Ken Turner


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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Ken Turner and I’m a filmmaker/illustrator.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Can’t say anything prior was at all that crazy.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I think any of the films/books I’ve personally been able to make during school and after graduating and that I’ve put my own stamp on were always the projects I’m most proud of. I found personal film projects to be the most rewarding as I can hire all my talented friends and collaborate to make something that would otherwise not exist.

 

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m from Mississauga, Ontario and currently residing in Toronto, Ontario. I’ve been drawing as long as I can remember and was Continue reading

Christian De Vita

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Christian De Vita and currently I work for TeamTo in Paris as storyboard supervisor of an 11 minuteX52 episode 3D animation comedy series.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Not many crazy jobs before animation to be honest. I went straight from college into animation. As a student I worked as a waiter back in Italy for a while to save a little money for when I moved to the UK. But it wasn’t a crazy restaurant and I definitely wasn’t a crazy waiter.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
The two main films I worked on in the past 4 years: Fantastic Mr Fox, where I was Lead Story Artist, and recently Frankenweenie, as I had always been a fan of Tim’s work.

How did you become interested in animation?
I originally wanted to be a comic book artist. I studied animation in Rome at the Roberto Rossellini institute for Film and Television as I’d read that Continue reading

Betsy Baytos

 

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Betsy Baytos…..Illustrator/Animation Choreographer/Filmmaker & Eccentric Dance Historian.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Performed & created the ‘Betsy Bird’ & puppeteered on the Muppet Show…..trained over 250 clowns in a ‘character movement’ workshop for Ringling Bros. ‘Clown College Alumni’…..toured the country in a vaudeville/burlesque show ‘Baggy Pants & Co’ as the featured eccentric dance act.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Working as a Disney animator since 1976, then coming full circle as ‘animation choreographer’ for Disney’s ‘Princess and the Frog’…..Consulting for Cirque Du Soleil…..performing eccentric dance as the ‘Betsy Bird’ on the Muppet Show and performing physical comedy in the Broadway run of ‘Stardust’ in a featured eccentric dance act as ‘Maurice’, but most importantly, bringing this film, which I have researched & worked on for the past 20 years, ‘FUNNY FEET: The Art of Eccentric Dance’, to fruition for the next generation.
How did you become interested in animation?
I have always drawn and danced since I can remember. I discovered eccentric dance while working as an animator at Disney, then discovered Continue reading

Deane Taylor

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Deane Taylor, I draw stories, create worlds, design and direct animation in multi mediums.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Before animation I was a signwriter, scenic painter, a television presenter and most crazy… A volunteer ambulance officer.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Cow and chicken was a highlight for me, I did the layout and art direction with my good friend David Feiss who I have the utmost respect for. Recently I was Creative Director on a series called Figaro Pho. The extended version of 26xI min interstitials. Very cool.  On the film side…The Nightmare Before Christmas continues to be the project closest to me.

How did you become interested in animation?
I used to be a big fan of the early Fleischer cartoons where miniature sets combined with 2-D. Other influences were Continue reading

Johnny Hartmann

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Johnny Hartmann and I’m a screenwriter currently working on an episode of a new Hasbro show called Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation? 
There are crazier jobs than this?!

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of? 
I’m incredibly proud to be contributing to Kaijudo, the story editors Henry Gilroy and Andrew Robinson have created such a rich and unique world, it’s awesome to be writing one of the chapters for them.
How did you become interested in animation? 
I started in live-action. Then I wrote a spec called R-A-M: Rogue Alien Mutation. It was sort of a King Kong in space story and my agent at ICM at the time sent it to Shaun McLaughlin at the WB. Shaun suggested it could make a great animated feature. That’s when I realized that Continue reading

Matt Siditsky

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Matt Siditsky and I am currently an animator/designer and independent filmmaker.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Nothing out of the ordinary. Worked at a clothing store and a couple of arts and crafts stores. I also worked as a custom framer which was my favorite job before I got into the entertainment industry.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
That is a tough question. I have honestly loved most of the projects I have been fortunate enough to work on. I do tend to enjoy projects with a lot of experimental freedom more than the norm.

 

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
That would be my fathers influence. He was an executive at Disney for 30 years which impacted me greatly. After observing my strong interest in art he Continue reading