|
Animation Mentor:
What inspired you to become an animator?
Dave Burgess:
It's funny, but as much as I loved the Warner Bros/Disney cartoons when I was growing up, I never thought of becoming an animator. I wanted to draw comics! I went to art school and in those olden days, there weren’t any comics/graphic novel classes, so I thought, “Heck, animation is almost the same thing- I’ll take that!” Kind of a goofy thought, but once I’d seen my first flipbook come to life, I was hooked.
Animation Mentor:
What was your first animation job?
Dave Burgess:
During the summer between my 3rd and 4th years, I got a job animating some public service spots for a studio in Vancouver. I did a lot of the character designs, layout, animation & clean-up. One of the great things about working in a small studio is you get to try lots of different things!
Animation Mentor:
If you could do one thing differently on your journey to becoming an animator, what would it be?
Dave Burgess:
I would have been more pro-active about picking the brains of the old animation guys I came into contact with. I thought it was being kinda pushy, so tended to just talk about normal stuff when I should have been pumping them (in a nice way!) for all the info I could about their animation experience through the years.
Animation Mentor:
Who would you consider your mentor to be in animation?
Dave Burgess:
When I first moved to LA after I graduated art school, Michael Lah was a tremendous help/inspiration to me. Mike was one of Tex Avery’s main animators, and co-directed some of the later MGM shorts with Tex (like Deputy Droopy- a classic!). Mike let me assist him on the Tony the Tiger commercials, and I learned so much.
Many years later while I was at Disney, I was lucky enough to get on Eric Goldberg’s Genie team on Aladdin. Eric taught me so much about pushing the design of your individual drawings, how important every frame is in a shot, and he blew my mind with his incredible knowledge of the fine art of snappy cartoon timing. Thanks again, Eric!
Animation Mentor:
Who is your favorite character that you've animated and why?
Dave Burgess:
Let’s see, I have a couple that were a lot of fun. Hammy the Squirrel from Over the Hedge was a lot of fun, especially as I got the chance to really REALLY push my snappy timing abilities, and loved his childlike quality. Melman the Giraffe from Madagascar had a super cool goofy quality. The Genie from Aladdin was so fun to work on, with all the lightning physical changes. I also loved trying to capture the warmth of Nigel Hawthorne’s vocal performance for Prof Porter in Tarzan. All these characters benefited from wonderful vocal performances – thanks very much to Steve Carell, David Schwimmer, Robin Williams & Nigel Hawthorne.
Animation Mentor:
How has the Animation Mentor experience been for you so far?
Dave Burgess:
I love being a part of the Animation Mentor community. Working with animators from all over the world and helping people get their work to a higher level is super fun and rewarding. Recently, DreamWorks hired 2 guys who'd taken my class 4; I’m so proud of them, and am really looking forward to working with them.
Animation Mentor:
What is your favorite Animation Mentor tool?
Dave Burgess:
I am very happy with the eCritique™ tool, especially now that I haven't lost an e-crit all semester. :) Love the way you see the mentor and the shot at the same time. Genius!
|
