تويت
Interview with Jason Spencer
Having worked several years at Aardman as a “Clay” animator, Jason moved to LA where he did the transition to digital at DreamWorks Animation where he’s recently contributed work on Shrek 2 among others. Jason talks about his work as Supervising Animator on “Flushed Away”, the first collaboration between two industry powerhouses, Aardman Animation and DreamWorks Animation.
Also, read our first Flushed Away Interview with Pierre Olivier, art director on the film.
عمل لبضع سنوات في شركة " Aardman "كمحرك شخصيات طينية. وتغير عمله. عندما تحول عمله الى ديجيتال في شركة " DreamWorks Animation"عندما كان يساهم في العمل على فيلم "shrek2" .جاسون يحدثنا عن عمله وعن خبرته كمشرف على التحريك في فلم “Flushed Away”. الإشتراك الأول بين أقوى شركتين
"Aardman Animation "و"DreamWorks Animation ".
animation and film making, and then just be really stubborn and keep bashing your fists against the keyboard until you get what you want. At first it is a
battle - but personally I make a rule never to loose an 'animate fight' against an in-animate object. I'm a stubborn animator and I won't stop until I feel that the character I am animating is alive and breathing on the screen in front of me.
But there is another useful perspective that I call 'listening to the puppet'. I had this in Stop Motion and took with me to CG. A puppet has a size and shape that create restrictions in the way that it can move, and differences in the way that it controls screen space. These 'limitations' are big golden keys to the character behind the puppet and should be listened to always.
شركة سي جي :في بداياتك. تكلمت عن تحولك في ARDMAN من محرك شخصيات طينية الى الديجتال. كيف كانت صعوبة التحويل او الأنتقال لديك؟؟battle - but personally I make a rule never to loose an 'animate fight' against an in-animate object. I'm a stubborn animator and I won't stop until I feel that the character I am animating is alive and breathing on the screen in front of me.
But there is another useful perspective that I call 'listening to the puppet'. I had this in Stop Motion and took with me to CG. A puppet has a size and shape that create restrictions in the way that it can move, and differences in the way that it controls screen space. These 'limitations' are big golden keys to the character behind the puppet and should be listened to always.
جاسون: لم تكن بتلك الصعوبه تقنيا, ان اظن ان التحريك هو التحريك سواء كنت عن طريق الواقع او عن طريق الكمبيوتر.عندما تبدأ عن طريق الكمبيوتر للمرة الأولى.يجب عليك ان تثق بالأشياء اللتي تجعلها مهمة عن الأنيميشن وصناعة الأفلام.وبعد ذلك ابقى شخصا عنيدا ذو ارادة واستمر على الظغط على الكيبورد (والأستمرار والمواصلة) حتى تصل لما تريده انت. في البداية كان الأمر كالمعركة ولكن شخصيا انا وضعت قانونا لي الا وهو عدم الفشل امام "معكرة التحريك" ضد جسم متحرك. انا عنيد ومهما كان لن اتوقف حتى ارى الشخصية اللتي احركها هي حية وتتنفس على الشاشة امامي.
CGC: Do you think the transition was harder for others?
Jason: Yes, some people find the transition harder than others. It is not uncommon for animators transitioning from traditional mediums to have difficulty seeing the 'art of the animation' through 'the complexity of the tool'.
This can even happen with the most incredibly talented animators, but with guidance and time their confidence with the medium grows and their skills shine through again.
شركة سي جي: هل تظن ان الإنتقال اللذي حصل لك (كما ذكرنا بالسؤال الماضي ) سيكون اصعب لللآخرين؟Jason: Yes, some people find the transition harder than others. It is not uncommon for animators transitioning from traditional mediums to have difficulty seeing the 'art of the animation' through 'the complexity of the tool'.
This can even happen with the most incredibly talented animators, but with guidance and time their confidence with the medium grows and their skills shine through again.
جاسون: نعم، بعض من الناس يكون الإنتقال عندهم اصعب عليهم من الآخرين.انه شيئا غير مألوف للمحركين للإنتقال من الببئة التقليدية . ولكنهم يجدون صعوبه في التعامل مع البيئة المتطورة(الكمبيوتر) وتعتمد على التعقيد الموجود بالأداة اللتي يستخدمها المصمم.وهذا شئ لايصدق عندما يحصل لأحد المصممين المحترفين ، ولكن مع الإرشادات والوقت وثقتهم بأنفسهم وبالبيئة المحيطة سوف تشرق مهاراتهم مرة أخرى.
CGC: Having worked in Clay for so many years, surely, you must have a different perspective on animation than animators who have only worked in digital. How would you compare?
Jason: I think that working in the Aardman style constitutes the bigger difference in perspective; there is a certain simple clarity of staging, pacing and performance that is executed very well at Aardman.
I believe that this style lends itself well to the medium of stop motion as well as being strengthened by it.
The Aardman style of animating is a style that can be applied (in varying degrees) to many styles of animation.
I remember incorporating it when working on my first cg film (Shrek 2) to good effect. It's just good, clear story telling principles really. Working with clay also makes me a sculptor of sorts which was also a useful skill to bring to CG.
On Flushed Away I became the 'go to slug guy', largely because of this I believe, as the characters require a very sculptural approach to get the best out of their simple body shape, and simple rigs.
شركة سي جي: عندما تعمل على تحريك الشخصيات الطينية لسنين عدة. بالتأكيد بالتأكيد لديك وجهة نظر مختلفة عن المصممين اللذين عملوا على الديجيتال(الكمبيوتر). كيف تقارن هذا الأمر؟Jason: I think that working in the Aardman style constitutes the bigger difference in perspective; there is a certain simple clarity of staging, pacing and performance that is executed very well at Aardman.
I believe that this style lends itself well to the medium of stop motion as well as being strengthened by it.
The Aardman style of animating is a style that can be applied (in varying degrees) to many styles of animation.
I remember incorporating it when working on my first cg film (Shrek 2) to good effect. It's just good, clear story telling principles really. Working with clay also makes me a sculptor of sorts which was also a useful skill to bring to CG.
On Flushed Away I became the 'go to slug guy', largely because of this I believe, as the characters require a very sculptural approach to get the best out of their simple body shape, and simple rigs.
جاسون: انا اظن ان العمل في شركة "Aardman" وطابعها يشكل اختلافا كبيرا لوجهة نظري. وهذا بالتأكيد يقوي المقدرة لديك ووضوح الصورة لدريك وايضا يجعل ادائك متميزا وهذا بالتأكيد ماينجز في "Aarman".
انا اؤمن ان هذا الطابع او الستايل اللذي تفعله الشركة يعتمد على نفسه في بيئة التحريك كما انه يعطي المصمم القوة ليخرج افكارا ابداعية.
إن ستايل التحريك الموجود لدى شركة "Aardman" يمكن ان يستخدم (مع اختلاف الدرجات)في جميع ستايلات التحريك. واتذكر عندما دمجته في فيلمي الدجيتال الأول "Shrek2" لجعله اكثر تأثيرا. لقد كان فقط جيدا بمعنى الكلمة. قصة صافيه وتحكي عن الإستقامة الحقيقية. العمل مع الشخصيات الطينية جعلتني نحاتا بارعا. مما جعلني ان ادمجها مع الديجتال.اما مع فيلم"flushed Away" انا اصحبت "'go to slug guy
وانا اؤمن بأن الشخصيات تتطلب نحاتا جيدا لكي يصل للأفضل لصنع نفس المجسم ونفس الrig.
CGC: Can you “characterize” in your words the Aardman animation style?
Jason: I would characterize it as a style that has grate performance integrity within very clear story telling principles.
You choose your poses to have contrast and appropriate changing levels of energy. You go between them with simplicity
, character and clarity, and deliver your performance beats when you reach the pose. The biggest beat of the shot will be the 'over all point of the shot', i.e. the story telling beat that is the reason
for that shot being in the film - you deliver this point with total commitment above all else. It is, in my view, a distillation of the most important things about using film to tell a story.
شركة سي جي: هل بإمكانك ان تصف كلماتك عن ستايل "Aardman" للحركة؟
جاسون: سأصف الستايل اللذي لديه الأداء الكامل والعظيم. مع القصة الواضحة جدا واللتي تخبرنا عن الإستقامة. انت تأخذ الأوضاع الخاصة باالتصميم بدون أي تكلف مع تغير مراحل الطاقة ، انت تدخل بينهم مع بساطة الشخصية ووضح تام. وتستطيع ان توصل ادائك للقمة عندما تصل لوضعك الخاص بالتصميم. ويجب عليك ان تحاول حتى توصل القصة وهذا هو السبب في تميز هذا الستايل.CGC: You seem to “enjoy” making faces in the mirror. Can you explain?
Jason: I 'enjoy' animating, but pulling expressions in the mirror all day makes my face ache, and if you've seen my face you'll know that it pretty much aches all the time anyway. Sadly there is no better way for me to check out the expression that I am trying to create
شركة سي جي: انت تبدو مغرما بعمل الأوجه. هل بإمكانك ان تشرح لنا؟؟
جاسون:انا احب التحريك. ولكن سحب المشاعر في المرآة كل يوم يجعل وجهي متألما طوال اليوم، وانت عندما ترى وجهي ستجد انه هناك بعض الآلام الجميله في كل وقت. وكما يحزنني انه لايوجد هناك طريقة لإخراج مشاعري كما اود ان افعل في الشخصيات.
CGC: Which characters did you get to animate on Flushed Away?
Jason: I dabbled with all of the main characters but mostly I animated 'The Toad',
he is the character that I developed at the start of the show.
I think that I was really lucky to get him. Villains are always really interesting because you can push their character much further than your central protagonists.
I always seem to get villains to develop. I developed 'The Tweedys' in 'Chicken Run' and 'Victor' in 'Ware Rabbit' - that's a 100% villain development record for feature films that I have been involved in pre-production with. Maybe my directors see something evil in me..?!
شركة سي جي: ماهي الشخصيات اللتي قمت بتحريكها في الفيلم؟Jason: I dabbled with all of the main characters but mostly I animated 'The Toad',
he is the character that I developed at the start of the show.
I think that I was really lucky to get him. Villains are always really interesting because you can push their character much further than your central protagonists.
I always seem to get villains to develop. I developed 'The Tweedys' in 'Chicken Run' and 'Victor' in 'Ware Rabbit' - that's a 100% villain development record for feature films that I have been involved in pre-production with. Maybe my directors see something evil in me..?!
جاسون:انا عملت تقريبا مع كل الشخصيات الرئيسية بالفيلم ولكن اغلب ما عملت مع شخصية"The Toad"
هي الشخصية اللي انشأتها منذ بداية العمل . وأظن اني محظوظا لأني عملت عليه.السذج دوما مشوقين.لأنك تستطيع ان تلعب بشخصيتهم افضل من البطل الفيلم نفسه.انا دائما احب ان آخذ شخصيات ساذجة لكي انشأها. .لقد انشأت 'The Tweedys' في فيلم'Chicken Run'و'Victor'في فيلم'Ware Rabbit'هئولاء من صنعتهم واحسست اني استمتعت معهم .
CGC: In Flushed Away, there are many very complex scenes involving many characters. Do you use some sort of crowd simulation system?
Jason: We do use a crowd populating system but not crowd simulation. All the background characters were hand animated by our team, this animation is then copied and spread throughout the scenes by the crowd team. I take my hat off to their fine work. They did a great job in filling those spaces with interesting and rich atmospheres.
شركة سي جي: في فيلم" Flushed Away " كان هناك مجموعة كبيره من المشاهد المتداخلة تغلف جميع الشخصيات . هل استخدمتم نظاما لهذا الضيق او الزحام؟Jason: We do use a crowd populating system but not crowd simulation. All the background characters were hand animated by our team, this animation is then copied and spread throughout the scenes by the crowd team. I take my hat off to their fine work. They did a great job in filling those spaces with interesting and rich atmospheres.
جاسون: لقد استعملنا نظام السكن المزدحم. وجميع خلفيات الشخصيات كانت محركة يدويا من قبل فريقنا . هذه الحركة اللتي استعملها الفريق وهو يملأ الفراغات في المشاهد جعلني اخلع قبعتي تحية لهم .
فأقول كلام قريب من المحتوى:d
لأنه هو اللي نزل الموضوع 
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