FEATURED CREATOR - "Meet Tobias Stretch", talking about THE MAKING OF "Blood and Thunder"
An incredible animator and filmmaker with a truly unique aesthetic. Using vibrant colors, awe-inspiring puppetry, and innovative animation techniques, it's no wonder Tobias Stretch was one of the winners of our Radiohead Competition. We sit down with Tobias to pick his brain on his techniques of animation and get to know him as an artist.
Where does your style come from, and how did you develop it?
I would say that my style was born out of a sense of wonder for the world that hasn't changed much since childhood. Writing, drawing, painting, and reading comic books were things I did growing up, as well as running through the forest imagining monsters and battles taking place. When I hit thirty, I decided to combine everything I'd learned ‘til then into the ultimate art form, which I consider to be animation. I still enjoy drawing and painting and I believe that these are essential tools that make any director better at what they do.
What are your influences? Not just in animation and art, but what literary, social, and/or theological themes inform your work?
My influences range across a pretty wide spectrum, and I think that most of them share a religious-like devotion to their work that is bigger than they are.
- Animation: Ladislaw Starewicz, Jan Swankmajer, Jiri Barta, Nick Park, Ray Harryhausen, Winsor McCay, Georges Melies, Henry Selick, Jiri Trnka, Hayao Miyazaki, Brothers Quay.
- Fine Artists: Vincent Van Gogh, Francis Bacon, Henry Darger, Adolf Wolfli, Oskar Kokoschka, Janko Domsic, Robert Gie, Theo Jansen.
- Film: Carl Dreyer, Robert Bresson, Jim Henson, R.W. Fassbinder, Terry Gilliam, David Lynch, Friz Lang, Emir Kustirica, Werner Herzog, Jean Vigo, Andei Tarkovsky, Harmony Korine, Charlie Chaplin, Terrence Mallick, Victor Fleming
- Literature: Robert Walser, Raymond Roussel, Isidore Ducase, Danil Kharms, Antonin Artaud, Mary Maclane, Gilles Deleuze, Franz Kafka, Daniel Paul Schreber, Afred Jarry, Arthur Rimbaud, Knut Hamsun, Gerard De Nerval
- Music: Gorecki, Arvo Part, Roscoe Holcomb, Erik Satie, Beethoven, Albert Ayler, Blind Willie Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, Skip Spence, Karlheinz Stockhausen, The Beatles, Captain Beefheart, Nick Drake, Raymond Scott, Fleet Foxes
- Comic Books: Fletcher Hanks, Jason, Winsor McCay, Alan Moore, Jim Woodring, Rory Hayes, R. Crumb, Cyril Pedrosa
Artists as influences are very important but so are athletes for their ferocious discipline and competitive spirit, and humanitarians who give of themselves for others--but none of these are nearly as important as your own life experiences, internal influences that come from your own soul. I have experienced some wild, some crazy, and some ordinary things in my life--all of the stuff I have just mentioned gets thrown into the pot and stirred up to make art.
What has life been like since you won the Radiohead Competition?
Life has been real interesting to say the least since that contest. I have been able to sustain myself on low budget music videos since then which has been real nice since it has allowed me to make my own schedule and go wild with my ideas. Being able to develop a larger, better portfolio with my time has probably been the biggest reward. I'm convinced that if I stick with it that I will eventually be doing bigger, better projects. Hollywood, here I come!
What is your feeling on the place of competitions in the world of the creative arts?
A competition is a great thing if you feel you have a shot or not because you don't have to worry about who you know or how you do in an interview. It’s all about how good it is. Even if your work isn’t up to grade it’s good to compete, especially against yourself, because it's human nature to want to get better, and a contest is one way of forcing yourself towards deadlines honing your skills on the run. One bit of advice to artists in contests: don’t get depressed about losing--get pumped, slap yourself in the face a bunch of times, and then get better, just like an athlete would.
What is your ultimate goal as a filmmaker and animator?
My ultimate goal is to be happy. Next to that would be to do a bunch of epic feature length films that would address all of my best ideas and techniques, most of which have never been seen before in the history of cinema. Although it is a struggle to pay the bills, I feel tremendously blessed to be alive, and healthy doing animation for a living. Good luck to all the young struggling animators out there. Never ever give up on the dream!
Tobias, it was great chatting to you, look forward to seeing you around Aniboom.