animator’s role

Steve Williams may feel he got ‘Gumped’ at Oscar time, but he needn’t worry. His real-life local-boy-makes-good story could rival that of any fictional half-wit.

Williams, currently head of animation at effects behemoth Industrial Light and Magic in l.a. and a 1995 Academy Award nominee for special effects in The Mask, is a graduate of Sheridan College in Oakville, Ont., whose classical animation and computer graphics programs have spawned a large percentage of the uber-animators active in the film business today.

Williams graduated from Sheridan’s classical animation program, and in 1986, went on to join Toronto-based software development concern, Alias Research. He has since been involved with such groundbreaking movies as Jurassic Park, where he was senior animator, Terminator 2, The Abyss and The Hunt for Red October.

Sheridan has garnered a worldwide reputation as a mecca for and source of animation talent, with the likes of Fox Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation, ilm and the Spielberg/ Katzenberg/ Geffen invention, DreamWorks, continually sniffing around its doors for new recruits.

Sheridan graduates currently comprise about 20% of ilm’s staff and can be found in almost every major u.s. and Canadian animation studio or software company.

The college has established its standing by committing itself to staying on top of technology and the demands of the job market.

According to John Barry at Alias, one of Sheridan’s strengths is that it maintains close ties with the industry and provides a solid production twist to its training.

In continuing efforts to evolve with the industry, Sheridan will be offering a new computer animation program option in interactive games, a major growth area in the industry.

The college has partnered with Alias, which, through the Alias Advanced Education Program has made a $1.3 million investment in the program, including 20 Alias PowerAnimator systems, technical support and training. Sheridan also recently acquired 20 Silicon Graphics Indy workstations to be used as core technologies in the program.

The college’s new ‘Artists in Residence’ initiative provides students further access to industry resources and talent. Participants in the program include Warner Bros., Fox, DreamWorks, Graymatter and SoftImage.

At a reception held in his honor earlier this month at Toronto night spot rpm, Williams said of his alma mater: ‘It’s the only place that trains people the way things are done in the industry. You have to make sure animators are trained in how to animate and trained in the digital pencil. Fortunately, Sheridan realizes this and is responsible for training new people.’

And new people, by all accounts, are a precious and scarce commodity. The DreamWorks studio alone is planning to invest $200 million in animation and $75 million in interactive video games over the next five years. And it is estimated the multimedia market as a whole will bring in $3 trillion by the end of the century.

As the industry expands, the demand for Sheridan graduates far outstrips the supply; only a few other institutions, like Cal Arts in California, turn out graduates with the necessary skills.

‘There is a lack of talent in the industry now,’ says Williams. ‘There are a lot more visual effects films coming out now, and animation films that use digital technology.’

Companies, like video game specialist Graymatter, which produce interactive entertainment where computer, video, film and sound technology are brought together, have the potential for tremendous growth but are limited, partially, because of the lack of qualified personnel.

Graymatter president Chris Gray says he can’t find enough people to satisfy the company’s demands. ‘We’re always struggling to find talent,’ says Gray. ‘As a Canadian company, we’ve had to look far and wide for the right people. We’d be twice as big a company if we had access to more experienced people.’

The growing field of endeavor means the role of the accomplished computer animator will likely evolve commensurately.

‘The role is skyrocketing,’ says Williams. ‘More animators like myself are on the forefront of supervising the entire project as opposed to just being the minions down at the bottom level.’

Williams acknowledges the pivotal role and increased creative input he had in the making of The Mask.

‘I basically invented T Rex, the Raptor (animated characters in Jurassic Park) and T-1000 (Terminator 2) but had to just stick my actors in a play.

‘With The Mask, they entrusted me with it.’

With respect to the future and what he looks for in aspiring talent, Williams says a basic skill set is obviously paramount, but equally important is the creative and human element.

‘What I look for when I’m interviewing are some of the stupidest things. I ask, `Do you play hockey?’ `Do you know how to take an engine apart?’ That’s what tells me about the character of someone. I don’t give a damn if they can copy animation styles, but if they’re an interesting person and can inject that life into the image, that’s what I’m looking for. It’s an unforgiving medium.’