Interview with Animator
Robbie Robertson,
Creator of
"Fallen Angel Ep. 1"
Watch it now!
We love "
Fallen Angel Episode 1" for its compelling story and great cinematic editing. Robbie keeps you on the edge of your seat, and when the short is over you're left wanting more. Bring on Episode 2!
Background: I've always held a great interest in animation, since my childhood days of watching old Disney films. But it wasn't until the rise of computer animation, and the release of CG films like "Toy Story" and "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within", that I took an interest in becoming an animator myself. I've been drawing since I was very young, and used to love drawing comics until I discovered Macromedia
Flash, which allowed me to take my comic ideas and give them movement, sound and life.
Robbie's Portfolio
Why Animation: I love animation because it allows us to craft characters and worlds purely from imagination, and explore concepts and stories that go far beyond what we experience in everyday reality.
Influences: I've had many influences over the years, but some of the most profound have been the Pixar films (especially "Finding Nemo" and "Wall-E"), the "Cowboy Bebop" animated series and movie, many live-action films such as "Saving Private Ryan" and "Mad Max", and story-oriented video games like "Fallout" and "Half-Life".
Inspiration: Initially, my film's story was inspired by the "Fallout" video game series, although it has evolved over the years thanks to a number of influences, primarily from films like "The Road Warrior", "The Day After", and many others.
Watch "Fallen Angel"
Techniques: Traditional animation techniques were used throughout, mixed with special effects which were animated and rendered in Adobe Flash, and some 3D vector animation which was rendered using Electric Rain's Swift 3D software.
Time Required: Four and a half years, from beginning to end, although the movie was rewritten several times and the bulk of the animation took place during the final two years.
Challenges: The whole process was definitely a challenge. I did the vast majority of the work by myself, and with such a long film, it seemed at times like I would never be finished. Also, since the movie was built over such a long span of time, I often found myself throwing out old scenes and reconstructing them from scratch because I'd learned new animating or storytelling techniques. This is something I would like to avoid in the future, through the use of better planning and organization.
Watch "Fallen Angel Ep. 1"
View Robbie's Portfolio