What is your name and your current occupation?
Luca Fattore , I am a lead animator and a pre production artist .
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
None, I started working in the animation field at the age of 18.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Balto ( Universal/Amblimation) The magic sword ( Warner Brothers) Help i am a Fish ( A.Film ) Asterix and the Vikings ( A.Film) Marco Macaco ( Nice Ninja productions) … the short film “Shark and the Piano” ( Munich animation ) Some “7Up” commercials where I have animated one of my favorite commercial characters , Fido Dido .
How did you become interested in animation?
I drew as a kid , and at the age of 13 I started watching my favorite shorts frame by frame ….. that did the trick !
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I am from L´Aquila , Italy ….. as student I got an exposition space at the Lucca animation festival , that year the directors of the Steven Spielberg studio in London were there , they saw my artwork and asked me if i was interested in working for them , so I finished the year , got my degree , and basically flew to London.
What’s a typical day like for you with regards to your job?
Meetings , talk to the team and the director so we are all on the same page , go to my office and try to produce the best work I can .
What part of your job do you like best? Why?
When i look at something I have done and I can´t believe I did it , rarely , but it happens , and it makes it all worth while !
What part of your job do you like least? Why?
To say goodbye to some wonderful people at the end of every production . Traveling for work it´s , unfortunately , the nature of the animation industry.
What kind of technology do you work with on a daily basis?
PC , Windows platform , maya , tv paint ,toon Boom, Flash ,Photoshop, After effects and a really cool pencil !
What is the most difficult part for you about being in the business?
The way the business is changing , I suppose.
In your travels, have you had any brushes with animation greatness?
Yes , fortunately . Amblin was the studio that eventually became Dreamworks, so , I got to work with some of those AMAZING people.  My 1st job was as a junior character designer together with Carlos Grangel ….. at the time Nico´Marle was also around . Phil Nibbelink and Simon Welles were the directors ( they just finished as supervising animators on “Who framed Roger Rabbit” ) .  Kristof Serrand was the best animator at the studio and I had the fortune of doing some work on he´s characters , I worked also with Dick Zondag … from him I learned a lot !  Richard Williams , Jimmy Murakami , Uli Meyer , Dave Wagner , Tashin Ozgur , Roy Naisbitt ,William Salazar , Jakob Jansen , Rune Bennike ,Dan Jippes , Hans Bacher …. and many more !
Describe a tough situation you had in life.
Well , once I was hired as animation supervisor on a cgi feature film , I had to supervise a smaller team in another country ;Â most of the team was untrained and we had to deliver 40 minutes of high end animation.
Any side projects you’re working on that you’d like to share details of?
With some amazing people I am trying to develop a multi media project with social and political depth.
Any unusual talents or hobbies like tying a cherry stem with your tongue or metallurgy?
I use to play some music , paint , write poems , refine antique furniture , run for half a day , building a tree house , baking and gourmet cooking … the usual stuff !
Is there any advice you can give for an aspiring animation student or artist trying to break into the business?
I think the animation industry needs new thinking , variation and a renaissance !
