Stuart Tolley Art Director at TRANSMISSION

Stuart Tolley is the the Art Director and Graphic Designer at TRANSMISSION, the new face for cool – dynamic visually – juicy and colourful Graphic Design of the moment. Stuarts direct connection to Renderyard is the visually crafted designed of the fresh and colourful logo and idents that will be representing this year’s Renderyard’s Short Film Festival 2009.

Render - I saw your design work 50 Things We Love that you created for the new youth culture magazine Disappear Here. How did you get involved in this project and what was your main inspiration for this great logo? I love that yellow.

Stuart – Disappear Here is a very interesting ongoing project. I was asked to art direct the magazine after an initial meeting with the editor, who wanted to build on a concept that was born out of an MTV show. He had seen my typographic work and designs for independent magazines such as the cult style title Sleazenation and wanted a similar playful approach for Disappear Here. The 50 Things cover was for our pilot issue and released at the end of 2008. I wanted something bright, bold and graphic to make a statement and commissioned Alex Trochut (www.alextrochut.com) to create a piece of bespoke typographic design. The magazine is free so we were able to break the tradition of an over reliance on coverlines, favored by mainstream newsstand titles. Instead we used Alex’s beautiful design as the main focus. The yellow is my favourite colour and as the magazine was released in Winter, it would brighten up the grey London days. (www.disappearheremag.com)

Render – The cover designs and illustrations that you design for books and magazines are visually very fresh and give to each of the covers a unique identity. What styles in graphic design and illustration have been your main influence?

Stuart – I have always been interested in the development of subcultures and the music, design and fashion that surround it. The colours and aesthetic of Punk and late 1960’s Psychedelia were definitely an influence while I was studying. The Milton Gaser poster for Bob Dylan really stands out, as does Jamie Reid’s artwork for the Sex Pistols. I like a lot of contemporary design for music, especially interesting packaging techniques. The Non-Format screen-printed designs for Loaf Records are brilliant.

Render – The poster design for the children’s charity event React and Ebay.co.uk/Charity had close collaborations with Vivienne Westwood, Zara Wood and others. What kind of events and organisations would you like to collaborate with through your designs?

Stuart – I was very lucky with the React poster. Zara Wood (www.zarawood.com) is a close friend and suggested I donate some of my screen-printed type posters to the auction. I did, but also asked about designing a poster to advertise the event. Luckily they agreed and I created a customized piece of typographic design, which was screen-printed onto metallic gold card and displayed during London Fashion Week. It was a great project and I am really keen to do more work with music or art events. Something like art directing the visual approach for Sonar in Barcelona or One Dot Zero in London would be amazing.

Render – In the typography design for The Show Below Exhibition you got inspired by the film Coming to America by Eddie Murphy. Do you find in films an important source of inspiration?

Stuart – I use the Show Below exhibition (showbelow.co.uk) as an opportunity to experiment with typography, so films often provide the words to play with. I recently saw Coming to America and forgot how funny it was. There are so many classic lines. So for a bit of fun I decided to base the whole exhibition on it.

Render – We are very glad that you approached Renderyard to work with us. What attracted you to do some design and audiovisual work for an international film festival like Renderyard?

Stuart – I work closely with Lynn at the studio, helping me find new business and contacts. I briefed her to contact interesting festivals that work with film, animation and music. Renderyard really appealed to us because it is independent and promotes experimental film. This is my first audiovisual project, so I was very happy for the opportunity. The visuals work as a stop frame animation, with each frame consisting of abstract photography, which was collaged in Photoshop. To make it move I collaborated with Uli Stein (www.ready2use.net) who edited my artwork in Final Cut Pro. I am really happy with the way it turned out and it has opened up my eyes to a new way of working. I will definitely seek more animation work in the future.

http://www.thisistransmission.com/
http://www.thisistransmission.com/shop

Nato Bombed My Family Free Internet Screening

Canadian filmmaker Dana Jurcic is horrified when Canada participates in the bombing of Serbia home of aunt Milica. When it is safe she and her mother travel to Croatia for a reunion with Milica at aunt Nanika's house. Dana learns that her family is strong enough to withstand the war. This film is FREE to watch from the 3-6th September on Renderyard. click here

ANIMATION WINNER – ‘Hey’ by Guy Ben Shetrit

Who is Guy Ben Shetrit? And what makes ‘Hey’ a remarkable 3D Animation Music Video? Guy is this year’s winner of the Animation category at the Babelgum Online Film Festival and Renderyard spoke to him to find out more about his background as an animator, story teller and musician and his debut with ‘Hey’ as a creative director.

Render – Before you worked as an Animator you were very involved in the creation of several music projects – such as Eatliz and Infectzia -, how did you came about with the idea of making ‘Hey’ where you are able to combine both music and animation?

Guy - I worked in the animated features and TV series industry for 13 years and all these years I was surrounded by extra talented animators. I knew that I day I'll gather them to make our own personal project, that won't be a commercial or client product. I wanted to take all this talent and go wild, with no deadline over our head. All along I wanted to combine my experience with what I learned from storytelling with the musical aspect. Since I'm also a musician and composer I wanted to merge these two fields to one creation.

Render – You have been working as an Animator for the last thirteen years doing commercials, TV programmes and computer games, however, ‘Hey’ is your first debut as a creative director. How did you approach animation differently within the creative process of ‘Hey’?

Guy - As an animator I have been involved in the different stages of the animation process giving input and remarks to the staff. Always ensuring that the quality outcome delivered to the animator was as its best. Whether this was 3D modelling, the Rig or the Skin.

In Hey, the difference was that the final and decisive person who came up with the creative and technical decitions was myself, along with being the screenwriter and director.

Render – In regards to music, ‘Hey’ is a song written buy you and taken from Eatliz debut album, –also one of your music projects -. What was your inspiration to create the visuals for the song?

Guy - When I worked in Crew 972 Animation Studio, they encouraged us to create a lot. During one of the breaks between the productions, a group of animators started producing a short film. One of the animators was Eitan Weinshtock, one of Hey’s art directors (alongside Sherban). This initiative made it to the further story board, but stopped there.

A year later, I decided to make an animation music video for Eatliz, a complicated art-pop group I founded and for whom I am the main composer. It reminded me of this unfinished initiative. At first, I had the idea of taking this idea and bend it to the sake of a music video, but soon after I realized that this was artificial. So, I decided to adapt the idea of the lead character to a little girl.

Eitan Weinshtock was keen by the idea of making a music video and started to scribble the girl's character from the beginning. He also saw "Flushed Away" animation feature film back in the day, and really loved the crazy toad character. One day, I got to work and found Eitan's Sketch book wide open on his table and I saw the sketches of a little girl climbing on the back of a toad, two heads bigger than her. Right then, I had all the characters in my mind. I listened to the song "Hey" and ideas evolved very rapidly; all the metaphors, scenes and the scenarios to Hey’s music video were vividly in my head for two months endlessly.

Render – In the creation of ‘Hey’ you were involved as a Layout artist, creative director and musician together with a considerable casting. How was the experience of being so creatively involved in the project and with the cast?

Guy – It felt really natural since as an animator I always worked in all this aeas, until I was able to do only animation or supervising animation. I am used to haivng to supervise all the stages of the proces, so for me it's was quiet natural not having to wait for the green light and being able to push the project forward.

At the end of the day, HEY was my personal project and I had a very restricted budget I was lucky to afford. Thus, any assistance from my side was a bless to the rest of the crew. No doubt that this way of working allowed me to be more involved and monitor all the process; I was able to prevent future obstacles, in those crucial parts where if you did an mistake, it would take a lot of effort to go back and rectify it.

Render – In your commercial work as an animator you have also collaborated with director Yuval Nathan in the creation of projects such as Her Morning Elegance. How have these projects helpped to develop your skills as an animator?

Guy – I feel that every project pushes you further. In essence, animation takes lots of practice. Besides creativity, ideas and passion, one should always be practicing animation and animating on a daily basis, whether this is the "Bouncing Ball" or the "Walk Cycle".

Yuval and I exchange ideas, teach and lean from the other, we have a good chemistry to work together. Yuval has a very creative mind I push and make sure that the work gets done on time, which gives us the confidence to trust each other. I completely trust him at the level of the final outcome; I’ve got the eye of a trained animator and focus more on the details, if Yuval misses something, I get it, and vice versa. So it's fun and reassuring to work in this kind of collaboration.

Of course that experience with Stop Motion sharpens the animation principles, but from a different angle. The principles are basically the same and you always implement them whether it's 2D, 3D or stop motion. It works the same way.

Render - Render - In 2008 you won the MTV international art break contest and this year you just won the Animation Category at Babelgum Film Festival, what future plans have you got working with music and animation?

Guy - Right now I'm working on an animation music video for "Food Fighters", a new song for my band Eatliz which will be released on our new E.P "Delicately Violent" soon. As I mentioned before, I'm thinking of taking it to a less frantic place. This music video will not be in 3D but a stop motion animation.

My need to change the technique is influenced by my work with my fellow animator and director Yuval Nathan, who directed the stop motion music video for "Her Morning Elegance", which I helped him to animate. Yuval also directed Eatliz debut animation music video for our song "Attractive".

Render – Your music is humorous with clever lyrics and a unique blend of different styles, something that is cleverly reflected in Hey’s ever changing sci-fi fantasy journey of the little girl and her special pet friend. Where are your influences coming from in this search of fantasy and joy?

Guy - Maybe it's my way to fill boring spaces of daily life. My way to satisfy the need of a richer, imaginative and more naive world. It fits together with the things I loved as a child,. This is my refusal to turn off the switch of everything that is so beautiful about human kinds, a refuse to grow up and to keep playing with magic, dragons and imagination.

Everything a matured kid chooses to leave behind as far as rich imagination is concerned. My inspiration comes from artists who think this way; I love the work of Hayao Miyazaki, particularly the film ’Spirited Away’, which inspired me on the atmosphere when working on "Hey". I love the fantastic wild free spirit surrealism in the Japanese animation and in Miyazaki's work in particular. I admire the work of Bill Plimpton and Michel Gondry, especially the way he is dealing with his famous one shots.

Render – Eatliz’s first album titled ‘Violently Delicate’ was released in Israel in November 2007 and last year the album was distributed in Germany and Austria. You and the band members describe your own music as ‘Complicated Pop’ due to the mixture of styles. How many different music styles does ‘Eatliz’ combines?

Guy - Musicians nowadays know that versatility is common, at least from our perspective. It's vital if you want to keep track with the world. The world offers such a wide range and Eatliz is part of it. Personally, I can't love certain music genre without feeling that I'm missing something. My tendency to get bored real fast makes me listen to lots of genres and sub-genres and follow music development. I can't get excited for more than a specific time period, whether if it's a music artist or a genre.

Relevant links:

‘Hey’ official website: http://www.eatliz.com
Eatliz Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/eatliz
Eatliz lable Anova Music: http://www.anovamusic.com