long time no hear (lot of work and vacation),
but I am back again with Keith Sintay, who worked on
movies like Tarzan, Mulan, Pocahontas, I Am Legend,
The Amazing Spiderman, Transformers and much more.
Enjoy!
Keith Sintay - keithsintay.com
Senior Animator at Scanline VFX
Mentor at Animation Mentor
In General:
Sin: What's your name?
KS: Keith Sintay
Sin: How are
you?
KS: I'm
good. A little tired because it is late here... 2am. I need to go to
bed soon. I just finished critiquing some students' work.
Sin: What's the time?
KS: 2am
Sin: Where are you right now?
KS: I'm in my home office- surrounded by a lot of cool toys. I have a full size R2D2 and C3PO from Star Wars.
Sin: How's the weather?
KS: Southern California has beautiful weather. It's mid 70's f.
Job:
Sin: What is your current
job, and which company are you working for?
KS: I
am a Senior animator at Scanline VFX. I have been a professional
animator for 18 years. I have worked at Disney, Dreamworks, Sony
Imageworks and Digital Domain on many feature films.
Sin: Did you learn
and fight hard for your job, or did your love and fascination bring
you to your job?
KS: Both.
But fighting and being the best I could be was very important. I never
gave up; even when everyone who could draw was applying and trying to
get into Disney. I am talking about thousands of applicants per month
back then. When I was young, I fell in love with the look of moving
drawings; pencils tests were magical to me.
Animation:
Sin: Why do you animate?
KS: Because
I love to create the illusion of life out of static, non moving
drawings and models. I like to be able to act through the characters I
animate and have them behave and move like I want them to. Like real,
breathing believable entities.
Sin: Did you like the art
classes back in school, were you good at it?
KS: I
was always good at drawing. I could draw better than my friends
growing up, and was fortunate to have been born with this ability. I
liked art classes, and when I was in grade school drew all the time- I
made animation flip books etc. But when I was in High School, I didn't
draw very much or take many art classes. It wasn't until my second year
in College (I was studying International Business of all things!) that I
started drawing again and remembered my love and passion for
animation. After that realization, I went full guns to become the best I
could.
You have to remember that Pixar, Dreamworks and all of the video game
companies that require nice animation didn't even exist then. The only
place creating real quality animation was Disney. Occasionally Fox or
Warners (and Bluth) would put something out, but really there was only
one place making animated movies; Disney. There were commercial houses,
but for films it had to be Disney. So I drew and drew and drew to
become good enough to be hired at Disney.
Sin: Do you sketch/ draw a lot?
KS: I
used to draw for a living every day- but since I animate on the
computer now, I don't draw as much, but I still draw for fun or when I
am designing a character or doing freelance illustration. I still like
to get out to the zoo or the mall and draw the people and animals around
me when I can.
Sin: If you had the
choice for the next 3 big animated movies, would they be drawn or CG?
KS: For
me, and most animators would agree, the story must come first. The
medium doesn't matter so much. It could be puppets like Nightmare
before Christmas, or CG Robots in love or beautiful hand drawn
animation. I would like to work on a traditionally drawn film again- for
sure! They both, CG and traditional, have their pros and cons. There is
no undo on a drawing that you just erased! And you have to draw EVERY
inbetween... and if the director decides the character should have a
different hair style or different clothing on things you have already
animated, you have to REDRAW every drawing. You can't just re-reference
the model as in CG. However, in CG
getting smooth flowing lines of action and poses might take 2 minutes
if you drew it, but could take HOURS on the computer....
Sin: You have a big
opportunity for the next movie: 1) leading animator/ director or 2)
you get in front of the camera as the main actor. What would you
choose? And why?
KS: Leading animator/director. Because I like to animate; I have much
better control over a pencil or mouse than I do over my own facial
expressions or mannerisms!
Sin: What is your first advice
for beginners/ students?
KS: Learn
the principles of animation COLD. Look them up- written down by Frank
Thomas and Ollie Johnston. Study real life before you try to caricature
it in a static drawing or in movement. Take
acting and improv classes. Learn to draw. Study anatomy. Do these
things even if you are aiming to only animate on the computer. All the
best CG animators know the principles and can sketch out a line of
action pose that is believable even though exaggerated.
Sin: What is your advice for
pros?
KS: Same as the above!!
Sin: Do your friends/
parents/ etc. know what you are doing at work? What do they think
about it, what are their comments on your work and which feedback do
you get from them? How important is feedback from non-pros for your
work?
KS: My
wife loves going to movie premieres and seeing my name in the credit
list at the end of a movie. My mom and dad are very proud and are always
telling their friends what I am up to. I think my mother in law is one
of the most proud. That is awesome.
Sin: What is your favourite program/ application/ tool?
KS: For
CG, definitely Maya! I use 3D Max at work if I have to, but it is not
at all friendly to animators- maybe Modelers, riggers and other folks,
but definitely not animators. Animating in Max is like tying your shoes
with chopsticks. For traditional animation, nothing beats Digicel Inc
for pencil testing etc.
Sin: Best animated
movie/ short/ best life-action movie/
short:
KS: Off
the top of my head, I can't recall a live action short. I like a lot of
animated shorts including one called Zero... look it up on Vimeo.
Sin: Do you like today's animated movies more or do you prefer the old-school stuff?
KS: For
the most part I prefer movies like Peter Pan, The Rescuers, Bambi and
the little mermaid. But Tangled blew me away!! I also like Monster's Inc
and Wall-e.
Sin: Do you hear music while
you're animating?
KS: If
I have a shot due in the next couple of hours, I crank loud, heavy
metal music that becomes white noise. On a daily basis I listen to talk
radio mostly!
Sin: What was your favourite
project/ movie/ game you worked on?
KS: Spirit Stallion of the Cimmeron was a great experience. I liked working on Open Season and more recently, The Amazing Spiderman.
Sin: If your life would be made
a film, what would be the title and who should be the actor?
KS: Hm. I would like to be played by Edward Norton or Matt Damon. The title would be The Bourne Animator.
Sin: Where will be animation in
50 years?
KS: Maybe
people will interact with animation- like video games. They will create
their own stories or act them out via systems like Kinect. Traditional
animated movies will be a rare treat. Unfortunately.
End
Sin: What's the time now?
KS: I answered this in two sittings. It's actually a couple of weeks later than when I started.
Sin: Any question(s)
you want to ask me?
KS: Yes!
Please let me know, are you male or female? Are you an aspiring
animator? Are you currently taking animation courses? What is your
favorite movie- animated and otherwise. Sin: Male, graduated from Animation Mentor 1 year ago and working as an Animator at Digital Light Factory, Austria - Europe.
Right now my favorite animated move: The Sword in the Sone (and many more)
and Children of Men, Lord of the Rings, Persona, but I also like stuff like Fightclub, etc.
Thanks a lot!
Keith Sintay Animation Showreel from Keith Sintay on Vimeo.
