Interview with Yoav Binyamini
Via Vancouver Animation

What was it like to work on Happy Feet?

"Happy feet' was a great experience. We had the most diverse and international crew assembled in Sidney.

The supervisor and Animation directors were type of professionals you dream of working with and the day to day work with a director of George Miller's caliber is aspiring. The work was very detailed and meticulous, but at the end it was also a great learning experience.

What was your reaction when it won an Oscar?

I actually had goosebumps when I saw George Miller with a tuxedo (the most casual guy) walk up and receive the Oscar. He was the one who always compared our work to building a cathedral - only when you see the finished project you can really appreciate the sometimes tiny details that make up the daily work of each 'worker'.

What has been the highlight of your animation career?

I would probably have to say 'Happy Feet', both personally and professionally. You don't see your director holding an Oscar every day...

What was your big break into the industry?

I actually had two breaks. The first was in 2000 in Israel with a small company in Israel. I was supposed to get on the job training for both Maya and Softimage and they were supposed to get a big contract with Dreamworks (on Ants 2 - which never happened). Unfortunately that bubble bursted (along with the dot.com bubble). Second time was in Mainframe where I finally got to work in the real world.

How does the Canadian animation industry treats you?

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the industry.The upside is of course working on great projects and getting to just animate with great people (and actually getting paid for it). The downside is the need to always have an updated resume and demo reel.

Is there anything you would like to add?

As a character animator you always have the dilemma of either specializing in you own niche such as facial animation and lipsync, realistic animation, cartoon, action, acting etc. or expanding your skills to rigging, lighting or modeling. Being a jack of all trades will probably get you more jobs in VFX studios and other small studios. But if you are a character animator at heart and just love animating, the choice is easy to make. Ultimately it's the people you work with and the everyday work that makes a project more fun to work on.


Artist Bio:

In 1997 a friend introduced me to Strata 3D (on a Mac) and Poser. After that came 3D Studio Max 2 on an MMX 256, with long hours and plenty of coffee. At the time I was working in a small multimedia company in Israel. Most of my 3D education at the time was self taught. In 2001 I went to VFS for more in depth studies. Since then I have worked in animation for an Oscar winning feature, TV, Direct to DVDs and Visual Effects, as well as over two years of teaching 3D animation at VFS.


Links

Yoav Binyamini's website

Interview by Mario Pochat / Vancouver Animation