| For me, traditional cell and stop-motion
animation has always been about making the physically impossible believable. Dinosaurs,
talking mice, or whatever one can imagine. Now, CG animation is striving to copy reality
by making a perfect computer generated human being. This obsession to make an accurate
copy of nature is a major driving force in software development. The application of a
truly successful result would certainly justify the scale of investment. CG’s other
potentials (with only a handful of truly outstanding exceptions) have only been explored
in advertising or the film effects industry. The results generally date very quickly and
are mostly unimaginative and devoid of an individual touch. The major theme of my work is childhood. I have always loved
cartoons and Johnny Pumpkin is about making a cartoon in that tradition without
the usual constraints of a broadcaster’s slot. It’s also about respecting the
traditions of the medium while making full use of the technology at the time.
With animation, one has to be completely
committed to the whole process to gain a result. Initially, I liked the idea of developing
2D drawings into their CG counterparts, and then seeing them come alive. After I got over
this stage, I found that the real challenge was about the strength to make choices. The
decisions involved are nothing like any other medium I have worked in as an artist. To
keep the individual vision meant that I had to continually learn processes and new
languages just to effectively communicate with the animators. Though I have directed film
and made traditional animations in the past, CG practically demands a commitment to the
very air the characters breathe.
Good character animation, like a good
comic, only ever works if you apply real attention to every aspect of structure and
detail. Maintaining this without losing the spontaneity of the idea is the challenge.
Making it look easy is in the mastering, and mastering it is a life long commitment. |
