Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Cawood.
Michael, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I was born in the UK, I became interested in animated filmmaking when I was 14 and started making animated films in sixth form college (known as high school here). I got my degree in traditional 2D Animation just as Toy Story came out and the industry was moving into 3D CGI. I was lucky enough to be able to make the switch as I’d already been reading up on it for a few years on the side. I spent seven years working in games creating the story sequences, before starting on a many and varied career across the animation industry. I lived in Australia, Texas, New York and finally Los Angeles. Along the way working on Happy Feet, Narnia, various games and commercials. Around a decade into my career, I decided it was time to get back to making indie animated films. I created ‘Devils, Angels & Dating’ with a team of other volunteer artists from around the world. It was very well received, and unusual in its production approach as the first film to be made allowing the public to see everything as it happened. In 2016, I started on another film, The Wrong Rock. Again a collaboration between artists from all over the world. Both films won Best Animated Short at the Burbank Film Festival and numerous other awards. The Wrong Rock will be available to view online at TheWrongRock.com on the 6th of Dec. 2019.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I make animated films and some variations of that. My most recent film, The Wrong Rock, is a tale of Martin the Mushroom who grew up on the wrong rock and wants to get to another rock where he sees other like-minded toadstools bouncing away, all happy. It’s an adventure of the grandest scale for a character so simple and small. It was a creative challenge to tell a story without faces, and limited body language that goes through such a range of emotions. Relying heavily on filmmaking skills, we’re seeing design, layout, colour, tone, lighting, sound and music coming together in a unique experience. Even babies have responded with an “Oh no” at key moments in screenings. The themes of the film showcase how we’re all on the same rock and we should put aside our differences, as there are much bigger things out there we should be channeling our efforts into fighting, instead of each other.
What would you recommend to an artist new to the city, or to art, in terms of meeting and connecting with other artists and creatives?
Podcasts are a great way to both learn about the industry, feel like you’re part of something bigger and find out about people you might want to reach out to.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
Watch my latest film at http://thewrongrock.com from the 6th of December 2019. And please share the film with your friends and family.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://heromation.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heromationstudio
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heromation
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/heromation
- Other: http://michaelcawood.com
Image Credit:
The full film credits will be available from the 6th of December here http://heromation.com/project/the-wrong-rock-insider/
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