Behind The Pixel: Closing The Animation Communication Gap

Kathryn and Will sit down with the indie animator, writer, and teacher Alex Salsberg to discuss how he works with his clients to achieve a successful animation project and gives his best advice to anyone looking to create animated content. Alex always inspires us to build a community around creativity; we think you’ll also love this conversation.

In this short Hack episode, Will gives away tips to think about script structure for animation. Generally, you may know what you want to say; you just have to put it in the right format for the creative to give you their input. Check it out!

In this episode, Will and Kathryn review all of your options for outsourcing animated content. They explore DIY Options, Gig Economy Platforms, Freelancers, Studios, and Agencies, give their takes on the Pros and Cons of each option, and share their love of cooking shows. 

Open Pixel co-founders Will and Kathryn talk shop with Traci Wolfe, the Senior Director of the Amherst Fund at Amherst College. They discuss how Amherst utilizes the medium of animation to communicate with students and alumni across classes and across the world. They also examine the realities of the medium of animation within higher education.

For this Hack, Will describes a way to think differently about the brand motion when you’re re-doing old videos on your website or need to update those brand guidelines. How does your brand move?

For our first Hack, Kathryn describes a way to utilize Scratch Tracks and temp audio for your productions. 

A/B Testing? Rendered? Animarketing? Okay, we made that last one up.

Often the language of animation can be confusing. Will and Kathryn break down which terms are essential to remove the barrier to entry when working directly with a creative studio so we can communicate effectively as we move through the animation workflow. We acknowledge the terminology we all use is handed down through education and experience, and oftentimes it’s never fully consistent across either industry.

Get to know Will Colón! Listen in as he talks with a group of students mentally preparing to enter the creative economy. In this special bonus episode, Will chats with Jeremy Brown, a Senior Instructor and Program Director of the Digital Animation Center at the University of Colorado Denver. Jeremy is a professional VFX Artist with over ten years of experience as a digital compositor and 3D artist on numerous feature films and nationally televised commercials. He's also worked with Will. This conversation left us with a lasting impression of Will, his background, and some history on Open Pixel.

In this episode, Kathryn and Will review what you should expect in a typical animation production workflow, and offer advice on what kind of feedback should be given at each stage/step/review, and when to expand your imagination, all without skipping over some great jokes.

Will and Kathryn explore when it’s beneficial and when it’s detrimental to utilize animated content in your marketing strategy. We’ll provide examples of appropriate and inappropriate scenarios and why sometimes not using animation is the right choice (which we know sounds crazy coming from a group of animators who always want to use animation.)

In this episode, Will and Kathryn discuss options you might want to consider if you're looking to dip your toes into using the medium of animation for your business communication efforts. They'll also talk about how creatives can approach better naming their products. Also, listen to Will's singing voice and stick around to learn about another Bad Idea.

In this episode, you'll be introduced to Will and Kathryn, the co-founders of Open Pixel Studios. We’ll briefly examine the knowledge gap between the people who buy animated content and those who make it and hopefully gain a little understanding of each other’s perspectives as we start to "mind the gap." Also, discover Kathryn's opinions on Michael Bay's next project and stick around to learn about our internal Bad Ideas.