I was very lucky to be able to attend a screening of Guillermo Del Toro’s new stop motion animation, Pinocchio, and hear from the directors afterwards. It was extremely inspirational to listen to their advice and insights, particularly Guillermo, who I consider to be one of the best directors of all time. It was really interesting to learn that he had originally pitched the project over ten years ago and had a difficult time getting into production, and has many projects that get rejected or pushed back. This made me realise that even the most successful directors have to work extremely hard to get their work out there, and at the end of the day he is just an artist trying to make a living like everyone else. His advice was to have patience and never stop trying no matter how many setbacks you have. He spoke about how his films are always connected to his childhood, his belief being that telling your own story and truths lead to the best creations. This was very affirming for me, coming at a time when I’m developing a project that is very much based on my own experiences.
I found this evening very motivational and inspiring, seeing the amazing work that had gone into the film and learning about the production process. It made me think into the future as this is the sort of production I would really love to work on. I can definitely see myself working as an animator or model-maker on feature films, bringing characters to life in unique and intricate ways. I have only worked on very small scale projects and I would love to experience being part of a bigger picture and having a singular aspect of production to focus on.
The event was put on by London ACM Siggraph, a nonprofit organisation that host events for the computer graphics community in London. I would definitely like to attend more of these events and network with other artists, it would be a good way of getting to know more people in the industry as I come out of the comfort of studying.