Victor Navone. Need I say more? I mean, everybody knows this guy or at least his trademark work. Even your neighbor's grandmother has seen it, unless she has been living under a rock.

I remember when he posted Alien Song to the List for some feedback. I wonder if he knew the moment he hit "send", his life had changed far more dramatically than if he had dressed himself in a mariachi suit and shot himself out of a cannon to deliver a singing telegram to the Statue of Liberty as she boogied along to the tune.

Ah, sorry for the rampage. I digress.

I casually downloaded the Alien Song animation in the background along with everyone else who was logged on at the moment, not really giving it any special thought. I very nearly pee'd myself when I saw it. I immediately wrote back and proposed marriage. He considered it, but declined; his bloody wife Candy had beat me to the punch. However, he has tolerated my occasional surfacing ever since, and I've watched him go from the game artist in New Jersey to the globe trotting celebrity who now works at the cream of companies, Pixar, all in a matter of a few years.

He annoys me to no end. Gads, I wish I was him!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Well, I would prefer not to grow up. I've been fighting it pretty well for 32 years so I'm hoping I can skip it completely (having kids might derail this scheme, however). I've been a “professional” in the realm of 3D graphics and animation for about 8 years now but I still feel like a student. I live in constant fear that my peers and superiors will discover that I've been winging it all this time, and this is exhilarating. I hope I never lose this sense of inadequacy that drives me to learn more. As soon as I feel like I know what I'm doing then I’ll probably get bored!

Describe one experience in your childhood that has made you what you are today.

I learned quickly that people enjoy lies. The true stories I told people about my childhood were never as well received as the ones I embellished and revised. Perhaps some of this lies in the fact that I had a “traumatic” childhood, but in either case I learned the value of story. The same applies to art. When I was in first grade I traced some images from a Star Wars comic book and tried to pass them off as my own. The other children were all suitably impressed, despite the fact that the drawing were obviously on tracing paper. They were happier believing that I had actually done the drawings. It made their little lives (and mine) more interesting.  They say that poets are liars and artists are thieves; I think I've taken this a bit literally.

If you could add your own characters to the world as we know it, what characters would you add, and why?

Some sort of karmic enablers. Tiny purple people, perhaps, who run around naked, exacting comic justice on stupid and inconsiderate people, and are impervious to violence. I feel that the great injustices in this world stem from the tiny ones, so perhaps these guys could nip some major atrocities in the bud. They would keep us on our toes and remind us to laugh, among other things.

What color would you paint the sky?

I'm sorry, but this question sucks! The sky is already every color (depending on the hour and the weather), so why limit it to one arbitrary color? Questions like this are what's wrong with the world today! You're lucky the purple karma imps aren't on the job!

Hmmmm. OK. Give a brief overview of what you do

I make fish talk. Or at least that's what I've been doing for the past year. Now I'm making superheroes do super things!

Where does your job fit into the production pipeline?

Somewhere in the middle. We come after story and layout, but before lighting and rendering.  The models should be done when we start animating them, but sometimes they're “works in progress”.

How long have you worked in the field?

I've been doing character animation at Pixar for 3 years now. I've been involved with CG (games, vis fx) since 1995.

What software or equipment do you use?

Pixar has its own proprietary animation software called “menv” (men-vee). It runs on Linux machines. At home I have a Mac and PC. I run mostly Photoshop, After Effects, Animation Master and a little Cinema 4D.

What have been your projects to date?

At Pixar I've worked on Monster's Inc., Finding Nemo, Mike's New Car, assorted promotional pieces, and 4 short projects that have been shelved and I'm not at liberty to discuss (ouch).  Before Pixar I did some vfx on Titan AE, and I worked on some video games for Presto Studios including two of the Journeyman Project games.

What was your favorite project so far?

All of the Pixar short projects have been pretty fun, but I think Monsters, Inc. is still my fav because it was my first Pixar feature and I learned so damn much. I think The Incredibles will be my new favorite, though, because it's such a cool movie and Brad Bird's really going to kick our asses to make the animation tight.

What are your perfect working conditions?

Pretty colored lights turned low, thumping trance beats, a cool Tejava iced tea and a big chocolate chip cookie. I suppose a fluffer would be nice too, if I can get one.

What size team do you prefer, and what sort of location?

I prefer smaller teams where you can really get to know everyone and have more influence in different areas of production. This is one of the things that makes working in Shorts fun.

Do you prefer to work on one step in the pipeline or would you rather be involved with handling one sequence from start to finish?

That's a bit out of the question for me, considering how the labor is divided at Pixar. I do like being able to multi-task, though. I've done a little character rigging and story work at Pixar, and I enjoyed the variety. I don't think I would want to attempt to use their lighting and rendering tools. They intimidate me.

Is there a list of people you would like to work with again?

There are so many great people at Pixar it's hard to choose. There are still people I haven't worked with yet, like John Lasseter and Jan Pinkava. I want to work with them all before I decide.

What are some of your favorite movies?

Doctor Strangelove, Spirited Away, Brazil, Rushmore, Pulp Fiction, Fight Club, Jaws, Mary Poppins, Silence of the Lambs.

What scene would you have loved to work on, and what would you have done with the scene?

I would love to have worked on any of the Kronk scenes in Emperor's New Groove, though I don't know that I could have done anything better than what's already there.

What project or scene would you love to work on- your dream project?  The one you've always seen run through your head that plays so perfectly every time?

The Incredibles is sort of my dream project right now, which is convenient since I'm working on it. It's such a cool story with great characters, lots of action, and it's directed by Brad Bird, who is my hero after seeing Iron Giant. I'm also really excited to be working on my own short film “Big Bang”, though it's going frustratingly slow.

Are there any challenges you would particularly like to take on?

I'm hoping for some opportunities to do some subtle human acting, This will be a real challenge. I still feel like I have some much to learn in animation.

If you could step into another crew members shoes for one day, whose shoes would you be wearing?

I suppose it would have to be a director, such as Brad Bird. It must be thrilling and terrifying to have this whole production swirling around you – all that money just for your vision. What a rush.

What would you like to do next?

I'm not sure. I’ll probably be a bit burned out on animation after Incredibles, so maybe I’ll see if they'll let me into story. Drawing would be good for me. I think I could use some time off.

Do you have any new in the pipeline you would like to talk about?

Just Big Bang. I've been excited about it since I got the idea back in 2001. I can't wait to have it done so I can think about other things on my spare time. I'm still in the modeling stage and I'm being so methodical and picky that who knows when I’ll get into animation. That will probably be the least exciting part for me, since I do that at work. Anyway, it's 6 minutes long and when it's done I'm going to be entering it in film festivals and such.

Where would you like to see entertainment in 10 or 20 years?

I hope 2D animation is alive and well. I hope the cinema still exists. I hope I can work from home, at least some of the time.

Do you have a list of people you would like to thank or give credit to?

Candy, my supportive wife
Phil Saunders, for seeing potential in me and hiring me at Presto Studios
Presto Studios for giving me 5 great years of fun and experience
Hash, Inc. for making great animation software.
Ed Catmull (president of Pixar) for recruiting me
Everyone who ever like Alien Song

How was your experience working on Monsters Inc.?

Really great. Pete Docter is the nicest guy to work for and I learned a great deal about animation.

What is your favorite thing about the Pixar culture?

Animators are really a spoiled bunch. They pretty much run the show at Pixar and are allowed to do as the please. If I wasn't one of them I’d hate them.

What differences did you find in the work environment? Pipeline? Style of problem solving?

It's a lot more compartmentalized than I was used to, and I don't necessarily like that. It's worked for them up to this point, but I think they're having to rethink a lot of their approaches to get things done quick and dirty.

Would you care to tell any anecdotes about your experiences?

I once scolded Brad Bird for putting a half-eaten donut back in the box. He was new at Pixar and didn't know who I was so I thought I’d haze him a bit. I hope he doesn't remember now that I'm on his show.

Animators at Pixar play as hard as they work.  We have a custom built bar in the heart of our department called the “Knife and Fiddle” and it’s often the site of live music and celebrations on Fridays.  One particular Friday we were having a going-away party for a couple of “old-timers” and the usual jack-assery took the form of an arm-wrestling tournament.  A couple of our youngest animators, Travis and Cameron, were thrown into the ring amidst drunken cheers and the power chords of Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger”.  As the contestants struggled against each other a great wet “snap” was heard and Travis went down.  The crowd fell silent, and those standing nearby saw Travis’ arm bent into and unnatural shape.  Minutes later after a call to 911 and the aid or our security people Travis was whisked away to the hospital where it was discovered that his humerus was broken clean in two!  Someone was recording the whole event on video; I haven’t had the stomach to watch it yet.  Perhaps I’ll add it to my site someday.

Yikes! Talk about giving it your all!

To learn more about Victor Navone, go to www.Navone.org

Purchase products featuring Victor Navone's work here:

Finding Nemo (Soundtrack) List Price: $18.98 Our Price: $14.99 You Save: $3.99 (21%)  BOOK- Buy now- $14.99	Finding Nemo (Read-Along CD) Our Price: $9.98   BOOK- Buy now- $9.98

The Art of Finding Nemo List Price: $40.00 Our Price: $28.00 You Save: $12.00 (30%)  BOOK- Buy now- $28.00	The Art of Monsters, Inc. List Price: $40.00 Our Price: $28.00 You Save: $12.00 (30%)  BOOK- Buy now- $28.00

Monsters, Inc. List Price: $29.99 Our Price: $22.49 You Save: $7.50 (25%)  DVD- Buy now- $22.49	Monsters, Inc. Read-Along List Price: $14.98 Our Price: $13.48 You Save: $1.50 (10%)  DVD- Buy now-  $13.98

Titan AE Special Edition List Price: $24.98 Our Price: $17.98 You Save: $7.00 (28%)  DVD- Buy now-  $13.98	Titan AE VHS   Our Price: $6.98   VHS- Buy now-  $6.98

Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time Our Price: $5.00 GAME- Buy now- $5.00

(Back to The MatchBox)

(Back to Front Page)