Stefan Fjeldmark (Creative Producer & Director, A. Film)

A. Film A/S, Copenhagen, is the largest animation studio in Scandinavia. They produce classical 2D as well as 3D computer animation for short film, feature film, TV-series, educationals, games and commercials. A. Film is represented on the TRUEMAX academy education committee. www.afilm.dk

1. When and how did you get involved in the 3D computer graphics industry?
We began early, around 10 – 12 years ago. Things were much different then – our first computer for 3D had a 33 Megahertz processor and it was very, very expensive! Today regular computers can do far more than it could in its time. To begin with we did small projects for commercials, such as that for Matilde Chocolate Milk.

Stills from the CG feature film 'Terkel in trouble' ('Terkel i knibe'). Made by A. Film for Nordisk Film Denmark, 2004.

2. What kind of 3D do you work with? And what projects have you done?
After producing 3D for commercials for a few years, we began integrating short 3D sequences into our 2D animated films. These include ‘Jungledyret Hugo’ (‘Jungle Jack’) and ‘Jungledyret 2’ (‘Amazon Jack’). Mechanical things such as a mechanical dragon and a helicopter were well suited to 3D. ‘Hyrdinden og skorstensfejeren’ (‘The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep’) was our first fully animated 3D film – at a length of 12.5 minutes. It was part of the international project ‘Animated Tales from the World’. ‘Terkel i knibe’ (‘Terkel in trouble’)  was our first CG feature production. It was made with a simplified 3ds max technique, meaning that it was done on a rather low budget and in relatively short time. Our next big 3D film is ‘Den grimme ælling’ (‘The ugly duckling and ME!’), which is expected to premiere in autumn 2006. It’s a more classic animated 3D film along the lines of e.g. ‘Toy Story’. And in our 2D production ‘Asterix and the Vikings’ we used 3D for the special effects and the ships.

3. Which software programs do you use? And how do you use them?
3ds max and Maya as animation software. We also use Combustion for compositing, Adobe After Effects, Photoshop for drawing, and AVID and Premiere Pro for editing.

4. Which 3D functions do you work with?
And how specialized are your employees?
We have two main groups: 1) Set and props builders 2) Character-builders and animators. People are generally really good at one particular thing, but they can also perform other functions and be a little ‘all-round’.

5. What are you looking for when hiring 3D people? What skills do they need?
It’s important that people know how to do more than one thing. You ought to be good at your specialty, but you need some broader skills so you can help out as needed. For example, you can do animation at one point, blocking (for an animatic – ’sketch animation’) at another and do lighting at still another point in your day. With regard to the ability to communicate and work with others, it’s really important that you can be part of a team. People are different – some are really talkative and open about what they’re doing while others are quieter and a bit nerdier about the whole thing. Both types are fine as long as they can work together successfully and get the job done.

6. How do you think that your company will develop over the course of the next five years – in terms of projects, 3D job functions and number of employees?
We need a lot of people. High End people. Over time some of the more routine production jobs will be outsourced to other countries and we will need more responsible people here: supervisors, art directors – people who can take charge of a greater proportion of our production than just their own area. But we will still need regular animators, lighting people etc. 90% of the jobs in the pipeline (some of which will likely not see fruition) are 3D. So in future we will probably have several 3D productions going each year. The games industry is booming.

7. What advice would you offer to someone seeking a career in the 3D industry?
The 3D industry is a good bet if you find out you like 3D and are good at it. There is definitely a job in it for you in that case. So my best advice is to keep trying, stick at it. Do good work (focus on the technical aspects or acting/animation) - something you can show people, something of good quality, because it will always be compared with professional work.

The interview was made January 2006.