Channel Frederator Blog

Zachary Lind

You’ll know Zachary Lind, animator/director of “2 Scoops of Justice” on sight – underpants on the outside, sporting a Superman watch, strutting around the UCLA campus.

Okay, that’s a lie. Maybe.

Channel Frederator: Where are you studying animation?

Zachary Lind: I am studying at the UCLA Animation Workshop.

CF: What artists have influenced your work the most?

ZL: Stephen Silver for his great design work, Brad Bird for his shear joy of the form that comes through all of his projects, and Robert Rodriguez for just being inventive with so many hats.

CF: What is your favorite animation?

ZL: Disney’s Sleeping Beauty.

[Read more…]

Felipe Zuleta

“Little Big Eater” animator and director Felipe Zuleta has a big appetite for animation. Of course, if your only options were cartoons or fried bovine intestines, you would too.

Channel Frederator: Who has influenced your work?

Felipe Zuleta: I try to study the filmmaking of Brad Bird, Hayao Miyazaki and Akira Kurosawa as much as I can - love going frame by frame, shot by shot though their films.

I also have a habit of “journeying into blogs”, ending up spending hours following links. For inspiration I like starting from Enrico Casarosa’s blog, Erwin Madrid’s blog and Mike Mac’s blog. Takashi Murakami’s work is really cool and inspirational.

[Read more…]

Emmett Goodman

Animator/director Emmett Goodman chews the fat with us over his latest animated endeavors and - bonus! - teaches us a thing or two about eating on the cheap.

Channel Frederator: Who has influenced your work the most?

Emmett Goodman: My influences change depending on what I am working on, but by the end of the day, I feel like I am influenced by the same artists.

The biggest eye-opener for me is Nick Park and the work that comes out of Aardman. I would have to cite John R. Dilworth, who is my favorite New York animator, and another eye-opener. I have always loved the Warner Bros. directors, Chuck Jones in particular. Live action filmmakers like Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Tim Burton and the Coen Brothers make their way in there. Dr. Seuss is an influence I am sometimes not aware of, but comes out in the end. I am also greatly influenced by music, a lot of old rock [Read more…]

Trevor Hardy

“Pushkin” animator and director Trevor Hardy chats with us about his work for 2009 and how he won over his wife in spite her protesting pet.

Channel Frederator: Whatcha been up to since we last spoke with you?

Trevor Hardy: I have been busy writing, animating, and directing some more one minute shorts for Nickelodeon’s Nick Jr. called “Watermill Farm”. It is scheduled to air on Nick Jr. sometime in February.

CF: Can you tell us about any upcoming projects?

TH: As above really. I have been making sets and models for some short “back burner” projects I’m also working on.

[Read more…]

Elliot Cowan

Australian animator turned New Yorker, Elliot Cowan, submitted one our favorite cartoons of 2008 – “Boxhead and Roundhead: Brothers in Arms”. We caught up with Elliot to see how the Big Apple is treating him and what we can expect from the talented toon-maker in ‘09.

Channel Frederator: Whatcha been up to since we last spoke with you?

Elliot Cowan: I can’t recall when the last time I was cross examined on Frederator, but I think since the last time, I moved to the US. New York City to be specific.

Once my work papers arrived then I picked up a terrific freelance job for the great guys at Switch FX which was very handy when, in November I married Rebecca Angelou – an endlessly talented graphic artist from Queens.

I made “Brothers In Arms” (obviously).

Various Boxhead and Roundhead films have appeared in even more festivals – “Brothers In Arms” has already started to do the rounds, [Read more…]

Elizabeth Ito

Elizabeth Ito’s charming animated documentary, “Welcome to My Life”, chronicles the daily activities of a family of monsters and is super popular among Channel Frederator staff and fans. Elizabeth’s daily life looks likes it’s been pretty busy in ‘08 and will be equally jam-packed with projects in ‘09.

Channel Frederator: Whatcha been up to since we last spoke with you?

Elizabeth Ito: During the day I’ve been working on the Astro Boy animated feature, doing storyboards. It’s due out this year, and I’m really excited to see it. I think Imagi (the studio where I work) is a great place, and I look forward to celebrating with the crew once Astro Boy is complete!

During my free time I’ve been working on my side projects. Most of my energy is being focused on my handmade plushes, posters, art, and toys that I sell through my online store. If anyone wants to check it out, I can be found [Read more…]

Joel Trussell

Multi-talented animator, director, and Frederator friend Joel Trussell chats with us about gallery shows, painting vs. animation, and of course, zombies.

Channel Frederator: Where did you study animation?

Joel Trussell: I was pretty clueless how to chase down a career in animation, so I just went to my state’s university and earned a degree in fine art with a drawing concentration. However, when I moved into my junior and senior year of college I would turn in animated short films instead of drawings. After graduating I moved to Seattle and took a traditional class through the University of Washington’s Experimental College, but I guess I’d say most of my animation training came through just doing it rather than formal instruction.

CF: What or who has influenced your work the most?

JT: It’s hard to narrow down influences much since there are several different chapters of inspiration. When I was young it was Warner Bros and Hanna-Barbera [Read more…]

Chris Sayer and Jason Arber

Wyld Stallyons directors/animators Chris Sayer and Jason Arber give Channel Frederator a little insight on designing the brilliant music video for The Blizzards’ “The Reason”, what inspires them, and how they would deal with a gigantic, amorous beast.

Channel Frederator: Where did you study animation?

Jason Arber: I didn’t formally study animation; I learned on the job and was often pointed in the right direction by Chris, who knows a lot more about animation than me. Normally, Chris would do the character animation, but on this job I did all the character stuff while Chris handled the backgrounds. But it’s good to mix things up a little bit, I think.

Chris Sayer: Ever since I realized that you could create the illusion of motion though a sequence of drawings, I’d always wanted to be involved in animation. I started with flick books and later progressed onto the Amiga 500. I was then able to experiment with [Read more…]

TotemX

“Action Man” creator TotemX gives us a super speedy lowdown on flipbook toons and why the permanent marker is mightier than the sword.

Channel Frederator: Where did you study animation?

TotemX: Boredom is the mother of all creativity. I never studied animation.

CF: What or who has influenced your work the most?

TX: Time constraints influenced me the most. Think about it – a flipbook cartoon can only be so long. That means I have under a minute to say what I need to say. What speaks louder than obscene violence? (That’s a rhetorical question.)

CF: What is your favorite animation?

TX: I’m a big fan of Bill Plympton. I also enjoy a few other flipbook cartoonists I’ve seen on the web. I don’t know their names off the top of my head, but I’m familiar with their work.

CF: Can you disable a man with only a Sharpie? If so, please explain how.

TX: Ah yes, that old academic line of inquiry. The [Read more…]

Mike Bell

“Super Santa” creator and director Mike Bell took a moment to answer a few questions for us and give us a history lesson on the reason for the season: Egg Nog.

Channel Frederator: Where did you study animation?

Mike Bell: California Institute of the Arts.

CF: Who or what has influenced your work the most?

MB: Jay Ward and Bill Scott are my biggest influence. Monty Python is way up there also. There are many but these are some of the biggest.

CF: What is your favorite holiday animation?

MB: Can’t pick one. I like all the Rankin-Bass stuff and of course A Charlie Brown Christmas which has the best Christmas sound track of all times.

CF: Are you on the “naughty” or “nice” list this year?

MB: I’ve been naughty in nice ways.

CF: Can you please explain egg nog to me?

MB: Let’s see. I believe it came from England where it was enjoyed by people who could afford to drink their eggs and cream with brandy. It came over here to the colonies [Read more…]