Interview With david Bokser
Animator, Rigger, Scripter-
Let's start off by learning more about you. Where do you live? What are you doing these days?
I live in Los Angeles, CA. These days I'm mostly directing and animating on a short film, and looking forward to finishing it early next year.
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Where do you work? What are some of your past professions?
I'm currently working as a freelance animator and am running a small animation studio called Obsolete Robot. Our first job was for Nintendo, and I've previously worked as a Creature ATD on Rango at Industrial Light and Magic, and have animated for commercial houses Psyop and SDF1 on commercials for Coca Cola, Lionhead Studios, Nissan, Molson, and 2K Games
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Did you have any hobbies or inspirations growing up that help lead you into what you do today?
My hobbies have always revolved around computers and film. My brother and I would borrow our parent's VHS camcorder and shoot home movies. Usually they were remakes of existing films - Home Alone, Wayne's World - but we also shot a horror film about a murderous Easter bunny called Easter Sunday. Both of us were also big computer nerds growing up, so I loved building computers, keeping up with new technology, and learning to program so that I could make games. For inspiration, I loved all of the Disney films. I was completely blown away by Jurassic Park when it came out and that was a big inspiration to me to get into the CG industry. It was at that point when I actually realized that computer animation was an actual job that you can get paid for.
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Have you had any formal training that made you the artist you are today? How did you become so good at what you do?
Yes, my formal training was at the Savannah College of Art and Design but I started doing CG work while I was in High School, so it started informally. My pre-college experience with CG was tremendously important to my college education because many people have a general idea of what they would like to do when they go into college but need to figure out the specifics during their college experience. I knew exactly what I wanted to do going in, so it was easier for me to focus on how to achieve that goal instead of figuring out what the goal was.
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Are there any current or past projects you are excited to tell us about?
My current project is the most exciting for me. I'm directing a short film with a friend of mine, Matt Berenty. It's a 6 minute musical love story called Love in the Time of Advertising. We had the idea for it during the last year of college and have been working on it for several years with the help of a number of friends and co-workers. We hope to finish it in the beginning of next year, 2012 - hopefully at least a few months before the world is destroyed so we might still have an audience.
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What tools do you use in your work?
My work is pretty much 100% in Maya. I do spend a lot of time in a text editor when I'm scripting tools. Most of the tools I write are Python based.
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What has been your favorite piece or project to date? Why?
Working on my current short film has been the most rewarding, since I have the most creative control over the final result. It's also one of the most frustrating, since CG animation takes FOREVER. Commercially, I really enjoyed working on Rango at Industrial Light and Magic. Since Jurassic Park was such a big inspiration to me to get into the industry, working with the people who had a hand in making it, as well as working in a studio with so much movie history packed into all of the walls was a really inspiring and humbling experience.
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What keeps you inspired? Is there anything that keeps your imagination going so you can create the great work you do?
Seeing other people's work is the best inspiration. I love seeing short films, commercials, movies, pretty much everything. Even YouTube short films made by a group of kids in their garage can be inspiring. I also read a lot and am constantly inspired by books, often trying to figure out how the book can be adapted into a film while I'm still reading it.
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Once there was a time where you were trying to make it in the world, do you have any advice for those who hope to one day have a career in the industry?
I don't think there's ever a time when I'm not trying to make it in the world. There's always bigger and better opportunities that you need to reach for. For people starting out, my advice is to always keep up to date on industry trends, watch a lot of movies, short films, and anything that can keep your ideas flowing. Don't be hyper competitive with your peers. You have to learn from them and share your knowledge whenever you can. It's a social industry. The people you're learning with now will be your co-workers in the future. You have to be competitive, but you have to compete with what the pros are doing. When you're looking for work, nobody is going to care that you're the best CG artist among your class, or among your friends. People are going to care if you're the best applicant they have, and they often prefer recommendations from their current employees - so be nice!
