Joel Simon

I picked up on two things whilst reading a small interview with Joel, and i picked up on two Q + As.

• What do you do for inspiration:
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• Like everyone else. I watch DVDs (and all the extra features and commentaries), read books, chat to people, surf the net until my eyes hurt, doodle and drink strong coffee.
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I always wonder myself where people get their inspirations from. I can watch tons and tons of videos, look through photographers images and clearly like many things i see but don't feel inspired. Until i lay down in bed, look up at my wall, and an idea will spring to mind. I don't believe that you can only go and look for inspiration, i am a strong believer of inspiration finding you.

• Have you any tips for new comers and beginners:
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• I always advise beginners to try to do a bit of everything, every task in animation, then to discern which aspect of animation is the most appealing... is it writing the story, conceptualizing, or the technical aspect like staging scenes, lighting, or is it pure animation- creating expressions out of models, or modeling.

I bang my head against a wall 50 times a day questioning myself all different types of things like, am i good enough to become a professional? Where does my profession lie? I am 20 why can't i create a masterpiece that will give me a million views on youtube? But i am just at the beginning of my career, infact i haven't even started. So these questions at times may seem important but on a day to day basis it's irrelevant. I am studying film games and animation for a reason, and should believe what i want to do will find it's way when i am ready.

http://www.anim8stopmotion.com/interview.php?id=5 - The rest of the interview.



In 2003 he established Flickerpix Ltd with an aim of producing top-notch character animation for all ages. Joel directed children’s series Buska & Barney for UTV; comedy series On The Air for BBC, numerous animated TV commercials and more shorts like the Bombay-based Horn OK Please (15 international awards to date, IFTA for Best Animation 2007).

In 2008, Flickerpix became part of the Waddell Media Group. The studio has broadened its portfolio by producing animation in a variety of new animation techniques, sometimes combining CG, motion graphics and traditional illustrations. Joel is currently the creative director of Flickerpix.

This mixture of techniques was used on the 15 part BBC series Days Like This, which brought to life ordinary people’s personal testimonies of an extraordinary day in their lives. These two clips below are 2 which i enjoy very much, along with Kris Kelly's Blue Chopper. I didn't realise that Kris was part of the animating team for 'Days Like This' and Joel Directed and produced.