Channel Frederator Blog

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.

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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…]

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…]

Watch to see “Carol of the Christmas Pickle”.

The creative geniuses behind “Carol of the Christmas Pickle” – William Conner, Matt MacMillan, Cara Stooksbury, and Zack Ward – gave us the gift of a hilarious collective interview. For the purposes of this interview, we will simply refer to them as “The Geniuses”. Merry Christmas!

Channel Frederator: Where did you study animation?

The Geniuses: Animation studies were conducted mainly on Saturday mornings every weekend of childhood. More recently, however, hands-on, practical experience was through trial and error in the basement of the company we work for.

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

TG: Rankin-Bass, South Park.

CF: What is your favorite holiday animation?

TG: Frosty the Snowman. Apparently in their youth, William, Matt and Zack thought the little blonde girl was a real looker.

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

TG: Due to the previous answer, we’re going to have to go with “naughty.” However, Cara is doing her best to drag [Read more…]

Piotr Karwas

The very talented and busy Piotr Karwas stood still juuust long enough for Channel Frederator to get some pressing questions answered…

Channel Frederator: Where did you study animation?

Piotr Karwas: Polish National Film School and Filmakademie Baden Wuerttemberg in Germany.

CF: Who has influenced your work the most?

PK: I would say Brothers Quay and my teacher animation director Piotr Dumala.
Although at this point I feel like live action directors have more impact on my work.

CF: What is your favorite animation?

PK: I’m still very impressed with “Street of Crocodiles” by Brothers Quay.

CF: Any upcoming projects you can tell us about?

PK: I’m in post on live action short film “Rapline”.

CF: Robots vs. Zombies - who wins?

PK: Robots no doubt.

CF: Bunnies vs. Zombies?

PK: Bunny zombies would win.

CF: Nice.

Thank you, Piotr!

You can check out Piotr’s animation “Do Robots Dream of Bunnies?” in this week’s episode of Channel Frederator right here.

– Bailee DesRocher

Todd Ramsay

Todd Ramsay’s series, Honkbarn, is a musical monsterfest. Maybe because he had a babysitter most of us would would sell our own mothers for. Sorry, Mom. Read on…

Channel Frederator: Where did you study animation?

Todd Ramsay: I took 4 years of Fine Arts at Okanagan University College followed by the Classical Animation program at the Vancouver Film School.

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

TR: My biggest influence over the years would have to be Jim Henson. As a child I loved everything he did, I never missed an episode of Fraggle Rock or Sesame Street. I was so into the Muppet Show that my parents would leave me in front of the television and go to the bar for an hour. I guess that would also make Jim Henson my babysitter.

CF: What are your favorite films/filmmakers?

TR: Some of my favorite filmmakers would have to be Don Hertzfeldt, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Nick Park, and [Read more…]

Maik Hempel

Maik Hempel’s animated infomercial “Petsicle” will solve all of your holiday pet-sitting problems. Plus, he gives us a little insight into why sometimes laughs outweigh style, and why a high SPF sunscreen is extremely important during an Australian Christmas.

Channel Frederator: Where did you study animation?

Maik Hempel: After high school, I studied architecture for about one year, before I realised I should have stuck with my original choice of animation. So I slapped my lecturer in the mouth with a set square, traded my graphics pens for a peg bar and learned the astonishing art of the “moving-picture-bonanza” at Griffith Film School in Brisbane, Australia (“Bachelor of Animation with Honours” they call it)

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

MH: Like everyone else at some point in their life, I was pretty amazed by
Disney, but the biggest influence animation-wise for me was Ren & Stimpy. I used to tape them and watch them [Read more…]

This interview was a treat for me to do because Alex Kirwan was one of my first champions and also the catalyst for me to get into Calarts’ animation program. His character design class was one of my fondest and funnest memories of Calarts. Alex was and still is one of the nicest, most genuine, brightest talents in the animation industry.
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