Jun Falkenstein


What is your name and your current occupation?
Jun Falkenstein.  Sometimes animation director and writer, othertimes animation storyboard artist.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I really haven’t had any crazier jobs than animation!  I pretty much jumped right from school into a job at Warner Brothers.   Although one summer I did teach art to kids.  Not very crazy.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Rather say some of my favorite people that I am proud to have worked with (too many to list).  Animation projects can be great or terrible, but all of the ones created in large studio settings are not usually very personal, as there are a lot of people having their say with the project.  And when they aren’t personal works of art, pride becomes a two-edged feeling…you are proud that the thing was completed, but always thinking of how it could have been better had you gotten to do it differently.  So by this criteria, probably I’m proudest of my short film Kyle + Rosemary, done with Frederator and Nickelodeon, because it was the closest to a pure vision than any big budget feature I was ever a part of.

Pressure sensitive stylus for your iMac, iPad & MacBook Pro! by Cregle Inc. — Kickstarter

A reader posted this in the comments of my post yesterday about a Cintiq alternative and I felt it too needed it’s own post. Cregle Inc has come up with  away to turn your iMac, iPad or MacBook Pro into a more or less what is a Cintiq. For small change!

The whole process works by putting calibration discs on the edges of your monitor and having it sync with the included pen. It’s actually pretty damn ingenious if you ask me. It seems the reason it works on the iPad, iMac and MacBook Pro is mostly because they all have glass over their lcds whereas not all monitors do. If i press my monitor it has a squishy feel to it and you get some liquid spreading out from under my finger. I can see my monitor breaking quickly. the iMacs have glass over that part though and so do the iPads and MacBook Pros so it seems it would probably work on anything that has glass on it. Anyway, check the link out below. I hope it gets funded because it could change the way we do business.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ipen/ipen-2-for-ipad-imac-and-more?ref=live

Liz Holzman

 

 What is your name?
Liz Holzman
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Pinky and the Brain, Animaniacs, The Zeta Project, some of the Disney TV stuff I worked on. And a couple of unknown projects currently in development ( said with a Mona Lisa smile).

What would you say has been your primary job in animation?
Well… I suppose being a Producer and Director.. though time-wise, I spent more years doing boards and character design/animation.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Lets see.. I had a job darkening contour lines and drilling wells on geological maps with a 6B pencil so they would show up well in microfilm Continue reading

David Williams

[video src="http://www.animationinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/You-Got-Schooled-H.264.m4v" /]

What is your name and your current occupation?
David Williams and I work for Disney TV Animation’s “Jake And The Never Land Pirates”

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Nothing crazy. Just the standard “no brainier” jobs. Car wash, gas station, stock boy, construction, etc.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Without a doubt, the best job I had, while between animation jobs, was working for Applause designing collectible mugs, sculpts, toys, etc. For Lucasfilm Properties. I was head designer the second year and pitched the line-up of proposed merchandise to Lucasfilm (but not George). Flew out on the company’s dime and made several journeys to the Skywalker Ranch. Yes, I’ll admit it, it made me feel important. I made some long-standing friendships during that time, as well. In animation, it was working on the two Klasky/Csupo feature films “The Wild Thornberrys” and “Rugrats Go Wild”. I got into the studio at it’s zenith, and watch it all fade away within the two years I was there. Very sad. What made my time so special was the opportunities that were put in my lap! My job was storyboarding but I also designed some BG layouts, animated sequences, I even worked with the editor timing out my song sequence. Yes, this job also made me feel important. Also I played basketball almost everyday at lunch right there on the grounds. Definitely a perk.

How did you become interested in animation?
The standard way, for my generation, propped in front of the TV with a bowl of cereal on a Saturday morning. Peanuts Specials, every Christmas Special and The Wonderful World Of Disney. Definitely feature films, as well, but Continue reading

Alan Foreman

http://vimeo.com/42168143

 

What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Alan Foreman and I’m a freelance animator and director working out of Brooklyn, NY.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I don’t know if I would label any of my previous jobs as crazy. I got into animation right after graduating from college. Before that it was mostly your run-of-the-mill highschool jobs… working at a movie theater, a children’s museum, basic manual labor jobs… things like that.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
There are a lot to choose from. Home Movies (Adult Swim) was a lot of fun. Directing Three Delivery (Nicktoons) was very challenging and satisfying. Recently I finished a music video for my band that is on the festival circuit that I’m very proud of. Doing that has gotten me excited about producing independent films again.

How did you become interested in animation?
All I ever wanted to do all my life was draw. While a freshman at the Rhode Island School of Design I had Continue reading

Andrew Conroy


What is your name and your current occupation?
My Name is Andrew Conroy and I am currently the Lead Animation Faculty at Ai SLC.  I teach the finer and not so finer points of animation to animation enthusiasts as well as develop curriculum, characters and short films.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Right out of collage I washed dishes at a summer camp… I drove a little outboard engine boat to work everyday. It was a good time.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I have worked on a few films and enjoyed that experience but I think the most enjoyable projects for me have always been personal. Something I am currently working on is “The FishBoy Project”. I am trying to give students and animation hopefuls a chance to work with a cool rig and in turn raise a bit of money for small business owners through an organization called Kiva.

 

How did you become interested in animation?
My Parents made me go to Art School actually. I think the root of my interest is Continue reading