James Bennett | Story is key for animators

James shares with the QUT Alumni Team insights into the industry, his personal workflow, and steps for how to deliver on brief even when some clients don’t necessarily know what they need.

Having worked in the Creative Industries as an animator and storyteller for over two decades, what are some of the emerging trends in animation?

I definitely think that remote-based contracting is a thing now. It’s really opened up the work force and the opportunities for individuals and as well for companies. I think that with the emergence of technology and the confluence of expectation, online delivery, data rates, and so many cloud based pipelines you can now work remotely. People are actually pretty good with it, which is fantastic. Technology is now supporting people’s creativity wherever they are in the world, and it’s wonderful.

What are some of the exciting new technological developments in the industry?

I’m loving what is happening now with Deepfake, AI, ChatGPT and Midjourney, but these platforms don’t do your job for you. They can give you some really good ideas and some elements that you may use, but then, it’s like anything else, it’s a matter of applying experience and the basic fundamentals to your end product.

Animators are increasingly being brought into the entire production process rather than just in post-production. Why do you think that is?

While animation is a craft and you are producing specific kinds of work, it’s all in support of a greater narrative, a greater story. When you understand that, then you’ve got a lot of tools available to you, and you’ll never be out of work. You can step into any part of the production, front, middle or end, and be very versatile.

When animators understand storytelling, composition, cameras and all the rest of it, they can often highlight issues, such as timing issues, very quickly within their smaller teams, which saves production companies a lot of money. So, to me I think that it’s more of an economic decision.

Why do you love storytelling as an animator?

When I’m illustrating, concepting, and animating time flies by. My days are not long enough. My brain is constantly going, because I genuinely love what I’m doing. Animation itself allows people to communicate ideas very effectively, in a genuinely engaging, interesting, and imaginative way. I love that with storytelling there are no limits, and there are no limits with animation. Whatever you can imagine, you can create.

You’ve worked on a slate of movies such as Godzilla, The Hobbit, King Kong and How To Train Your Dragon 2 to name a few. Which movie did you enjoy working on the most, and why?

I loved working on King Kong, it was a really special experience for me. A team of people moved over to New Zealand for the job, and through that I've made a lot of lifetime friends. I also got to work with Christian Rivers, who is just spectacular in the extreme. It was kind of my first real shot at playing with the big boys as well.

Creatively though, when I was working at DreamWorks on How To Drain Your Dragon 2, I was the only previs artist based out of San Francisco. The rest of the team were based out of LA. I got a lot of creative freedom with that and was able to run with entire sequences that were given to me. Dean DeBlois the director was really complementary, supportive, and he knew what he wanted, and was able to communicate it effectively. It's really liberating when you're working with a top professional team, and everyone knows each other’s area of expertise, and no one’s questioning you. And that's why I think Dragons was just really so special, because I got a handful of notes, and was encouraged to run creatively with them. It was just a joy, an absolute joy.

What is your creative process when a director hands you a shot without much direction?

It doesn't matter whether it's a big gig or a small gig, the process should always be the same. It’s the 80-20 rule. If it’s a 5-day job, day one will be spent on planning and set up. I prefer to really understand where I’m going and get all my elements in place first.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m having to drag my feet through mud to do that, but I’m always thankful that I do it like that. I put a lot of energy at the front, but it saves me energy on the back end.

How do you ensure delivered on a clients brief?

First you need to understand what service you’re providing, because if you don’t know what you're providing, then it's really hard to propose a solution. Secondly, you need to that when people come to you they are looking for a specific solution to one of their problems. And then it's a matter of asking pertinent questions, and quite often you have to be okay with asking questions that are a little bit uncomfortable.

With new clients, usually I’ll start with two to three calls, which are exploratory conversations. Once I get that, then I understand where they are going.  I’ll then affirm that what I’ve understood is actually what they’ve asking for. Many times the final proposal is different to what the client has asked for.  Usually this is because the client is asking for something that's similar to something else they’ve seen, but it's not going to solve the problem they have.

I’ll then send them a proposal for a solution, put a spin on it to make it interesting and a little more fun. Generally speaking clients are really happy, and they feel we’ve provided more than what they were expecting. Finally, I’ll let them know how much it costs, and explain the impact that the work will have for their business and many times the impact is increasing the comprehension of their product to their client base.

What is one skill you couldn’t live without and why?

I couldn’t live without my drawing skills. I just love to doodle and I'm constantly drawing and just doodling. If I didn't have pen and paper, I’d be miserable.

The second one would definitely be a sense of humour. I think honestly if you can make light of situations, it doesn’t really matter what happens. And where I’m lucky is that I’m able to translate a lot of that into my drawings, and into my comics and cartoons.

Do you have a question for James? Connect with him on LinkedIn.