Animation Mentor:
What was your first animation job?
Brett Coderre:
I started with a company called Living Books which was a collaboration between Broderbund, a really great educational CD software company, and Random House, that owned some really great children titles like Dr. Seuss, The Berenstain Bears and Arthur. It was an amazing place to work for and I will always remember it as a very special time in my life. Living Books brought me to the bay area, introduced me to San Francisco, where it relocated to after the first few months I started working there. CD books where really popular back then and they were the first to break into that market. Pixar became involved a little later, and maybe was the link that gave me my opportunity there.
Brett Coderre in a Live Q&A with some of his students.
Animation Mentor:
If you could do one thing differently on your journey to becoming an animator, what would it be?
Brett Coderre:
I think I wouldn't be in such a rush to show what I could do as an animator. It was like I was in a race or something, when in fact it really isn't. I could say something profound like life is it's own journey, but what I want to say is that Animation is a language, your words will come, there's no rush. In rushing sometimes you may say the wrong things unintentionally not knowing the language as well as you thought... but it'll come the more you do it. Those rough sentences will turn into poetry if that's what you intend.
Animation Mentor:
Who would you consider your mentor to be in animation?
Brett Coderre:
Anyone who can work within a pose and make it sing. Doug Sweetland, and Brad Bird are really masters of this. I've learned so much from those two. But I admire so many others that have mastered this kind of thing, because it's so hard. First you have to find the right pose that conveys just what you want, then you have find that right line of believable acting and inventiveness to keep it entertaining, not to mention the laws of physics to keep it alive.... and then adding the icing of design and timing... holy.... Every film is just a vast learning experience for me, and I see so many amazing moments created on the screen by so many amazing artists... I'm pretty lucky to be a part of this wave, as a group, you couldn't ask for a better mentor.
Brett Coderre in a Live Q&A with some of his students.
Animation Mentor:
Who is your favorite character that you've animated and why?
Brett Coderre:
I think my favorite character has to be Sully from Monster's Inc. because he could be pushed further than any other I had worked with before. His face, his design just suited my kind of animation. He was like the Baloo of the computer world for me. I also got a chance to work with Sweetland on a few shots, and what he taught me back then I still use now even with all the technical advances and model improvements. I'll say the characters I'm working with now are amazing, I've never worked with better models... but there is a nostalgia I have with Sully because even though I worked on A Bugs Life and Toy Story 2, It wasn't until Sully that I hit a stride... he was my start.
Animation Mentor:
How has the Animation Mentor experience been for you so far?
Brett Coderre:
It’s really amazing what Animation Mentor has done. Finally there is somewhere that lets people know what animation is about, no holds barred. I love mentoring and learning in return. The students are open to hear about animation, and well, I love talking about animation. It lets me put things into words that I had only done by instinct before, and it only makes me a stronger animator when I have to put my words into action. The students work is really inspiring... and it makes me look at animation very differently now. Sometimes when deadlines are looming, I'll catch myself trying to skip steps thinking it'll help me finish on time and the next moment I think "I can't do that", there's no way I'd let someone else get away with that, and so far, knock on wood, its really helped move forward rather than backwards.
Brett Coderre in a Live Q&A with some of his students.
