Dave Redl

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Dave Redl.  Gun for hire cartoonist/animator/animation director and for corporate America, “New Media Director” (which means I make stuff move on computers.)

 


What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I worked in construction building low income housing in Newark NJ where I saw a 10 year old strip an abandoned car under a minute while nailing up roofing shingles.  I worked in a garden center that was struck by lightning and crashed a golf cart used to transport flats of geraniums because I was listening to Led Zeppelin on my Walkman.  I worked a night shift at a factory loading clothes onto trucks with a dude named Steve, also a Zeppelin fan, who proudly showed me a corner in the rafters that was hidden from security cameras, perfect for naps and complete with a potato sac bed.  Unfortunately, I split before solving the mystery of which restroom was used by fellow co-worker, “Roberto” who had ridiculously enormous and feminine breasts.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
All of them.  If they put food on the table and made my boss happy… I was proud of them.  Not every gig you get looks good, possibly due to “tweaking” or “corporate politics” so you must find pride in doing what you can with what you got.  For example, I was Layout Animation Supervisor, where I drew nothing for a TV show canceled during production!  But the people I worked with had kind things to say.  That left me proud of being a good boss even though I have nothing on my reel to show for it.

 

How did you become interested in animation?
For as long as I can remember.  But growing up on The Smurfs, I preferred

Edwin Poon

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What is your name and your currentoccupation?

My name is Edwin Poon; Animation Director at Big Bad Boo Studios, and Animation Instructor at Vancouver Film School in Vancouver, Canada.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had beforegetting into animation?
When I was studying in Nottinghamshire, England back in the early 90’s; Iused to chop firewood, as a volunteer, for low income elderly families.  I almost lost the tip of my left thumb over a wood chopping accident, good thing they were able to save my thumb.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’reproud to have been a part of?
In my very first animation contract, I worked as a Digital Ink and PaintArtist at Mercury Filmworks Vancouver (when they were in town), and I had thepleasure of digitally ink and painting the WB feature “Looney Tunes Back InAction”.  I was over the moon at seeing the actual hand drawn animation for the film, and having had the opportunitiesin fixing a few of the drawings myself!  I worked on both seasons of Kid Vs Kat as Build Supervisor at DHX MediaVancouver, and it was definitely one of my favorite projects!  I especially enjoyed working closely with Rob Boutilier (Creator) on the Intro and Cut-scenes animation for the Kid Vs Kat iPadgame.  I am still hoping for a 3rd seasonin the near future!  I have recently wrapped up on the 2nd season of “1001 Nights”at Big Bad Boo Studios.  Our show camefirst at MIP Junior 2011 – Top 30 most requested programs, and I am veryproud to be part of the “1001 Nights” team! 

 

How did you become interested in animation?
Even though I have always enjoyed watching cartoons, and doodling sinceI was young;  I have never thought of Continue reading

Daphne Hong

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Daphne Hong – I’m currently Animator and illustrator in Paris. I work for animation features, TV series, video games and edition.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Nothing crazy, I always had jobs in the artistic industries.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
To be proud is not the right word, but I have for of all my projects a special feeling because I learned a lot each time and my dream to be a part of animation industry became more and more true. My most personnal work is a book I illustrated, which was released in March 2012. Being a author is also very rewarding.

 

How did you become interested in animation?
It started with children’s books, TV series and animation features. I drew very early in my childhood and did it everywhere on anything (for example, the walls of my parents apartment), I loved to draw princes and princesses, fairy tales impressed me very much. I also liked make Continue reading

Andrew Kaiko

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Andrew Kaiko.  I am a creative developer at an advertising agency on internet content in Manhattan, New York.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
My jobs before animation were pretty tame.  So the only thing that comes to mind is when I had to not only sort and prepare illustrators’ promotional packages for their clients at an illustrator agency, but take care of the boss, who was an old lady, and her home, where she ran her agency out of.  I replaced light bulbs and emptied water from the air conditioner all the time. One time she actually booked me with the task of getting myself ice cream, as a break!

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
‘Kappa Mikey’  was the first show I worked on at Animation Collective and was also the first show I ever had credit on, and you can’t very well forget something like that!  Not a week went by after getting my bachelor’s certificate, I got a phone call to go into the city for an interview there, and they gave me an offer right then.  This led to animating any anime-esque character who happened to appear in the shot (95% of the cast), and that meant six principle characters, various background extras, and occasional effects and props.  This never happens- I couldn’t believe my luck!  It had a superb cast of voice actors, which turned out to be the best thing about it.  The show isn’t liked by all, and yes, I am familiar with all the complaints, but I loved every second of production.  No other show since, even the shows following it at Animation Collective, was as enjoyable as this one, and that is true even into 2012.

 


How did you become interested in animation?
I’ve been interested in animation my whole life.  I think my parents gave me a gift as well as a curse when Continue reading

Josh Mepham

What is your name and your current occupation?
Josh Mepham, Director.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I was a bartender in Portugal where we would blast shots into our customers’ mouths with a supersoaker gun.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I’m really proud of the two seasons of Kid vs. Kat that I co-directed with creator Rob Boutilier at DHX Media. It’s a fantastic show and deserves all the success it has achieved. I’m also extremely proud of the show my company Slap Happy Cartoons has in development with YTV right called Nerds & Monsters. Slap Happy has also produced some animated shorts for the Vancouver Canucks that play on the big screen at the games. I’m really excited to be working with that organization seeing as I’m a huge Canucks fan.

How did you become interested in animation?
I’ve loved to draw ever since I can remember picking up that first crayon, and I’ve always loved watching cartoons. So I guess I’ve been interested in animation my whole life. I just didn’t think I’d be Continue reading

Gary Blatchford

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What is your name and your current occupation?

Gary Blatchford. Owner and director of “illusion Animated  Productions”. I have lots of hats, I direct, draw storyboards, animate, create layouts, I used to slug and write x-sheets in the good old 2-D TV animation days. Increasingly I have been putting together teams of freelance artists to provide pre-production services to other animation companies.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I never really worked before getting into animation, I worked for Richard Taylor Cartoons after leavingSt. Martin’s School of Art in London. Dick was one of my tutors and became a major influence and mentor to me. While I was a student I used to draw portraits in my local pub to earn beer money. The craziest thing I did was, I was the singer in the worse pub band in the world. We were quite capable of emptying a busy bar in 10 minutes.  I taught animation at Dun Laoghaire college of art and design (now called IADT) in the mid 1990’s, but that is not really crazy is it?

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I am proud to have been associated with just about all the projects I have been part of. Even the less successful were learning curves. I have also met some really talented people along the way. In 2004 I directed a seven minute short 2D animated film called “The Pope’s Visit”, with funding from the Irish Film Board, RTE and the Arts Council. The great Aidan Hickey wrote a terrific script and acted as producer for me. It is being shown at the Annecy Festival this June as part of the Irish Animation show. In recent years, I have been providing storyboards for the TV series made by Brown Bag Films, including: “Olivia”, “Noddy”, “Octonauts”, “Doc Mc Stuffins” etc. They have lovely projects and a fantastically talented team of creative people. For most of the 1990’s I was studio director at Murakami Wolf Dublin, which became Fred Wolf Films Dublin. Starting with “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”. We also worked on “Speed Racer”, “Sinbad”, “Zorro”, “Dino Babies” and I directed all three seasons of “Budgie the Little Helicopter”. In  2005/ 2006 I directed the “Slim Pig” series for Cheeky Animation. I have animated on a lot of commercial spots and music videos, for which you seldom receive a credit, but they are often the projects where you get to stretch yourself creatively.

 

How did you become interested in animation?
As a child I loved cartoons on the TV, particularly Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry shorts. I loved the Jerry Anderson “Telemarionation” puppet series, like “Thunderbirds” and “Captain Scarlett”. They were not animation but they showed that you could make a film without a cast of actors in front of the camera. The idea that Continue reading