Troy Church is a Senior Experience Designer at Adobe in Seattle, WA. During the conversation, we discussed how the design community can be involved in improving Adobe products, the future of After Effects, and Troy’s role at Adobe.
Links:
http://blogs.adobe.com/aftereffects/ (AE team blog)
http://www.adobe.com/products/wishform.html (Submit bugs and feature requests for any Adobe Product)
https://forums.adobe.com/community/aftereffects_general_discussion (After Effects User-to-User Forum )
Highlights:
-Role at Adobe
-Working on a small team
-Creative cloud business model
-Been at Adobe for 10 years
-Future of animation
-We interact with our users all the time
-Huge databases of what people think
-Trip reports
-How can users be a part of helping the product
-Forums
-Submit bugs
-iPad pro
-Flash changes
-Google's use of animation
-Dream client/product/After Effects: a good story
-Favorite animated film: the incredibles
-What do the people you love think you do: Saturday morning cartoons
-Animalator: a horse
Jorge Canedo Estrada lives in Vancouver, Canada and is a creative director and animator at Giant Ant. During our conversation he shared about how he started in animation, his role and the team dynamics at Giant Ant, and his learnings from Blend.
Links:
Giant Ant: http://www.giantant.ca/
Guyana: https://vimeo.com/96605256
Highlights:
-Motion animation with a camera in Bolivia
-Cyber Cafes
-Mom got him first gig
-Scholarship at Vancouver Film School
-Giant Ant
-Monday morning planning
-Half and half animating and creative direction
-Team dynamics
-Pros and cons of working for a studio vs. freelancing
-“Sometimes the best way to grow is to find the best person for the job and learn from them.”
-Future of Giant Ant
-Learnings from Blend
-Dream client: The one that he doesn't know that he would love
-Favorite Animated Film: Toy Story
-What your kids think you do: "He thinks I click on metal all day"
-Animalator: A llama, the national animal for Bolivia
Adam Plouff is a freelance motion designer and animator based in Atlanta, Georgia. During our conversation, we discuss the beginnings of Rubberhose, how to start coding for animation, and his most recent project: “Why Pay?”.
Links:
Why Pay: https://vimeo.com/145548262
Rubberhose: http://www.battleaxe.co/
Highlights:
- Photoshop T-Shirt Designer
- Lead singer of a hardcore metal band
- Learned Final Cut 6 & After Effects
- Animators Kit
- Writing expressions
- “Try to push yourself forward with every project.”
- How to make lines, curves and invert values and volumes
- Rubberhose beginnings
- ”Coding can be taunting: someone described it as staring into the void”
- ”I wrangle data with code. If you can think of it in those terms: it’s just a different way of managing data.”
- Dream client: Myself.
- Favorite Animated Film: Iron Giant , Rejected by Don Hertzfeldt
- What your kids think you do: I make robots
- Animalator: A sloth because they are adorable, and they know how to chill and I don’t.
David Stanfield is a motion designer and director based in Charleston, South Carolina. During our conversation, we discussed his journey from an advertising major to a freelance animator, the pros and cons of animating with a design background, and the Nine Squares project.
Links:
Blend: http://blendfest.ca/
Nine Squares: http://9-squares.tumblr.com/
Highlights:
- Advertising major with design classes
- Animation for TV and broadcasting
- Pros and cons to having a design background
- Illustrator and photoshop background
- Having a harder time with space and dimensions
- A piece of advice: “Don't worry about the animation just yet, start by making it look as good as possible, and telling the story in the most effective way. Worry about the animation later. Don’t limit yourself with fear of not being able to animate it.”
- Making the transition to freelance
- “There are more interesting things to aspire to then being comfortable.”
- Nine Squares
- Dream client: people who know what they want, more kid focused work
- Favorite animated film: Aladdin
- What your kids think you do: make really boring cartoons
- Animalator: hedgehog, it is super cute and I knew my daughter would like it.
Allen Laseter is a freelance animator and illustrator based in Nashville, TN. In our conversation, Allen discusses the importance of storyboarding, how to balance work and social life, and gave some tips on where to start with frame by frame animation.
Links:
Coke project: https://dribbble.com/shots/2226244-Retweets-of-Love-Diet-Coke
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lasetat
Perky Bothers: http://www.perkybros.com
”Are You Wondering:” https://vimeo.com/130635635
Highlights:
- Graphic design history transition to directing to animation
- What he loves more about animation over live video
- Tension between mind and implementation
- Problem critiquing in the moment instead of allowing his mind to allow him to create
- Creative process (shot to shot) storyboards
- Storyboards for clients
- Frame by frame animation - where do you start?
- Link to quoted people's work - Are you wondering? project
- Photoshop for frame by frame production
- Hand letter design - on coke dribble times squares
- Mix between working at home and in studios
- Wife working at Perky Brothers
- “What do you have to complain about? You are just making pretty pictures.”- What everyone says about creative workers
- Wife and husband convos
- Life work balance
- Dream Client: Buck, Giant Ant
- Favorite animated film: Princess something?
- What do your wife’s parents think you do? Some kind of video work
- Animalator: snake
Colin Hesterly is a freelance Director & Artist working within the animation industry based in Denver, CO. During our conversation, he shared about the importance of client feedback, learning to say no and how to give up control to other creatives within projects.
Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/colinhesterly
Not to Scale: http://nottoscale.tv
"The Empire:" https://vimeo.com/12496923
"When I Grow Up:" https://vimeo.com/51704432
Highlights:
- Went to Full Sail University
- "You mean I can take pictures that I draw and make them move?"
- 5 years ago: "The Empire"
- deleted a Vimeo Staff Pick, but his second one got him a ton of emails
- internship in California with Buck
- Worked with Imaginary Forces after Buck
- Then worked at Royale
- Difficulty balancing time
- Worked at Hollister
- Directing TV shows
- New project for a TV show for preschoolers
- Short film out for Christmas
- Time is spent figuring out how to expand past just client work
- Dream client: The People
- Favorite animated film: toss up between Winnie the Pooh and Pocahontas
- Animalator is fish because of his daughter