Into the Spider-Verse: Animator Commentary

Time to put on your behind the scenes glasses and dive into the Spider-Verse one more time! The animation team behind the Academy Award-winning, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, have re-assembled (after some well earned time off) to reminisce and share insight into the animation process.

Episode 8: Mark Osborne

While Director, Mark Osborne, is known for big studio hits like Kung Fu Panda, SpongeBob SquarePants, and The Little Prince, he’s an independent filmmaker at heart. It’s on his first projects (More, Greener, etc) that his independent spirit was formed.  We focus on these early projects, skipping Kung Fu Panda, in favor of discussing Mark’s directing philosophies, artistic inspirations, current projects, and his hope for the next generation of independent filmmakers.  This episode is packed with valuable information. Enjoy!

Episode 7: Allison Rutland

My guest for episode seven is Pixar Animation Studios Animator, Allison Rutland. In this episode, we talk about Allison’s early career, pushing herself after hours to land a job at Pixar, and winning an Annie Award in 2016. We also talk about her biggest artistic influences, dig into the craft of acting, and discuss her inspirations for animating Riley in Inside Out. There’s a lot to love about this episode, I hope you enjoy it. 🙂

Make sure you read the show notes below as you listen. We talk about several film scenes which I’ve included below for your convenience.

Show Notes

Finding Chia is a short film Allison completed at Sheridan College:

Allison’s 2009 Animation Reel landed her a job at Pixar:

At 35:40 Allison mentions this shot (by Doug Sweetland) being one of her favorites animated performances:

At 39:50 Allison mentions using this scene from Whale Rider for reference when animating the emotional scenes of Riley in Inside Out:

Stop by Allison’s website to keep up to date on all her latest projects. Send in your questions for future episodes via Twitter, Facebook, or our Contact page.

If you like what you hear, please consider supporting us on Patreon.

Thanks to Bonny Báez for creating the show’s background music.

Podcasts Now on iTunes!

The first six episodes of our podcast are now up on iTunes (finally). We’ve already interviewed some amazing individuals including BJ Crawford, Nick Bruno, and Glen Keane. Enjoy!

Episode 6: Melvin Tan

My guest for episode six is Blue Sky Studios Supervising Animator, Melvin Tan. Melvin is a highly talented and well respected animator at Blue Sky. He has incredible work ethic and a no nonsense attitude that allowed him to climb to the top of the animation department at Blue Sky Studios. In this episode, Melvin talks about moving to the U.S from Singapore to pursue his dream, struggling as a Junior Animator, his love of Manga, and much more. Please enjoy my interview with Melvin Tan!

A still from a shot Melvin animated in Ice Age: Continental Drift

Episode 5: Reinventing Yourself

Have you ever felt stuck or type-cast as an animator? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work in VFX, Games, or Features?

My guests on this episode have more than forty years of combined experience working in every corner of the industry. They’ve worked at such studios as Tippett, Lucasfilm, Reel FX, Blue Sky Studios, Electronic Arts, Pixar, Rhythm & Hues, and Dreamworks. Today we’re talking with veteran animators Carolyn Ee Kaiser, Mike Safianoff, Johnny Turco, and Louis Jones about getting out of your comfort zone and developing range as a creative artist.

We’ll also be talking about the major differences of working in each corner of the industry. Obviously students will get a lot out of this episode, but so will veterans that have stuck to one corner of the industry. I hope you enjoy our discussion on reinventing yourself as an animator.

Episode 4: BJ Crawford

My guest for episode four is BJ Crawford. BJ is an enormously talented individual. He’s been a huge source of inspiration for me since I first discovered his work over six years ago. A lot of us are traditional animators at heart, but BJ is that rare animator that’s blazing a traditional animation trail in today’s animation scene. I’ve had many nerdy animation conversations with BJ in the past few months, but I’m happy say that this one is the most inspiring and in depth of them all.

In this episode BJ talks about getting started in advertising, the unsung mentors that taught him the most, taking nine months off work to hone his craft, and much more. I’m thrilled to share with you my interview with BJ Crawford.

Episode 3: Women in Animation

In the past few years, you may have noticed a push to encourage more women to join our industry. Organizations like Women In Animation have formed to raise awareness about how lopsided our industry really is, and empower women to step into the industry. I’m of the opinion that half the audience is female, so why shouldn’t half the people making the movies be female too?

This inspired me to organize a group discussion with as many talented ladies as I could find at work. We’ll be talking about how everyone got started, working in animation today, our favorite films and characters, and so much more. My hope is that this episode inspires a few young ladies out there to set their sites on animation as a career. I’m proud to present my interview with Blue Sky Studios Animators Jess Morris (Instagram), Cristin Mckee, Emilie Goulet, Lisa Allen, Carolyn Ee Kaiser, Malerie Walters, and Theresa Adolph.

Front Row (left to right): Cristin McKee, Malerie Walters, Theresa Adolph, Lisa Allen Back Row (left to right): Emilie Goulet, Carolyn Ee Kaiser, Jess Morris

Episode 2: Nick Bruno

My guest is this episode is Blue Sky Studios Supervising Animator, Nick Bruno. Nick is highly regarded throughout the industry and especially at Blue Sky where he’s made his mark on every film since Ice Age 2. In this episode we talk about how he got his start in the industry, his journey to Animation Supervisor, and much more.

Episode 1: Glen Keane on Nephtali

It’s been just under a year since On Animation last spoke with Glen Keane. At the time he was promoting his first short film, Duet. This year he’s back with another hand drawn short, Nephtali, a blend of hand drawn animation and live-action footage. Nephtali was created for the Paris Opera to coincide with the launch of their new digital stage, 3rd Stage.

Glen was personally invited to join a distinguished list of artists and filmmakers to help launch the 3rd Stage by Benjamin Millepied, the new Director of Dance for the Paris Opera. Benjamin and Glen first met while they were both working on projects at Google last year. I was fortunate enough to steal some of Glen’s time and gain more insight into the production of the short.