Eddie Fitzgerald

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What is your Name and Current Occupation?
Eddie Fitzgerald: storyboard artist.

Past Crazy Jobs:
Crazy jobs? Hmmmm. Well, when I got out of school I washed  dishes, bussed tables and was an agricultural worker. None of those jobs paid  very much but I learned something valuable from each one, and I don’t regret the  experience. My first art jobs had to do with designing menus, letterheads and  all that, and that paid even less than dishwashing, because the clients were  always changing their minds.
Favorite Projects?
I have lots of favorites, but I guess the very best one was  doing the “Tales of Worm Paranoia” short for Cartoon Network. There’s no high in  the world like doing a cartoon of your own. I learned sooooo much by doing that.  On the positive side I learned that I liked doing slapstick and character  acting. On the negative side I learned that Continue reading

Kevin Petrilak

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WHAT IS YOUR NAME AND CURRENT OCCUPATION?
My name is Kevin Petrilak and I am an animation director…I detest the title “sheettimer” because it is the studios’ way of diminishing the importance of what we do.

 

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CRAZIER JOBS YOU HAD BEFORE GETTING INTO ANIMATION?
I guess the two that come to mind would be in my high school years. I worked for a garden nursery where I moved bags of manure from one place to another ( some things never change).  The other would be working in super market meat locker, bagging frozen chicken ( some things stay the same).

 

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOU FAVORITE PROJECTS YOU’RE PROUD TO HAVE BEEN A PART OF?
ZIGGYS GIFT and BACK IN ACTION come to mind as being a combination of enjoying the work and the crew.  Although I get a lot of mention for animating the opening credits to  THE SIMPSONS (original versions) .

 

WHERE ARE YOU FROM AND HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE ANIMATION BUSINESS?
I was born in New York and I had the bug since I was a little boy.  While visiting my Uncle Gerry, who was Continue reading

Rick Farmiloe

What is your name and your current occupation?
Rick Farmiloe, I am a traditional (2D) animator and storyboard artist.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Hmmm…..crazy….? Didn’t really have any ‘crazy’ jobs……I worked in my dad’s warehouse, unloading trucks, stacking boxes, and trying not to go crazy from boredom When I moved to LA from the Bay Area, I got a job in a record store, Music Plus in Pasadena. ….home of Van Halen!! It was a lot of fun….but just minimum wage!

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I think the films I animated on at Disney in the 80’s, early 90’s are the projects I’m most proud of. The Little Mermaid, Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin were all great films, and I enjoyed doing the sidekicks in each one! They have seemed to stand the test of time…..which is very gratifying.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I was born and raised in the Bay Area, Santa Rosa to be exact. Charles Schulz also lived in Santa Rosa, and was a lifelong inspiration to me!! We actually Continue reading

Timothy Bjorklund

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Timothy Bjorklund – writing/designing some series/feature premises that will never see the light of day.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation? 

My crazier jobs were in animation. But outside of animation, I had one job when I was 15 stapling fiberglass sheets to a warehouse ceiling and I fell about 20 feet off of a scaffold to a concrete floor and lived. My back still hates me for that though.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of? 

Roger Rabbit, They Might Be Giants “Istanbul” music video, Teacher’s Pet feature and Brandy & Mr. Whiskers was a lot of fun.

How did you become interested in animation?
My High School Art teacher brought in a 16mm Betty Boop cartoon one day and that was it – I thought, “Why the hell aren’t they making cartoons like this anymore?” So I set out to do some Fleischer-esque animation whenever I could. I eventually became a fan of Clampett and Jones and all the Disney guys. But Betty is what got me into animation.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m from San Francisco and there are a hell of a lot of good animators around the Bay Area. After I left CalArts, I got my first job as an assistant animator at Colossal Pictures (where I learned how to flip five drawings, a skill I somehow never learned at CalArts). I worked my way up to Continue reading

Cliff Parrott

http://vimeo.com/5028526

What is your name and your current occupation?
Cliff Parrott and I am the founder of Magpie 6 Media located in Dublin, Ireland.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I could write an entire blog on the insane jobs I had before animation. It’s hard to believe that I was an attorney practising criminal defence, bankruptcy and other aspects of law. Technically I am still an attorney, I’m just not practising any more. I didn’t enjoy being one, it was high stress. Unlike seeing a film or finished piece of artwork in an animation project, there was nothing tangible to look back on after you’ve finished with a client’s case, just paperwork. Being an attorney did give me experience with preparing for the unexpected and negotiations.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
There are a lot of great projects but the ones that I had the most enjoyment from were the projects where the crew was a blast to work with. I was fortunate enough (or misfortunate, depending on one’s point of view), to be one of the animators on Hollywood’s first Flash feature “Lil’ Pimp.” It was produced at Revolution Studios with the idea of capitalising on the success of the relatively new animated feature hit at that time “South Park.” In fact, a lot of the South Park crew migrated to Lil’ Pimp productions. There were so many talented and very funny people. It’s unfortunate that the script was rehashed so many times. The final outcome of the movie was a watered down version that didn’t pack the punch of South Park’s movie. It came out to less than unenthusiastic reviews and went straight to DVD. I am still in touch with a lot of the people I met there.

How did you become interested in animation?
It started at a very young age, maybe 4 or 5 years old. My first love was anything from Tex Avery or Bob Clampett. The energy and timing on their films wasn’t Continue reading

Dani Michaeli


What is your name and your current occupation?

Dani Michaeli, currently story editor on “The Aquabats Super Show!” premiering this Fall on the Hub!!

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
At ages eleven and twelve, I performed as a ventriloquist at talent shows, birthday parties and on local television. After college, I worked as an apple, giving out free samples of apple juice on the streets of San Francisco. I worked in a Halloween super store. I took pictures of people sitting on Santa’s lap in a department store. I worked in a low budget chemical plant and had my arms dipped in some fluid that dissolved the rubber gloves I was wearing. I had a temp job that involved reading aloud numbers ranging from one to four, although most were either two or three — so a one or a four was kind of a big deal. I had a lot of crazy jobs.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
My current job on “The Aquabats Super Show!” and also “South Park”, “SpongeBob SquarePants”, “The Mighty B!” and “Batman: The Brave and the Bold”.  I’ve been lucky to be involved with some of the best and most special shows on TV.

How did you become interested in animation? 
I come to animation from being a fan as well as having a degree in filmmaking. Before starting in my first animation job, Continue reading