Mike Gasaway

MIKE GASAWAY HAS BEEN AN ANIMATOR, supervisor, director, producer and writer on various projects such as The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Back at the Barnyard and Planet Sheen.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE GROWING UP AND WHY?

As everyone in this business, Friday the 13th. Wait, it's not? Yeah, I'm weird. I loved Star Wars but that's not the reason I got into this business. It was Bugs Bunny's fault.

TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR DECISION TO CHANGE CAREERS FROM ARCHITECTURE TO COMPUTER ANIMATION.

First, it was a very difficult decision. I wanted to be an architect since I could put two Legos together. Luckily, I took architecture classes in High School and then got accepted into one of the top schools in the nation. After going there for four years, I realized that architecture just wasn't where my heart was. I “found” animation, ironically, while working at an animation firm. The University of Cincinnati had a co-op program where you went to school for a quarter and then worked basically as an intern for a quarter. One of these co-ops, I worked in the Computer Aided Drafting department of a firm and found I was very efficient on the computer. I came back for the school quarter and saw a short by PDI called “Gas Planet.” That pushed me over the edge. I wanted to do whatever it took to do a film like that. I was bitten.

The hard part, though, was moving and leaving everyone to finish my schooling. Everyone said I was crazy but I did it anyway.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST NOTABLE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ANIMATING FOR FILM VERSUS TELEVISION?

The biggest is by far the time. We had to do SO much footage each week to keep the television machine rolling. We couldn't noodle the shots and make them super awesome. We had to also develop a methodology to make the process faster/more efficient.

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO PRODUCE YOUR OWN FILMS?

A LOT of work. The problem I'm finding is that not only do you have to be the creative force, but also the producing force. That side of my brain doesn't work fully. Honestly, I'm not sure if I have that part of my brain. I guess that would explain why I lean to one side all the time. The nice part, however, is that I do have full creative control. You don't have that any other way.

DO YOU HAVE ANY HOBBIES OUTSIDE OF ANIMATION?

Watching animation, critiquing animation… I LOVE writing. That's my passion. Guitar playing is something I miss—I used to play quite a bit but never enough. My kids take up the rest of my free time.

YOU WORKED ON SOME MEDICAL ANIMATIONS EARLY ON IN YOUR CAREER. DID YOU FIND THIS HELPFUL TO YOUR CAREER NOW?

Immensely. Because I NEVER WANT TO DO IT AGAIN. It did give me a sense of respect for the industry. I had to work through a lot of work that I didn't want to do to get to where I wanted. I'm not sure I would respect the work as much as I do if I didn't go through it. Plus I learned a lot about cellular mitosis.

ARE THE “TOOLS” INVOLVED IN ANIMATION (FAST COMPUTER, LATEST SOFTWARE) REALLY IMPORTANT TO A GOOD END RESULT?

I don't think they are necessary but they sure help. When I first started, I had to wait overnight for a simple render. That taught me to be very certain with my acting choices and do a lot of fixes before hitting that render button. I'm also not one that uses a lot of the bells and whistles. I'm not sure if that helps or hurts me but it still gets me the desired result. I will also say that the most important thing is a good animator. I have always said that a good animator can animate with match sticks. That being said, a fast computer helps.

AS AN ANIMATOR AND DIRECTOR, HAVE YOU TAKEN ACTING OR IMPROVISATION CLASSES AND IS THAT IMPORTANT?

Most definitely. I have taken them and highly recommend them. Improv is great because it teaches that acting is reacting. Having that skill helps the animator develop choices — something key in acting — especially from a director's point of view. Acting classes are great because they force you to look into the character and find some reasons why a character will/might react. I have done everything from taking classes, doing improv to even reading books on… how to pick up women… The last part was by accident because I found this book that was on body language. I perused it and thought it was great because it gave reasons for how people reacted. I bought it and didn't realize until I got it home that the book was actually on how to pick up women. It's still a great book.

DO YOU THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT ANIMATORS OF ALL LEVELS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AN OPPORTUNITY TO CRITIQUE OTHERS' WORK?

The only way to get better is to learn and to get different opinions. You should always try to get better each day. Once you're done learning, you're dead. Critiquing is also great for the critique-er. When you look at someone else's work, you can always glean something from it, thus making your animation better.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR SOMEONE LOOKING TO GET INTO ANIMATION?

Prepare to work your tail off but don't be in a hurry. Learning this skill takes a long time and can't be rushed. You will need a lot of patience in your work too. I think it's best to learn animation through baby steps and thoroughly understand the rules of animation and the workflow. This takes quite some time. Also realize, there is a lot of competition and you need to set yourself apart. Great animation will help that quite a bit.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE MOST COMMON MISTAKES YOU SEE IN YOUNG ANIMATORS?

Failure to plan. I see a ton of animators that just want to hurry up and get on the computer to start animating. What they don't realize is that planning the shot, doing vid ref and thumbnails is actually animating. The more you pore over your shot before getting into the computer, the better off you'll be. I've seen plenty of animators short change this step and then make changes way too late in the process. This makes their animation even weaker. Get in the habit of planning from the get go so it's a part of your workflow.

BRIEFLY DESCRIBE WHERE YOU SEE ANIMATION GOING IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS.

I'm not 100 percent sure where it is going but I can tell you where I hope it isn't. I hope that live action directors don't think that they can “easily” direct animation by shooting the movie in film and simply giving it over to animators to put it in the computer. I'm not a fan at all of motion capture at all either. I would be very happy if that went away.

YOU HAVE STARTED ON THE PATH TO CREATING A FEATURE FILM, CAN YOU TELL US HOW YOU DECIDED TO MAKE THAT LEAP?

I had a great agent who sent me to a bunch of producers and production companies to pitch my stories. I had a ton of great responses and even had second and third meetings. What I kept running into was everyone was looking for something “proven” or something with an audience. It was almost like no one wanted to take a chance on something they thought was good. They needed someone else to tell them what was good. I then decided to create my own “following.” I've been doing a website called “The Path to a Movie” at www.gasmangroup.com/blog. It's a site where I chronicle what I go through each day from writing the idea/novel and then script and follow the whole process from producer meetings to pre-production. The site is slowly growing daily and I haven't missed a post just yet and don't plan on stopping until the movie comes out.

Joe Ksander

JOE KSANDER IS AN ANIMATION DIRECTOR AND SCREENWRITER. He has worked at several studios including Rhythm & Hues and Industrial Light & Magic. His credits include The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Yogi Bear, the animated feature 9 and the upcoming Pacific Rim. He is currently developing his first feature film.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FILM YOU'VE WORKED ON AND WHY?

This sounds like a cop-out, but the most recent one, whatever that happens to be. I feel like I'm still learning how to do this stuff, and the more I do it, the more I like it. Sure, sometimes it can be totally frustrating, but I keep coming back for more.

CAN YOU GIVE US SOME INSIGHT INTO THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DIRECTING ANIMATION FOR LIVE ACTION VERSUS FULL CG?

The biggest difference is that in live action, when you are on set, you have to be able to communicate to the crew what the animated characters will be doing when they are completed six to nine months after the shoot is finished. You need to give the actors a clear idea of what is going on in the shot and who they are acting against, even though their scene partner is a CG character that they can't see. Once the shoot is finished and the film cut together, the process is very similar to an animated feature. Another difference is that in live action, many of the people involved don't have a lot of experience with animation, so it's important to be patient and willing to collaborate to find creative solutions to complex problems. But the goal is the same: performance in service of story.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT BEING ANIMATION DIRECTOR?

I love working with talented artists — including (but not limited to) designers, animators, actors and cinematographers. I am always amazed when a team comes together and is able to produce work that is so much more impressive than any individual could have achieved on their own.

WHAT ARE SOME MEDIA SOURCES OR EVENTS IN REAL LIFE THAT HAVE INFLUENCED YOUR ANIMATION?

I grew up watching Ray Harryhausen monster movies, which really inspired me to get into this field. Science fiction of all kinds has also been a huge influence on me, but especially writers like Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov. More recently I have fallen in love with theatre, and my current obsession is stand-up and improv comedy.

DO YOU HAVE A SECRET TOOL OR TECHNIQUE YOU LIKE TO USE WHEN ANIMATING?

The only real trick I have is what I call “fine-tuning my bullshit detector.” Which is a punchy way of saying be your own worst critic. I never felt like I was a “natural,” but I kind of think that there is no such thing. The way I make my stuff work is to take a look at it and ask myself if it is any good. If not, I keep going until it is.

SHARE WITH US YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY IN LIFE OUTSIDE OF THE WORK PLACE.

Are you talking about having a life outside of work? If so, I'd say it's really important that you take care of yourself and your life because the studios aren't going to. Even the nicest corporation in the world is a still a corporation — it has its own goals. When those goals align with yours, then things are awesome. But when they don't, you are on your own. That being said, the only way to get good at this stuff — animation and making movies — is to spend all your time doing it. And if you do, you will be making sacrifices. You just have to be okay with that.

DID YOU ALWAYS KNOW YOU WERE GOING TO BE IN ANIMATION?

No, I didn't. After I saw 2001, I was going to be an astronaut. After Raiders of the Lost Ark, I was going to be an archaeologist. When I saw Jurassic Park, it was palaeontology. Being an animator is how I get to be all of those things.

HOW DID THE FILM 9 DIFFER FROM OTHER FILMS YOU HAVE WORKED ON?

9 was a smaller budget but bigger scope than a lot of the films I had worked on, so it was a challenge to achieve the things that we were aiming for. But it was also a lot of fun and almost like being in film school again, because we would find ourselves huddling around editorial at ten o'clock on a Friday night trying to solve problems. On Monday you'd hand out your direction to the team, and they'd bring it back at the end of the week and blow us away. Then we'd get up and do it again.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR YOUNG ANIMATORS THAT ARE JUST STARTING THEIR CAREERS?

Aim high — it can actually be easier to get a job in the industry than you might think, but if you really want to be good, then you should have higher standards than just “good enough for the job.” Don't limit yourself to looking to your heroes — look to their influences and then find out what those influences were influenced by. There is so much information available out there nowadays about animation and making movies that your only real limit is your level of commitment.

CAN YOU LIST SOME BOOKS OR RESOURCES THAT HELPED YOU BECOME THE PERSON YOU ARE TODAY?

There are great books on technique, The Illusion of Life or Richard Williams' book for example, that were really helpful for me in the beginning. But I had some great teachers who pushed me in other directions and showed me that animation is more than just technique. So I got exposed to books like Robert McKee's Story, and Bruce Block's The Visual Story. Getting inspired is not easy, but I try to cast a wide net. I do a lot of science reading. Online lectures like the TED talks are a great resource. From a pure entertainment perspective, there is no better teacher than comedy so I look to artists like Louis C.K., Patton Oswalt, George Carlin or Sarah Silverman. It's almost embarrassing how much information is out there nowadays. But it's great for me because I'm such a nerd about this stuff.

WHAT ARE SOME QUALITIES YOU LIKE TO SEE IN COLLEAGUES THAT WORK BESIDE YOU?

There is nothing better than somebody who is passionate about the project. Of course there are going to be times when you are not but have to go to work anyway. But the best artists I've seen and worked with find ways to get excited even in the most difficult circumstances, and usually that makes the whole enterprise get better.

IF ANIMATION DIDN'T EXIST, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'D BE DOING TODAY?

In a time-travel counter-factual kind of a way? I'd like to have been a cosmologist. The math was too tough for me but I bet I could have gotten through that. In a more realistic way, these days I'm finding a great deal of creative satisfaction writing, and would have been happy to have started doing it professionally a lot sooner. But I know that all my animation experience has made me a better storyteller, so I probably couldn't have been a writer without having gone though all of that anyway.

Dan Barker

Dan Barker is the Character Development Supervisor at Blue Sky Studios. He has worked on Horton Hears a Who, Ice Age: Dawn of The Dinosaurs, Rio, Ice Age Continental Drift, and is currently working on Leafmen.

WHAT IS THE MOST REWARDING ASPECT FOR YOU OF WORKING ON IN-HOUSE FEATURE ANIMATIONS?

For me one of the most rewarding aspects is the collaborative creative environment. Early on I was really reluctant to show people my work, honestly because I thought they would think it was bad, and I didn't want to hear any negative criticism. But what I found is that by working with other people, not only do they help you when you are struggling with something, they help you be the best artist you can be!

Obviously the other aspect for me in particular is helping define how new characters are gonna act, and behave. Helping define the personality traits of the characters is an incredibly rewarding process. I love being able to speak to the director, the story team, the art director about how a character should look and behave. Then you finally get to animate them, you understand them and can hopefully make them sincere, and believable for the film.

And then simply animating them. Animation is a lot of fun! Working on an IN-HOUSE feature you get to have fun for work! That in itself is pretty rewarding!

WHAT IS YOUR AVERAGE QUOTA FOR SHOTS PER WEEK?

Our average depending on complexity is about 75 frames per week.

PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR WORKFLOW FOR DECIDING ON PERFORMANCE CHOICES.

Depending on the character I would speak to the character leads. They generally will have a lot of reference and info on how the character should act, and perform, and more importantly on how he shouldn't act or perform. I will look at the reference and the character pages first. Then I will look at the boards and the full sequence to get a good idea as to where my shot fits into the overall sequence. I try to identify what the character's arc is in the sequence and where my shot fits into that. Once that is complete I would shoot reference. If I can't get what I am looking for in my acting I would get someone else to act it out. Jeff Gabor is always a good guy to go to for that! Then once I have something I like I generally will do one or two drawings based on the reference, trying to push my character more. Once I have this I would show the other supervisors or the director to get a buy off on it. And then I start blocking it out.

DO YOU HAVE ANY CHEATS FOR COMPLETING A SHOT THAT HAS THE DIRECTOR'S SPECIAL ATTENTION?

Yes, listen to what the director wants. Get to know how your director works, what he/she generally responds to, and what they don't respond to. Depending on the director this may be taking his notes word for word, or sometimes it's trying to decipher the underlying meaning of what he wants. Sometimes if your shot is not working a director will give you notes like “Maybe have him come in slower from the left.” And when you try to actually have the character come in slower from the left, the acting is thrown off, or the energy isn't right, or it simply doesn't work. In moments like this I try to get understanding of what “feels” wrong, rather than identify frame by frame what's wrong. More than likely my whole shot is not working and I need to redo it with the right “feeling.” And other times I just need to have the character come in slower from the left. It really is getting to understand your director. That's the secret! SO I would go to sweatbox a lot, read the notes other guys are getting. That helps you understand the director's sensibility.

DO YOU SHOW THE DIRECTOR YOUR THUMBNAILS AND PLANNING PHASE, OR IS IT JUST FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL WORKFLOW?

Yeah, I always try to show the director as early as possible. Things inevitably change from your reference/thumbnails to what you actually have in your shot, but if your idea is strong and clear, that remains constant, and if the director has bought off on that earlier you are in a better place. Try to show other animators as well. They will let you know if your acting is bad, or cliched. Try show them before you show the director.


WHAT SORT OF BREAKS DO YOU TAKE WHEN YOU'VE BEEN WORKING ON A SHOT TOO LONG? WHAT HELPS YOU CLEAR YOUR MIND?

Sometimes just going home and not thinking about it. Watching films, playing a sport or an instrument. Something to get your mind off your work really helps. Going to the pub and having a shot, to stop thinking of my shot! Sometime you just need to remove yourself from the shot, and more importantly stress associated with it. I sometimes would talk with the production supervisor about getting an extension if things really are not working. Reducing the pressure to perform, on something that is taking a long time helps.

After a little break, like an afternoon off, my mind is cleared and when I get back in there I generally nail it! Another thing that helps is going onto another shot if you can. Sometimes the creative juices that flow on the other shot give me the impetus to go back into the shot I am struggling with and bring it to the finish line.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE STYLE OF ANIMATION TO WORK ON? CARTOONY? PUSHED REALISM? OTHER?

I am a fan of all animation, but if I had to choose I would say I prefer cartoony. It's a lot of fun to really exaggerate your poses and acting choices, which cartoony lends itself to. And then there is the contrast in a cartoony film where the character has to be played more straight, and sincere. I feel we get to get a good range. For me pushed realism is actually a lot harder to do. So I respect those guys a lot!

HOW DO YOU ADDRESS CONTINUITY ISSUES BETWEEN SCENES OR CHARACTERS?

It's important to communicate with the animators on either side of your shots. If you know someone is going to be starting a shot later than you, and say the end pose of his shot will dictate all of your shot, I try brainstorm with him/her on what they would be thinking for their shot. That way continuity is generally not that much of an issue. And sometimes if I see a problem, I will go back into my shot and correct a pose to make it feel the same. Communication is the key!

WHEN YOU RECEIVED YOUR FIRST JOB AS AN ANIMATOR, WHAT ONE PIECE OF INFORMATION DID YOU WISH YOU WOULD HAVE KNOWN?

Not to be afraid to ask for help, out of fear of people finding out I was a hack! I think all artists go through periods where they are confident with their work, and then they think that they are completely useless. To this day I would love to go into all of my shots and redo them with what I have learned. But the big thing I found is getting feedback from other animators in the know. You don't have to take it all, but it's good to get them to look at stuff and give you feedback. I think I would have grown a lot quicker had I realised that early on.

ANY ADVICE FOR STUDENTS AND YOUNG ANIMATORS WHO WANT TO WORK FOR STUDIOS THAT PRODUCE FEATURE FILM ANIMATIONS?

Be open to criticism. One of the key aspects of working at a major studio is having a well-trained eye. And if you can't see that there are problems with your work, then your eye isn't trained well enough to pick up some of your mistakes. Try to get feedback from people in the know. And if you feel the feedback is harsh, it probably is because your work isn't strong enough. Don't take it personally, just try hit the notes the best you can as you slowly develop your eye. The other advice is that there are a lot of people trying really hard to get into the studios, and they are putting a lot of hours in, days and nights. You are probably gonna have to work as hard if you wanna get considered. Lastly if you get rejected, don't take it personally, just try get feedback as to what was not right, and then improve that, and resend your reels out.

The other BIG BIG thing is not to put everything you have ever done on your reel. Keep it short and only put your best work on. Only was I started taking part in reel reviews did I realise how brutal the review process is. As soon as there is something that is not strong, or has bad polish, or the acting choices are cliched, the reel comes out DVD Player and goes into the rejection pile. So make sure your strongest stuff is right at the beginning.