’t know what..hh.., It’s just because that we are here watching the amazing stuff you do, and gave us over the years, and me feeling like QUASIMODO on his bell tower, or like ARIEL under the see, dreaming, admiring and trying to survive. You guys are so amazing and very lucky to be part of it all.:-)…….

I’m sure that they did work really hard, because they are amazing people, with tremendous talent. They are truly great animators and real artists; they’ve been my idols and my heroes for a long time. Watching them on TV specials or video and DVD’s behind the scenes interviews, and now thanks to you, we get the chance to listen to these inspiring artists on a more personal level.

I’ll keep trying, and enjoying myself in this great art form, Animating, Drawing and expressing myself.

I hope that the upcoming “THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG” will do what “THE LITTLE MERMAID” did back then at 1989, and opens another golden age for the Disney hand drawn animation, because we miss that. And it is DISNEY. The movie does look really beautiful. “LOUIS” is so Eric Goldberg, as well as the rest of the cast of animators for the movie. and i’m happy that RON and JOHN are back too. Except we don’t see the great Glen Keane on this one, but I suppose he is busy working on “RAPUNZEL” now:)

I’m not saying that the CG and the PIXAR’s movies aren’t amazing with great heart warming stories and beautiful rich characters too.

Thank you all for the great work. And thank you CLAY very much for replaying back.

ohh…. and nice new look for the podcast:)

NASSIM

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May 9, 2010

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May 9, 2010

beauty salons

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May 18, 2012

Anonymous

Just to let you know Bill Tytla never worked at UPA.

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August 6, 2013

MacM

Coming to these late but I’m really loving them and learning loads!

I just have one question;

the main thing I’ll take from this interview is that you have to really immerse yourself in the character and feel their emotions rather than just detachedly draw them.

I’m wondering what are the implications of that for 3d animating, is it still possible to animate on that purely visceral level?

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August 8, 2013

MacM

Just listened to Glen Keane’s interview and that pretty much answered my question!

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August 9, 2013

Clay

Mac, glad you found your answer. Thanks for listening.

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August 9, 2013

MacM

Thanks a million for doing them Clay.

I’m coming to animation fairly late so am trying to hoover up as much information as I can and there are priceless.

I haven’t even seen a lot of the disney films(have been more into independent,experimental type animation but hearing these guys talk you can tell they are true artists)and can’t wait to now with all the added appreciation I’ll have.

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