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

Margaux Zinsner

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Margaux Zinsner, i am a Concept artist and a 2D animator. I have just finished my work as a freelance Concept artist for Cabin Fever Animation LTD, UK. This Studio is a new super studio oppened by Scott PLeydel-pearce few months ago! i was working on a feature film project, and now i’m looking for new exciting ones.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
In the summer 2007, i came with my sister to London, meeting up my two brothers who live there. We found a job as event waitress. but what was funny is that we did that in the Zoo of London (Camden town)!! You know, in this zoo there is some places, reception room, where people could make reception, cocktails, weddings, barmitsva…in the same time they could enjoy gorilla, bears, varan… So our work was really cool, at the morning we said hello to the penguins, midday we serve dishes in front of bears, and evening we passed through people with champagne flute in the gorilla kingdom…that was surprising!!

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I’ve just graduated in June 2011, so i’m a beginner in this industry. It’s a little bit difficult to know what you could be proud of. I need some more experiences. Nevertheless i’m really proud of my last job. Making concept art to develop a feature film is what i always wanted to do. So i’m more than glad, and hope i’ll participate to a lot of projects like this. But you know i’m just at the beginning, so sure, there will be a lot more!! 🙂

How did you become interested in animation?
Not really original! when i was a kid, i used to see a lot of animation films, above all disney’s movies. But what surprises my parents was that i did that really oftenly. I mean i saw it again and again and again. In my room watching these films, i was the most happy child. I supposed that’s how i began to be addictive to animation. But you know, i wasn’t Continue reading

Boris Hiestand

What is your name and your current occupation? 
My name is Boris Hiestand, and I’m an animator/storyboard artist/character designer/voice over guy.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation? 
I worked as a waiter in a hotel and on a construction site shoveling bricks as a teen, so nothing that crazy really. I knew I wanted to be an animator when I was 14, so focused on that from an early age. I got fired from most of those other jobs as I wasn’t committed to them at all, probably because I was constantly day dreaming about animation!
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of? 
Working at Aardman on “The Pirates; In An Adventure With Scientists” was incredible, because I had never worked on a stop motion project before, and it made me feel like a student again, or a kid in a sweet shop. Being able to walk around those mind blowing sets every day was amazing. Everything you see on the screen is really there physically; the talent and craftsmanship there is truly humbling. “Hotel Transylvania” was very rewarding creatively for me because the style of movement required was very cartoony which is right up my alley. The old Warner’s and MGM Tex Avery shorts were a big inspiration, and I hadn’t seen that done well in CG before. Also, Genndy(Tartakovsky, the director) knew exactly what he wanted and trusted the animators to get on with it, rare qualities in directors of big CG productions unfortunately. It’s easier to change things in CG than it is in hand drawn or stop motion animation, so on CG productions with big budgets they tend to tell you to change shots again and again and again, which is quite draining creatively and rarely improves the quality of a scene. You become a “motion editor” rather than an animator. Genndy however pitched you the shot, you’d go and animate it, show it to him, he’d approve it, done. All the animation I did in that film is really mine, and that felt good.
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I was born in Amsterdam, The Netherlands but grew up in a small town called Vught in the south of the country. I always loved drawing and was a big Disney fan, trying to master their drawing style by Continue reading

Elliot Cowan

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Elliot Cowan.My main gig for the past year or so has been Master Lecturer at the University of the Arts in Philly and other teaching appointments around Manhattan.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
One summer I worked for an accounting firm moving all their paperwork from one style of manila envelope to another.It was deathly boring.I spent most of my time making barnyard animals out of Acco fasteners and shooting them off the top of the photocopier with rubber bands.This is the only job I’ve ever had outside of media (I directed live action television commercials for about 10 years).

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Uli Meyer Animation in London were working on an animated feature project called Monstermania! Uli brought me on board initially to design a nightmare sequence but soon I was doing all kinds of great stuff.My proudest moments have been

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James Woods

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is James Woods, and I’m currently a student in the UK, walking those final steps towards graduation! Super excited for the next few years of canned food and dry cereal:)!

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Well, my employment history wouldn’t have been crazy to the average Joe, but I was a lanky (still am, ha), clumsy teenager who found drama in pretty regular jobs. I was a paperboy that cats peed on and swarms of bees chased (yellow t-shirts are insect fodder). I also worked on a food service counter at a supermarket where I cut the tip of my thumb off on a ham slicer (no worries, stitched and glued back in place), and disappointed old ladies with my inexperienced cheese cutting skills. But all of that’s ok, because it spiced things up a little! Cutting off an appendage is character building! I also got to fulfil my British destiny and was an extra in some of the Harry Potter films… My poorly placed foot tripped up Daniel Radcliffe mid scene… No sabotage intended.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I’m very new to the industry so I have a very small experience bank to draw from. The best time I’ve had was interning for industry veteran Uli Meyer at his London studio over the winter 2011 period. I had a very small hand in helping out on a project at the studio, but the experience of being guided by such talented guys and hearing about the days they used to hang out with animation legends was mind blowing.

 

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m from a little town on the outskirts of London. I guess, like so many other artists in this industry, I drew constantly from a very young age, copying dogs and dinosaurs from Dorling Kingsley books or doodling out the covers from my favourite VHS films. A lot of my drawings were Continue reading