I have always had the opportunity to be part of projects that use different methodologies to tell the story. Early on I was obsessed with traditional animation and became an animator, then CG came in and opened up even more possibilities. I like live action because it gives you a chance to capture a moment that was unplanned and better than anything you could have dreamed up. I have always been a big fan of the hybrid of both animation-- or these days VFX, and live action because there is nothing you can't do with todays technology. Your imagination is the only limit.
Early on in my career I was part of a puppet show on KCET. I only did the storyboards but loved hanging out on set and watch talented puppeteers use their art to bring characters to life. I love puppets and have always been a big fan of anything Jim Henson did. I worked with his kids Brian and Lisa for a while and it was always a privilege to be at their studio and see all the famous puppets and props. I recently revisited the possibility of working with puppets when I did a test to see if we could pull of a Menehune movie done with puppets.
When I was in film school we spent an entire year on stop motion. I loved it. There's is something special to see real objects and puppets, lit and photographed and come to life. Thanks to Tim Burton, Henry Selick and Laika stop motion has reached new heights. I introduced the technique to my daughter over the Holiday break and we made a short stop motion film for a contest. It was great fun to work on small scale characters and sets. I'll post the film in April, when we are allowed to release it. For now I can only share a few photographs.
A Menehune puppet.
Our makeshift stop motion set.