Archives for : November2015

Toon-In Talk Episode 24: Interview with Jinko Gotoh

Posted by :storysequence On : November 28, 2015
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Hello and welcome to twenty-fourth episode of Fanboy Nation’s Toon-In-Talk, your rendezvous for animation interviews.  It’s also time for the fourth round of interviews for the Ladies of Animation Month, Whitney Grace’s yearly tribute to women who work in the animation industry and mission to inspire girls to pursue their animated ambitions.  Jinko Gotoh is the executive producer on the new animated feature film The Little Prince directed by Mark Osborne.  Jinko has held various role in the animation industry, but she has made a well-respected name for herself as a producer. She’s produced Finding Nemo, 9, The Illusionist, and Escape From Planet Earth.  She has been an animation fan since she was little girl and made Whitney’s head flip after sharing a story about meeting Osamu Tezuka.

Episode 24

  • Jinko Gotoh is the executive producer on the upcoming animated film The Little Prince directed by Mark Osborne.
  • Jinko shares some tidbits about The Little Prince. The book it’s based on is one of the best selling books of all time.
  • For The Little Prince, the film will use two forms of animation. CGI will be used for the “real world” sequences and the book portions of the movie will be in stop motion.
  • Jinko started working on the film when director Mark Osborne sought out producers who knew how to make a quality film and work with the limited budget of an independent film.
  • There were other adaptations of The Little Prince, including a live action movie and a Japanese anime. Jinko didn’t watch any of them.
  • Producers are an integral part of the animation team. They work closely with the director and story to protect the integrity of the story, keep the project within the budget, and also keep production moving forward.
  • The first movie Jinko ever saw in theaters was Lady and the Tramp and she later had the honor of meeting the father of all Japanese animation Osamu Tezuka. These were key moments that inspired her to work in the animation industry.
  • She worked with computer animation way at the beginning as a computer programming, then she went to film school, and then Roger Rabbit changed things for her.
  • Jinko shares her experience while she worked on Space Jam and Disney’s
  • She has worked all over the board when it comes to animation and she is very grateful for the variety of experiences.
  • While working on Nine, Jinko says it was a challenge to animate characters that weren’t human and didn’t speak much. The film was difficult to animate, but was purposely made to look like it was simple.
  • It wasn’t difficult for Jinko to switch between traditional and computer animation when she worked on the French film The Illusionist, because there was artistic leadership.
  • Jinko wishes that there were more 2D animation films done in the United States. She and Whitney are both excited about the rerelease of The Iron Giant.
  • Jinko’s career has come full circle with the The Little Prince and she hopes it’s successful, so more independent animated films will be made.
  • She is a board member of the Women In Animation and she heads the chapter committee that establishes chapters around the globe.
  • There are Women In Animation chapters across the USA, but they are also located in Canada, France, Ireland, and India.
  • Jinko and Whitney discuss how animation is viewed in different countries. The French embrace animation as art. Two men from India actually came to Women In Animation to help them promote it among high school girls as the industry is rapidly growing in that country.
  • Women In Animation is about sharing knowledge, being available as a resource, and spurring change in the animation industry.
  • Jinko shares that there’s a huge discrepancy in the amount of female animation students versus how many actually work in the industry. The goal is to get 50/50 representation by 2025.
  • She ends the interviewing by declaring that people should follow their dreams.

Toon-In Talk Episode 23: Interview with Kristy Scanlan

Posted by :storysequence On : November 24, 2015
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Hello and welcome to twenty-third episode of Fanboy Nation’s Toon-In-Talk, your rendezvous for animation interviews.  It’s also time for the third round of interviews for the Ladies of Animation Month, Whitney Grace’s yearly tribute to women who work in the animation industry and mission to inspire girls to pursue their animated ambitions.  Kirsty Scanlan is the co-president of the Women in Animation organization.  Kirsty fell into animation when she worked at Threshold Entertainment and fell in love with the medium. She is currently Technicolor’s Vice President of Business Development for Technicolor’s Animation and Games group.  Whitney and Kristy discuss Kristy’s career the current state of women in the animation industry, and their hopes for the future.

Episode 23

 

  • Kristy Scanlan entered the entertainment industry right of college and worked in live action script development, but when she worked at Threshold Entertainment they had an animation studio. She became more involved in the animation side of the studio and fell in love with it.
  • When Kristy was at Threshold Entertainment, she worked on projects for Lego, Marvel, DC, and some theme parks.
  • She currently works at Technicolor and is in charge of business development for their studio in Bangalore, India.
  • One of the services her studio provides is CG outsourcing and her clients include DreamWorks, Nickelodeon, Electronic Arts, Activision, Rockstar Games, Capcom, 2K, Sony Computer Entertainment.
  • Kristy’s other job was helping revamp the Women In Animation organization to give it new life and help women launch their careers in the animation industry, including networking, educational seminars, and giving them a voice.
  • 70% of women in art schools want to become animators, but only 20% actually work in the animation industry.
  • Women In Animation’s goal is to have a 50/50 workforce in the animation industry by 2025.
  • Women In Animation has made strong movements since the organization’s revamp in October 2013.
  • The entire goal is to empower women, get jobs, and succeed in a field usually dominated my men.
  • Whitney and Kristy discuss old-fashioned hiring practices and how they could evolve in the future.
  • Women In Animation is for more diversity not only in the animation industry, but also diversity in culture as a whole.
  • Self-doubt is one of the biggest barriers that women face.
  • Kristy shares her experience about females working in the animation industry. She says that things have improved since the 1950s, but there is a whole lot of room for improvement.
  • Whitney points out that Lotte Reiniger, the first female animation director in the world, is usually a footnote in history books.
  • Kristy talks about the Annecy International Film Festival.
  • She declares 50/50 by 2025!

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Toon-In Talk Episode 22: Interview with Cheryl Henson

Posted by :storysequence On : November 14, 2015
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Hello and welcome to twenty-second episode of Fanboy Nation’s Toon-In-Talk, your rendezvous for animation interviews.  It’s also time for the second round of interviews for the Ladies of Animation Month, Whitney Grace’s yearly tribute to women who work in the animation industry and mission to inspire girls to pursue their animated ambitions.  Puppetry has many things in common with animation, including principles that make inanimate characters come to life.  Cheryl Henson is a proud promoter of the puppetry arts and preserving her father’s legacy for future generations.  If you couldn’t tell by the last name, Cheryl Henson is Jim Henson’s daughter.  Jim Henson not only revolutionized the world of modern puppetry with the Muppets, but he also was a singular entertainer and creative genius.  Cheryl Henson chats with Whitney about the renovation at the Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts with brand new exhibits dedicated to Jim Henson and puppetry from around the world.

Episode 22

  • Whitney recognized Cheryl Henson at DragonCon by her fabulous fashion sense. She wore an original outfit made for her by the designers of the Dark Crystal fashion line.
  • Cheryl is the president of the Jim Henson Foundation.
  • Cheryl was at DragonCon, because she was promoting the new expansion to the Atlanta Center for the Puppetry Arts. The Puppetry Center will house a new collection featuring puppets from the Henson Family’s personal archives.
  • Jane and Jim Henson were at the Center of Puppetry Arts’s opening back in 1978 and it was founded by Vince Anthony.
  • The Puppetry Center advocates the art of puppetry with educational programs, a museum, and encouraging anyone, anywhere to make their own puppets.
  • The new Jim Henson collection will include over 450 new Muppet puppets, but only 75 will be on display at any one time.
  • The puppets were housed in a storage facility in New Jersey and these were original, screen used Muppets!
  • All of the Muppets in the Jim Henson collection were refurbished to make them museum ready. All of the foam rubber had to be removed, clean the fleece, stuff with cotton filling, and add a plastic skeleton.
  • The Puppetry Center hired two fulltime staff members to refurbish the puppets.
  • The collection will include the Seven Deadly Sins from The Muppets Sex and Violence When they opened the box containing the Muppet Gluttony it actually had real candy on it! They were removed, so it wouldn’t attract bugs.
  • Cheryl shares her special Robin the Frog story!
  • The new Puppetry Center will feature an exhibit modeled after the real Muppet workshop.
  • Jim Henson revolutionized puppet design by making puppets specifically for TV and film.
  • Cheryl explains that the Puppetry Center will feature all types of puppetry. Nearly all cultures around the world have some form of puppetry.
  • Whitney and Cheryl discuss how puppetry is a very viable art and how Jim Henson used story in his work.
  • The Jim Henson Company is very dedicated to exploring the entire world of the Dark Crystal. Whitney shares that she hangs out in the Dark Crystal and Labyrinth worlds when she has writer’s block.
  • In her own personal opinion, Cheryl believes that her father put character before story.
  • Cheryl explains the difference between the Jim Henson Company, the Jim Henson Foundation, Jim Henson’s Legacy, Disney’s The Muppets, Sesame Street, and Sesame Workshop.
  • Whitney and Cheryl think its funny when they talk about the semantics involved with stop motion animation, live puppetry, and how they two intersect.
  • To make someone laugh, Jim would blow a puppet up, have a puppet eaten, or throw penguins in the air.
  • Cheryl declares that people need to care about each other.


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Toon-In Talk Episode 21: Interview with Marge Dean

Posted by :storysequence On : November 6, 2015
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Hello and welcome to twenty-first episode of Fanboy Nation’s Toon-In-Talk, your rendezvous for animation interviews.   It’s that time of year for the Ladies of Animation Month, Whitney Grace’s yearly tribute to women who work in the animation industry and mission to inspire girls to pursue their animated ambitions.  Whitney is a proud member of the Women in Animation organization and with their helped she rounded up great professional women who have made successful careers in animation.  To kick off Ladies in Animation Month, Whitney interviews Marge Dean, co-presdient of Women in Animation, general manager of Stoopid Buddy Stoodies, and former production manager at Mattel’s Playground Productions.  Marge discusses her past and present animation career accomplishments and then she explains Women in Animation’s mission.

Episode 21

 

  • Marge Dean has worked in the animation industry for over twenty years and she is currently the general manager of Stoopid Buddy Stoodios.
  • She was the only production manager on the Ren and Stimpy Show to deliver a show on time.
  • Marge worked at Mattel’s Playground Productions for three years and was responsible for Barbie, Monster High, Ever After High, Max Steel, Hot Wheels, and other lines.
  • Whitney admits her guilty pleasure: animated movies based off toy lines.
  • One of the keys to being successful with kid’s content these days is to have an ancillary license, like a toy line. Networks aren’t subsidizing shows anymore.
  • Seth Green, Matthew Seinreich, John Harvatine, and Eric Towner founded Stoopid Buddy Stoodies.
  • As a general manager, Marge will be taking over the front end of running Stoopid Buddy. She will be implementing in procedures to keep the workflow moving and freeing up Seth Green, Matthew Seinreich, John Harvatine, and Eric Towner to work on more creative projects.
  • Marge will also be tracking down more work for Stoopid Buddy Stoodios and Whitney can’t wait to see what the studio will make.
  • One of the biggest challenges Marge has noticed working at several studios is finding talent and with Stoopid Buddy she walked into it.
  • Marge Dean is also one the board of Women In Animation. She shares how when she started in the industry there weren’t a lot of women working in animation and that has grown over the past twenty years.
  • The entire goal of the Women In Animation organization is to empower women to become leaders, have studios rethink hiring practices, and encourage women and anyone to follow their dream for a career in animation.
  • Nowadays people are more sensitive to women’s issues in various industries, not just animation.
  • The newest generation of fathers is very dedicated to helping their daughters succeed in the world.
  • Marge wants Women In Animation to become so obsolete that it dissolves, because she wants women and diversity to become commonplace.
  • Women In Animation’s goal is 50/50 by 2025, meaning the workforce in the animation industry will be equal between men and women.
  • Marge and Whitney both agree that women are an untapped resource and if given
  • Whitney and Marge bond over their mutual love for chiweenies and The Godfather.

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