A Conversation with Stephen Watkins
Stephen Watkins is an ambitious, up-and-coming motion graphic artist from Down Under with an inventive finesse and a knack for creating organic action. His homebrew style commingles with tried-and-true methods like stop motion. Photographed and scanned textures fuse with video to an inventive, whimsical result.
Stephen has recently released a fantastic new demo reel for 2007 and is garnering some heavyweight attention. He is moving across the planet to San Francisco to work at Gunshop, a prominent boutique design company that creates bang-up motion graphics for top drawer clients.
I have a feeling that you'll be seeing Stephen's work for years to come and that other artists will be emulating his look! Visit Stephen's website.
Chat transcripts
Michele Yamazaki: Hi Stephen.
Stephen Watkins: Hi.
MY: I showed my After Effects students your Float video a year or so ago and they all loved it.
MY: Can you tell me a bit about how you conceived it?
SW: The backspace podcast was originally created as part of my 4th year honours research project at RMIT University here in Melbourne and Float was the 1st episode.
I really wanted to create something that was different and would push my boundaries as a filmmaker. I have a great love for typography and the city so the idea just stemmed from there.
MY: It really is stunning. Can you talk a bit about your animating technique?
SW: When I created Float, I only really knew how to use After Effects so that was program I used to make Float. Thinking back now, I think I did a few things the hard way. There were a lot of layers and a lot of tracking.
MY: I was thinking that it looks like it was shot handheld and tracked. That must have taken hours.
SW: Yeah, I really wanted to shoot the footage handheld because I thought it would give the film more authenticity. I think if the shots were steady it might have started to make the film look stale.
MY: It definitely looks fresh! You did not use any 3D programs?
SW: Not for Float, no. I am now getting my head around Maya and Cinema 4D, which is quite fun
MY: My students were brainstorming on how you were able to achieve such depth with just After Effects. It truly shows what a strong tool After Effects is...
MY: ... in the right hands, of course ;-)
SW: I have had a lot of people say the same thing about After Effects. When I started using After Effects, I had the mind-frame that there were no limitations as to what it could create. I think it's actually quite a powerful program.
MY: Oh, it is! I'm an AE evangelist.
SW: It's nice to meet a fellow one.
MY: He he. The word "Float" at the end is composed of so many letters. Did you use a particle generator?
SW: No, it sounds crazy but the letters were animated in chunks on separate layers and I animated a few chunks by hand and then just duplicated to movements through to the rest. I tried using a particle generator but without much luck.
MY: That makes perfect sense, actually. It really feels so organic.
MY: I also wanted to ask you about your Unfold video.
MY: Is that all stop motion animation?
SW: The stuff on the walls in Unfold was all stop motion which I filmed on a blue screen and then placed it onto the footage after that.
MY: How do you go about planning such an elaborate project? Do you plan much or work mainly on the fly?
SW: For Float and Unfold I did have a rough idea of what I wanted but I find that I like to work on the fly. By doing the film like that, it has room to evolve and change as it is being created.
MY: It looks like a great deal of experimentation.
SW: Most of the projects I start, I have no idea of how I am going to do it. So there was a lot experimentation involved.
MY: How long did the process take to complete videos like Unfold and Float? I read that you did them as a student.
SW: Float was created over a period of 3 months just working on it whenever I had time. Unfold, however, was only created in 2 weeks as I had to have it finished for assessment.
MY: Wow. I guess that means that I can push my students a bit harder. ;-)
MY: What were some of the challenges you faced working on those two Backspace projects?
SW: I was nervous starting the project because I hadn't ever really received any training or lessons in after effects or filmmaking. My course was more of a graphic design course but I decided early last year that I wanted to focus on motion graphics.
MY: What made you want to get into motion graphics.
SW: I used to love creating movies with cousin when I was a kid which was a great deal of fun. I guess it evolved from that into where I am today. I have always seen motion graphics as more of a hobby rather than work. It means I'm getting paid to do what I love, which is fantastic.
MY: So true.
MY: Where do you get your inspiration?
SW: I get my inspiration mainly from my surroundings. I love walking around and taking photos of textures and great pieces of typography. I really like stuff that is not too clean cut and polished. I think that is why many of my videos have that organic hand made feel to them.
MY: I was watching the videos on your website over and over before I contacted you and I'm really enamored with the organic movements and textures in your work.
MY: The Triple J TVC piece is beautiful.
SW: Thank you.
MY: Did you create the piece with paper cutouts or is it all computer generated?
SW: The elements were cut out and then scanned in. I then used After Effects to do the animation.
MY: It's very elegant. How did you fair with the contest?
SW: Unfortunately, I didn't win, but I ended with a video which I am really proud of and it is one of my favourites.
MY: Do you have a new episode of Backspace planned?
SW: Backspace is hold for the moment until is settle into my new job at Gunshop. I'm thinking of creating an episode in San Francisco.
MY: Excellent. You're moving to San Francisco to work at Gunshop, eh?
SW: Yeah, I leave for San Francisco this Friday which is very exciting. It will be my first visit to states as well.
MY: Congratulations on the job.
MY: How did you hook up with Gunshop?
SW: They pretty much just contacted me out of the blue a few months ago and after doing a bit of freelance work for them they offered me a job.
MY: That's great! Good luck to you on your new endeavors.
MY: Thank you very much for chatting with me today.
SW: Thanks very much, it was a pleasure.