The Animation Podcast

Author: Clay

  • Show 030 – Eric Goldberg, Part Two

    Eric Goldberg

    “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.

    [audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/animationpodcast/AP030.mp3]

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  • Animation Timeline

    For many years I’ve kept my eyes open for fast and easy ways to create dynamic timelines and it appears it is a concept who’s time has finally come. There are now many websites that let you create your own custom timelines and after checking out a few, I decided to create an Animation Timeline on Dipity.

    Animation Timeline

    I’ve added all the Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks and Blue Sky feature films but I’m sure there are many more from years past that can be included. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t mind having anything related to animation on there. I started it, but I won’t claim it as my own – it’s for all of us! Any one can contribute since it is editable by anyone. Just create an account on Dipity and add away. You can even edit the information that’s there if you want. It took me a while to get all the films in there, so I’m putting a bit of trust in your hands that you won’t maul it in to a work of evil, but I know you’re a good bunch and animation types generally watch out for each other.

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  • Show 029 – Eric Goldberg, Part One

    Eric Goldberg

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    “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.

    [audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/animationpodcast/AP029.mp3]

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  • Show 028 – Ken Duncan, Part Three

    Ken Duncan

    “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.

    [audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/animationpodcast/AP028.mp3]

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  • Show 027 – Ken Duncan, Part Two

    Ken Duncan

    “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.

    [audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/animationpodcast/AP027.mp3]

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  • Show 026 – Ken Duncan, Part One

    Ken Duncan

    “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.

    [audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/animationpodcast/AP026.mp3]

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  • Show 025 – James Baxter, Part Three

    James Baxter

    “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.

    [audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/animationpodcast/AP025.mp3]

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  • Q&A: Using generic rigs

    Q. I was wondering if you had any idea about how recruiters react when seeing generic rigs in the demo reels they receive. I heard that they lose interest as soon as they see animation created using certain “free online rigs”.
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  • New blog section: Q&A!

    The crazy thing about me doing an audio show is that I sometimes find it so darn tough to put my thoughts in to words and then have those words come out of my mouth. Go figure! While I will always strive to improve my “on the air” skills, I find that I receive quite a few questions from listeners that I would like to answer and share with everyone. Most of the time I try to reply to emails, but that only gets the info to one person. To do that in the podcasts would take more time than I’d like to admit. So today a new section is born!

    Simply put, it’s Q&A.

    When I get a question in an email or in the comments of one of the posts that is worthy of singling out, I’ll break it out and drop it in it’s own Q&A post. Eventually, there may be quite a bit of information here that many people would like to know so it seems logical to keep it under the Animation Notebook section of the site.

    Look for the first Q&A later today.

  • Announcing The Animation Podcast Swag Shop!

    Swag Shop poster

    Now you can let the whole world know that the voices in your head are “The voices of animation” by wearing your Animation Podcast t-shirt and Animation Podcast hat while sipping your beverage of choice from your Animation Podcast coffee cup! You can even stick your Animation Podcast magnet to your favorite piece of metal. So don’t walk – RUN! Get to The Animation Podcast Swag Shop (TAPSS to those in the know) and show the love!
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