Larry Bafia and Webster Colcord worked together as animation partners at Will Vinton Studios in the late 1980s, when the Claymation technique had peaked in popularity. Since that time, they have both branched into other aspects of stop-motion, CG animation, visual effects, and education. I have enjoyed Webster’s work online and in films for many years, and recently have had the privilege to work with Larry at VanArts and our local Vancouver SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group on Graphics and Interactive Techniques) chapter. I’m glad to present their thoughts in this chapter as they talk about their respective careers and views on animation.

Larry’s website: http://whoscreative.com/larry_bafia

Webster’s website: http://webstercolcord.blogspot.com

KEN: How did each of your animation careers get started?

LARRY: The first studio I worked at straight out of school in Chicago was Crocus Productions in Evanston, Illinois, where we did some clay animation industrial videos. One was for dental hygiene, and another was about spaying your pets for the ASPCA. I also worked at Excelsior Studios, run by Gene Warren, which involved some time on Land of the Lost. I built some props and repaired any set damage that occurred during a shot. We also did a lot of practical effects, and that's where I learned a lot of in-camera processes. The vortex for the opening sequence of Land of the Lost, for example, was shot in a fish tank with a high-speed Mitchell camera whirring away like crazy, and we injected milk into swirling water to create the cloudiness. Also, at Colossal Pictures, I assisted Gary Gutierrez with commercials for San Francisco radio stations, scenes for the Grateful Dead movie, and things like that. For the most part, I was just assisting rather than animating at Colossal, but overall I had several seconds of stop-motion experience under my belt before starting at Will Vinton Studios.

  

WEBSTER: I was interested in animation at an early age and had done some quasi-professional work on a science-fiction film that was being shot in my hometown of Eugene, Oregon, with a USC film school graduate. I started at Will Vinton’s right after high school, so that was like college for me. I like to joke that I moved straight from Super 8 to 35mm, which I really didn’t because we shot on 16mm at Vinton’s. They had a little Bolex mounted on these huge classic Hollywood cranes that could have held a tank! The first shot that Larry and I worked on together at Vinton’s was the opening wrap-around scene for A Claymation Christmas Celebration in 1987 (Figure 10.3).