q: where are you from and how has that shaped who you are?

a: i grew up in new york city, in manhattan, and i think that's shaped who i am because it's shaped who my dad is, and it shaped who my grandfather is. they're all filmmakers, and i think it breeds a certain type of creative problem solver. i think that's what filmmaking is: problem solving.

q: what is the first thing you remember drawing as a kid?

a: i drew a lot of aliens as a kid. i always started with the eyes, and there were always more than two. then i would kind of fill in the rest of the monster, the alien, from there. it was a lot of aliens.

q: in your opinion, what separates animation from other storytelling forms?

a: animation is separate from other storytelling forms because it's so limitless, especially when you get into hand-drawn animation. but in claymation and other mediums as well, you can really tell any story, and it can break traditional storytelling norms. things can get so abstract. i think my work isn't that, which is funny. my work is always kind of people talking and doing very human things. so i think my work is only animated because it has a certain, indescribable charm that it brings to it. i think it's inherently entertaining to see little clay men move, so in some ways i feel like it's a gimmick, but it definitely keeps people engaged.

q: would you say a large part of your creating in the animated world is really bringing your lived experience from the outside world into that space, as opposed to creating some alternate universe?

a: yeah. i think my obsession with making animated films comes more from a place of... i don't know, some part of my monkey brain loves miniatures. i think they're just charming and exciting, and i like tiny things. it's exciting to see tiny worlds. even with grand sets, and even if they're virtual, seeing the scale or the texture of a textile on adults' clothes triggers something in your brain to acknowledge it as a miniature. i think that's always kind of exciting. i don't know why, for sure.

q: growing up, do you remember a specific fictional character that has kind of resonated with you or stuck with you throughout time, in the animated world or not?

a: the first film character that comes to mind, someone who really stuck with me, is austin powers. my parents showed me those movies when i was really, really young, and i loved them. i don't know if that's affected who i am as a person, but i love how goofy and carefree he is while also being very proficient at what he does.

q: is there like a character that you feel has been enduring throughout, like, or someone that, like—?

a: no, i don't.

q: how do you give a character life?

a: that's something i've been learning more and more throughout my years of filmmaking. giving a character life, or giving your story the meaning that it should have, kind of starts telling you. in animation, a lot of it is the character design. that's how you give it life.

i worked with my mom a lot on that, which is really sweet and lovely. she's a brilliant sculptor, and a lot of the character is decided by the life she gives it. from there, it kind of tells you. once you start moving it, you see what feels right with the sculpt and the design, and it just comes to life on its own.

q: what would you say is the most challenging part of the animation process to you?

a: i think the most challenging part of the animation process for me isn't even technically part of the process. it's the duration of the process, and having the stamina to finish projects. i think that's really challenging. but i also work in live action, and it sets you up for success in that regard because filmmaking, in any form takes time and patience. i think that's a bit of my superpower, that i'm quite patient when it comes to filming and getting across the finish line.

q: staying on the topic of the workflow and how you get into a groove, what are your studio essentials during a long work session?

a: it's a lot of coffee, and i'm a big napper too. between coffee and naps, those are kind of my essentials. i try to listen to music when i'm doing very mindless editing tasks, but when i'm actually doing stop motion, you've got to track so many different parts. even if a character is taking one step, it's how their heel is moving, how their foot's moving, how their arm is moving, whether they're blinking. you've got to keep track of everything, and i genuinely don't think anybody is brilliant enough to listen to music and animate well.

q: why would you say that new york suits you best?

a: i think new york suits me because i find inspiration in it and in the clash of cultures that all meet here. i love that about new york, and i think it's very exciting. all my movies, all my animated movies, have taken place in new york in one way or another, whether interior or exterior. that's not really intentional, but i think, going back to enjoying miniature things, i get excited by seeing a representation of my city.

q: could you see yourself living somewhere else, and if so, where?

a: i can see myself living somewhere else. i can see myself living somewhere outside of a city, somewhere very calm, and then coming back to new york every once in a while. but with any other city, i think i'd just be comparing it to new york too often. i love new york.

q: what's your favorite time to work? is there a specific frame that you like to work within, or the time that you feel like is most productive for you?

a: to keep myself sane, i try to stick to a 9-5 schedule so i don't burn myself out working at weird hours of the day. but i don't want it to be my favorite time, I love working from at midnight because i feel like nobody else is working. i think there's some weird competitive thing in me where, even if i've slacked off all day, when i start working, i feel like i'm getting a head start or something. it's so quiet, nobody's texting you, you're just locked in. working from midnight to about 4 a.m. is kind of my favorite window, but then i'm exhausted the next day. i can't really start again at 9 a.m., and i throw off my whole life. it's not the best.

q: what constitutes time in an animated world, like how do you allude to the passing of time?

a: yeah, it's all about time. you go in there, and it's almost like the opposite of... well, it is a time-lapse, i guess. you're taking one frame every minute, maybe, if you're going really fast. it takes a while to set up each position just right, and then there are 12 of those in a second. you probably get 20 minutes to make one second of animation. and that's just on the stop-motion side of things. then you've got to cut it on the computer, or render the environment and wait for that. getting one second can take an hour. it's crazy.

q: in that kind of vein, where do you see yourself going from here? maybe explore beyond animation or work with animation but change your role within it? do you see yourself expanding beyond animation?

a: yeah, for sure. i'm excited because i'm already kind of moving in that direction. i've been working with more and more people instead of just by myself, and wearing more of the director's hat when it comes to these projects. i'm not stupid, there are better animators than me. i think i'm a great storyteller and a great director, but i work with this kid, eli turner, all the time, and it feels insulting to call myself an animator standing next to him. he's so talented. there are better compositors, and there are better editors. if i can just be the orchestrator, i think i'd be happier. that goes into live action as well. i've got less experience in that, but you're still dealing with real characters, real lighting, real environments, and real pacing, so those things translate. i'm excited to do more live action, maybe combine the two, and use old-school special effects - using stop motion to achieve that. so we'll see. i don't know what's next.

q: who do you have winning the world cup?

a: france again. france is looking dangerous. i think france is going to win the world cup again.

q: who would you want to win?

a: i would love for curaçao to make it to the final. they've got, like, 150,000 people.

q: in speaking about a spot like curacao or smaller countries, different communities that might not have as much documentation on what their stories are outside of their worlds, do you feel like that's a big motivation for you in creating, and in the future do you see yourself doing a lot of travel and exploring different places like that to use as inspiration?

a: yeah. i think i'm so caught up in my own world here in new york, and the pace of life here, where everything's happening at a million miles a minute. i just visited an island in italy quite recently that couldn't be further from that. it feels like time hasn't moved an inch in a million years. they've got such deep history, superstitions, and magic. to compare and contrast that with new york is really exciting to me. i've been writing a project about that, and i think it'll be a live-action feature film coming up soon.