Henry Cruickshank
I feel that I have had a wide range of experiences in the field of animation and the field of film making as a whole, from storyboarding, animating though to directing and also teaching.
Since graduating from Edinburgh college of art in 2003, I have gone onto work for the BBC on the children’s series ‘Shoe Box Zoo’ as a storyboard artist, and then as an on set assistant on the same series. From there I did some illustration work.
In 2004 I had the opportunity, though Cineworks, to direct my own film, ‘Get Bizzy’ staring Josie Lawrence and Tim McInnerny, about three out of work animated characters feeling the brunt of the C.G revolution. The film featured cut out, 2D drawn, stop motion and C.G
I Worked as an animator for West Highland animation (although did also do some storyboarding, directing and development work for them too) using both cel action and oil on glass.
Am currently involved with running children’s animation workshops for Red Kite; while continuing to develop my own ideas for short films, with emphasis on comic subjects.
Experienced in Stop motion, drawn, cut out, cel action, oil on glass, flash and after effects.
The experience of working for a large production in the shape of BBC’s Shoebox zoo, has taught me a lot about how a production is run. I gained the confidence to voice my opinion, which resulted in them in changing scripts and shots, as they liked my ideas but at the same time, the knowledge when sit back and learn from people that are vastly more experienced than myself. Also that criticism is not a negative thing and it is something to be drawn from to improve your abilities.
From this experience, when I went on to direct my own film, ‘Get Bizzy’ it was a huge improvement from my degree film: More organised, higher production values and a tighter script.
The workshops have also given me a chance to see what children really like in terms of cartoons, which is often very different from what is presented to them these days and also increased my ability to think quickly especially with regards to storylines and construction.
I would like to have the chance to experience working in another studio for a longer period of time than I have had previously.