dFX
Interview: Scott Christian Sava
Scott
Christian Sava is founder of the newly formed Blue Dream Studios.
Sava has an extensive experience in the animation industry, including
direct involvement in dozens of animated TV series, shows, and
direct to video productions. For the direct to video Casper productions,
Sava animated Casper, Fatso, Stinky, and was Lead Animator on
Stretch and Snivel. Two of Sava's recent projects have been the
NASCAR Racers and Xyber 9 animated TV series.
Recently,
Digital Media FX (dFX) caught up with Sava (SCS) to discuss his
new studio and current projects.
dFX:
Before we talk about your history and future, lets talk about
the present. What is Blue Dream Studios and what separates this
new animation production facility from other animation houses?
SCS:
Character! That's what I want my contribution to be to this industry.
There are literally dozens of studios here in LA who can do photo-realistic
this and that, some great effects, and the likes. What I don't
see too often is good quality character animation. What we've
been doing so far is trying to bring characters to life when we
take on a project. We don't just do the job, we get in the character's
head, think about how they're gonna do what they need to do and
why they're doing what they're doing. They're virtual actors and
we need to treat them as such.
dFX:
Who are some of the key players on the Blue Dream Studios team
and what initial projects is the studio working on?
SCS:
Other than myself, my wife Donna handles the day-to-day operations
as well as business development and publicity. In addition, we
have a full complement of talent that we have been working with
from modelers to graphic designers and even musicians.
As for recent
projects, we just finished work on a Playstation 2 title for 3D0
called Heroes of Might and Magic. For this project, we completed
over 100 animations for their in-game characters which included
Dragons, Giants, Elves, Ogres and more.
In addition
to that we wrapped up the 2nd season of Fox's Hit Saturday morning
cartoon NASCAR Racers! Working with Kent Butterworth and Saban's
talented CGI dept. we were given the task of animating the CGI
race cars, which were rendered using a cartoon shader to blend
in with the 2D animated characters!
We also have
4 brand new animated series that we're currently in talks with
several studios about co-producing Mighty Mites (co-created
with comic legend Marv Wolfman), Bugsters (CO-created with Tim
Russ "Tuvok" from Star Trek Voyager) , Armageddon Gang
(CO-created with Mark Altman who brought you Free Enterprise and
The Specials), and The Lab (a Blue Dream Studios original project).
dFX:
: What can you tell us about your original project, The Lab?
SCS:
The Lab is a story that came about when a great friend of mine
Robert Diaz and I were brainstorming some fun ideas for characters.
We were trying to think of something funny to do and I remembered
an old National Geographic where they had these poor women whose
job it was to test deodorant by smelling these guys armpits! The
picture had a bunch of guys with their arms in the air and these
women with their noses in the guy's pits smelling and a clip board
to write down their notes. Well that image I guess stuck with
me and from there I came up with a couple of characters who's
jobs are lab testers.
Livingston
is the English mole who has the prestigious job of armpit sniffer.
Estebon is a New York-Puerto Rican Weasel who is a tester in training.
He has to work UP to armpit sniffer, so he gets the really crappy
jobs, like testing adult diapers or perfume in the eyes.
The characters
are a lot of fun and I hope to develop them more in the future.
Currently the project is part of our package of series we're developing...and
currently we're aiming the Lab as a game show. It's pretty fun!
Look for Estebon and Livingston soon.
dFX:
I understand that Blue Dream Studios has assembled a resource
of animators, musicians, and graphic designers from around the
world. If everyone is not in-house how do you overcome the challenge
of coordinating such a wide geographical area into one project?
SCS:
We have a network of freelancers from compositors, storyboard
artists, modelers, music and sound effects
and much more
who either work in house or from their own studios all over the
world. We've done some very successful spots using talent from
the east coast, Canada, and even Singapore. The great thing is
you're not limited to local talent you can pick
and choose the best person for that particular job, no
matter what their location.
Coordinating
it isn't as hard as it seems. Thetrick is to find people that
are reliable and trustworthy. I work with some very talented
people who I can always count on to have the work done on time.
For example, we've done projects where we've been given a week
to do a full commercial spot and the model was created in LA city
then setup for bones and IK in Canada the next day it was animated
here at Blue Dream then sent back to Canada for Soft Body Dynamics
(making the clothes react to the character's movement) then back
to LA for rendering.
It sounds
like a pain, but our talented partners are just a phone call or
an email away. There was no one locally who could have done what
Paul Mikulecky and his studio did, in the time he did it, to the
level of quality we needed. So what if he's in Canada. We got
the project done ahead of schedule and the clients (Sony and Fox)
got more than what they asked for a rapping clown who dances
and sings his way through a Sony Playstation commercial. With
broadband and the Web our studio can span the globe.
dFX:
So do all your freelance workers use the same animation software
package and, if so, which do you use? How is final rendering handled?
SCS: Yes, they all use the same software. Currently it's
LightWave, though we're looking into better software for character
animation. As for the final rendering, it depends on the client.
Sometimes they want to do the final rendering on their farms,
but most of the times we do it here.
dFX: Let's
take a step back. You've been involved with dozens of high-profile
animated productions and series. Looking back, which was the toughest
to work on and what made it so challenging?
SCS:
A couple of years ago I was commissioned to do a commercial for
a Hip Hop/Rap artist called Master P. He had just come out with
an action figure and wanted to promote it. The producers contacted
me and we came up with the idea for a space theme. Master P wanted
his gold tank in the commercial somewhere (yes, I'm told he really
owns a tank) so I created a space-faring tank for him. From the
beginning, I tried to do the whole commercial myself from modeling,
texturing, lighting, animation everything.
Although I
think the final commercial was a success and Master P loved it,
I learned a lot from that project. I realized that you can't be
great at everything you just can't. So from that day forward,
I dedicated myself to being the best character animator I could
be and started teaming up with the best modelers, texture artists,
lighting and rigging guys, compositors, and techs around. My life
has been much easier and the work has been so much better since.
In addition, my character animation has improved drastically because
I'm only concentrating on things like timing, weight, anticipation
(and other animation techniques) and not bump maps and radiosity.
dFX:
Kent Butterworth, a CGI Producer at Saban International, has commented
on your role in the Casper movies saying and I quote
"Scott always delivers more than expected in his character
animation
He added subtlety to the performance of his characters,
so that they were as much alive as the 'Live Action' actors they
shared the screen with." What is the secret to making an
animated character so alive?
SCS:
I think you have to be an actor yourself and a bit of a ham! It's
funny, but when I get a character to animate, I always look at
the character then back at the director and say, "what's
his motivation?" Who is this clown? Or who is this Ghost?
Why is this robot so angry? It's corny, but it gets you into the
head of the character you're animating and that's where the personality
comes out.
I was the
lead animator on Stretch for Casper a Spirited beginning and through
the development of the movie Kent and Sean McNamara (the director)
started to notice some unusual character traits for Stretch. Stretch
was turning Italian. As I would act out the scenes to animate
each day, I would look in the mirror and act out the lines along
with the recorded actors voice. What would come about was my hand
gestures and mannerisms.

Kent and Sean
loved it so we decided to push it even further and it really worked
well for Stretch. Also, for Snivel (with Pauly Shore's voice)
we had him shifty eyed, wiggling his fingers a lot, and licking
his lips incessantly a very nervous type
The fun thing
about a movie or a long running series is creating mannerisms
and character traits for your characters. Developing personalities
is such an important part of what we do and I love every minute
of it.
dFX:
Recently Marv Wolfman said that his studio Wolfmanor Entertainment
was collaborating with Blue Dream Studios on a new animated series
called Mighty Mites. What's the scoop on Mighty Mites and your
involvement with this project?
SCS:
Marv and I have been wanting to work together for a while. We
both love comics and we both love working in animation, so we
put the two together and Mighty Mites came about. Originally Marv
approached me with this great idea for a series and we've been
toying with it for a while; working up sketches and stuff. I've
finally found time to put together a two and a half minute short
for it and we're currently wrapping up the last shots. It looks
great and I can't wait to get the show into full production. Keep
your eyes peeled for it coming soon!
dFX:
How hard was it to open up your own animation studio and what
were some of the biggest obstacles you faced in establishing Blue
Dream Studios?
SCS:
Opening up your own studio takes above all things risk.
We tried to minimize that risk by building a strong and diverse
client base ranging from movie production, commercials, TV shows,
and even games. Then the finances have to be there. That's never
easy, but we've been blessed with a lot of work the last two years
and we've kept expenses down. Now we're just hoping that our hard
work pays off and that we can continue to grow and create some
great work!
dFX:
Blue Dream Studios is doing animation projects with other production
houses, animation projects for bigger studios, and its own original
series; yet Blue Dream Studios is a brand new animation production
company. How do you plan to meet the demand?
SCS:
Well, sleep is highly overrated. It's a lot of work for
me, especially right now since I have to have my hands in everything.
But we've got a lot of very talented freelancers who I know I
can depend on for outstanding work and quick turnarounds. Also
and I think this is the most important thing if
we know we can't do a job to the absolute best quality possible,
we won't take it. Even if we could really use the job, or it's
a high profile project if we know we can't make the client
happy it's not worth it. I've made it a goal to always
try to give the client more than they ask for. Always make them
feel like they got more than they paid for. We will continue that
with Blue Dream.
dFX:
Do your animators do any traditional animation or is it all computerized?
And outside of LightWave what other types of software do you use
for your animation work?
SCS:
We have traditional animators, but we don't plan on taking any
2D work that's just a whole can of worms I don't want to
deal with. I'll leave it to the pro's. As for software, I use
everything. I'm still trying to find the perfect fit for character
animation and have yet to find the right one for me. Most of the
stuff we've done is LightWave, but that's mainly because the companies
we worked with were already using it. It's a great tool, but it
doesn't really fit with my style
of animation. I've also used project Messiah, Mirai, Animation
Master, Softimage, Alias and Wavefront (before Maya), and a bunch
more. I'm currently trying out 3D Max 4 and Character Studio and
have to say I'm quite impressed! We started Mighty Mites in Winged
Edge's Mirai and we're finishing it in Max4. Discreet has been
great with their support and everything. They gave us a copy to
work with and they're getting a lot of feedback from us in return.
That's the 3D end. Other software used here is Photoshop, Premiere,
After Effects
the usual suspects.
dFX:
What do you mean by 2D work creates a whole can of worms you don't
want to deal with? What type of problems have you had in this
area?
SCS:
Oh, I haven't had any problems with it. I just respect it so much
that I wouldn't even want to try to fool myself into thinking
I could handle it right now. 3D is hard enough without trying
to develop a system for 2D animation for a project. Whenever we
do work with 2D animation, like with Xyber 9, Digimon, or Nascar
Racers, it's almost always given to us as elements and we composite
them with the 3D art. It works well with our Toon Shaders and
always has a nice look.
dFX:
Many of our readers are aspiring animators who would love to work
on projects like those that you oversee on a daily basis. What
advice do you have for aspiring animators who want to break into
the industry?
SCS:
Ok, this is really simple. I know too many talented artists
who are unemployed for 1 reason no portfolio! Whether you're
currently employed or not, you should always be working
on your portfolio. Always improve; you're never good enough.
I remember working on a project with a bunch of other artists
and I was really nervous because it was my first big character
animation project. So I was studying everything I could, asking
everyone for feedback, practicing when I got home, watching movies,
etc. The other artists didn't even want feedback on their work.
They argued when they were given comments by the director, yet
they didn't know anything about animation.
My theory
is this always figure you're not that good no matter what
people tell you. Stay humble and keep looking at work that inspires
you and keep trying to reach those goals. Otherwise you'll be
just like those poor other guys who are absolutely clueless, but
they think they're all that! Never be satisfied your work and
you'll continue to grow as an artist.
Also, with
the Web it's much easier to meet people in the industry. Join
mailing lists, visit good Websites, put your animated shorts up
on the Web for everyone to see. Just keep working! Keep expanding
your portfolio and keep growing.
dFX:
If one of our readers felt they were a perfect fit for Blue Dream
Studios, what is the process that he/she would follow to apply
for a position with Blue Dream Studios?
SCS:
Go to our Website: www.bluedreamstudios.com
and contact us through there. We usually like to see work on the
web first (quicktime movies, avi, or mpg). We're looking for Modelers,
Animators, Texture Artists, etc. Just don't email us huge files;
we hate that. Contact us first and send us URL links to the movies.
If you need to send files, then please ask us first.
dFX:
Scott, thank you very much for your time and for sharing your
insight with the readers of Digital Media FX Magazine. Good luck
to both you and Blue Dream Studios.
SCS:
My pleasure! See Ya Soon!
Interview
(c)copyright 2001 Joe Tracy / Digital Media FX
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