Interview at Studio Moziri

Interview at Studio Moziri
Studio Moziri is grand.

In reality, it's quite small. Studio Moziri consist of only a few people. Their office is located on the first floor of a humble street near Namguro Station in Seoul. They have a couple computers, a bunch of books, a light box, and a small plant. Still, Studio Moziri is grand.

During the day, Kim Yong Chan works as a director at a major animation studio in Seoul. During the night, your likely to find him at the studio he started in October 2006. You may also run into Yun Ga Ram there. She's both Director Kim's apprentice and creative partner.

Director Kim is a tall, kind man who some say looks like actor Nicholas Cage. I was interested in learning more about Studio Moziri. So, one night, he let me join him at the studio for an interview.

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Midodok: Why did you decide to start Studio Moziri.

Director Kim: The number one reason is that I want to play. My brain needs to play. So this is my free place to play. The company that I work at during the day is not free because I must make their story. But, this space is free. Ga Ram is free. Our emotions are free. Our plans are free. Anytime, anyday. We might chat about story ideas or eat or watch movies. It is not a job, just art playing.

Take a look at the new PipMan & PipGirl Valentine's Day cartoon created by Studio Moziri.

Director Kim: But we do need some resulting object and that is our digital stories. We can change the world through digital stories. Or people's minds. Why digital stories? We use a digital medium but the story is perfect analog.

Midodok: Huh? I don't get it. Can you explain better?

Director Kim: For example, PipMan & PipGirl is an 18-byte story. So many people have cell phones, but some emotion is lost in this form of communication. People will make up for that lost emotion. What is the source? Text. If I send a text message, it doesn't indicate that you are smiling. But if you send a text smile, it lets me know that you are smiling. 8 byte emotion.

Midodok: Oh, I get it. So although your medium is digital, the emotions you create are real (analog).

Director Kim: Yes. Digital can be handy, simple or easy. The speed is fast. Good. But it has lost too much emotion. We find that emotion and put it into digital.

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At this point in the interview, Yun Ga Ram arrived at Studio Moziri after a long day of work. Director Kim had told me about Ga Ram's hopes to eventually study at Musashino Art University in Tokyo, the same university he attended. I was interested in learning more about Ga Ram's role at Studio Moziri and her own dreams. So, I briefly interrupted my interview with Director Kim to interview her.

Midodok: How did you get involved with Studio Moziri?

Ga Ram: I followed Director Kim Yong Chan, ha ha! Here I just get to do what I like to do. I'm not working here, but studying.

Midodok: What do you hope for Studio Moziri?

Ga Ram: I'm not thinking about that.

Midodok: What is your personal dream?

Ga Ram: I want to be a director!

Midodok: What will you study in Japan?

Ga Ram: Visual arts.

Midodok: What is your favorite animation?

Ga Ram: Bonobono.

Midodok: What kinds of animation would you like to produce?

Ga Ram: Fun stuff!

Midodok: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Ga Ram: I love PipMan & PipGirl, ha ha ha!

Midodok: Hmmmm, is there anything else I should ask?

Director Kim: How about what was difficult about directing the editing of PipMan & PipGirl?

Ga Ram: The first thing that was difficult was making their movements seem natural, even though they are just text. The second thing was the timing of the action. The third thing was deciding what PipMan & PipGirl's personality and emotions would be.

Midodok: What kinds of stuff do you do here at Studio Moziri besides PipMan & PipGirl?

Ga Ram: Drawing. I designed some characters. And some story writing and planning.

Midodok: Thank You!

Ga Ram then brought out some tangerines, took some pictures of me interviewing Director Kim, and then went to her computer to work. Later in the night, her gal pal joined her and the two of them started creating a mashup video of a girl dancing to funny music.

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Now, back to the interview with Director Kim:

Midodok: What's your hope for Studio Moziri?

Director Kim: It's too difficult. We shouldn't be thinking about that yet. I just want our freedom and our creativity to continue so we'll make art. I just want to continue. Continue making film or taking pictures. I don't want to be trapped by a position or title. I just want to have a method of expression.

Director Kim: I also want to encourage Ga Ram to become an artist and be creative. Her creation is important. There are so many people in Korea that are just drawing like engineers, but I want Ga Ram to be a creator. Me, too. Then, Moziri will have some stories and continue creating.

Midodok: By the way, what does the name Moziri mean?

Director Kim: It means "a fool" in Korean. We are not perfect. But together we are perfect. That is the meaning.

Midodok: Do you plan to create more PipMan & PipGirl animations?

Director Kim: Yes, sure.

Midodok: What else do you do here at Studio Moziri?

Director Kim: We have created short stories, dramas, short films, and movies. We plan cartoons, books . . .

Midodok: So you guys just create and create. How do choose decide what to create?

Director Kim: I can find ideas by just talking with other people. Like right now, we are talking about PipMan & PipGirl and I might get an idea from this conversation. Human life makes too many stories, but maybe everybody doesn't know how to make this into stories. I know how to use media to make an expression of these stories. It's too easy, just listen and look. Sometimes I tell Ga Ram, you can just walk in the street and you must find a creative kind of new story there.

Midodok: It seems so easy and natural.

Director Kim: Yeah. I think we have so many stories. There are so many people that have so many ideas, but they don't know how to explain the idea. What we do is plan how to explain that image.

Midodok: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Director Kim: One thing I'd like to add is that many people don't want to create animation because it seems too difficult. But actually, it's too simple! Some people have this big view of animation, that you need key artists, storyboarders, etc. But actually, animation is just movement. That is so simple!

Midodok: Great, thank you for your time and sharing Studio Moziri with Korea & Animation!

Director Kim: Sure!

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Director Kim has created a place where creativity rules. Where learning and experimentation are more important than worrying about financial profit. Where, unlike many service animation studios in Korea, creation occurs rather than production. Director Kim has found a way to express himself, entertain us with cute animations, continue learning and help others along the way. That is truly grand!

Check out the Studio Moziri website or the Studio Moziri channel at YouTube!

An Interview with Park Min

Do you like Batman? Batman was Park Min's favorite production to work on. Having over 18 years in the animation industry, Park Min has helped bring Batman and many other characters to life for audiences around the world.

In his earliest days, he worked as a final checking assistant. Since this start, he's moved through almost all the jobs within an animation studio. Working hard as an inbetweener so he could work even harder as an inbetweening director. Doing key animation and then moving up to key animation direction. At some point, he was a layout artist as well multiple other positions. He has just recently began work as a storyboard artist.

Park Min is an experienced animator who was willing to offer us some insights into life in the Korean animation industry.Midodok: What do you think about your life in the animation industry?
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Park Min: I think that the Korean animation industry and the animation industry in other countries, like Japan and America, are really different. These days, the animator's situation is getting worse and also disappearing. Yes, it's a really bad situation.
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Midodok: How so?
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Park Min: Many animators quit their animation work because they can't make a lot of money and we are all not paid regularly, right? We are not on a regular payment and we have to work long hours to keep the schedule. The schedule is really tight. Many animators have to spend a hard time. You know, my career is 18 years long, but these days, most directors are from my same generation so we are the last remaining animators and there is not many newcomers.
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Park Min: The Korean animation industry is really hard and if they choose to work for the Korean animation industry they have to work hard and study animation. I think many beginners don't want to become an inbetweener and key animator, they always want to become directors without doing all the stuff in between (inbetweening, key animating, final checking, etc.). But they don't like that cost, right?
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Midodok: So how have you lasted in the animation industry if it's so difficult?
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Park Min: If somebody wants to become something, they have to have patience and keep trying until they become something, right? But, the situation these days is really hard. It will take a long time to become a director. I think it is not important to become a director, but to improve themselves and their drawings and their ideas.
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Midodok: What do you think about the Korean animation industry?
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Park Min: We need more creative people in stories and ideas, but up until now, Korean animators have only concentrated on a small part--drawing or making films. But, first of all, we need to improve ourselves as a Korean animation industry, and then have a more adventurous mind. Money is always an issue too, right? And I hope more people get interested in Korean animation, too. But if we make a good animation then we won't have to worry about that.
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Park Min: I think that we need a shock. A shock that looks like a Sputnik from the Korean animation industry. I know these days it is a hard time, but we should force ourselves through it. We can do it!
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Midodok: How can somebody prepare for a career in animation?
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Park Min: I think all kinds of animation are the same even if they have unique styles (Korean, Japanese, American). I think if you wanna become an animator, you should prepare by improving you drawing skills and your understanding of story, right? And you should know about high technology like computer editing and graphics tools. And one more: language. Chinese, English, Korean, Japanese, whatever.
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Midodok: Why should they learn another language?
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Park Min: Up until now, we made animation for a few people. For only that country. But these days, we can show our animation to the whole world. So someday, we can work together to make a good animation. Nationality doesn't matter, but communication is a really important thing. If we work together with foreigners, we should find a solution through conversation if we have a problem. It's very important.
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Park Min: Everybody has the same feelings: happiness, sadness, loneliness. Emotion is the same, even if we have different color skin, language, culture and place. It doesn't matter to making good animation. That's all.
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Midodok: Thank you very much for the interview and your time.Park Min let me look through his current sketchbook and take a couple pictures.His sketchbook had lots of good stuff in it, but I thought you might like these two best. He's got lots more cool stuff posted over at his cool blog.

Park Min likes meeting new people. Feel free to email him or leave questions and comments here.

I especially like Park Min's analogy of Sputnik, and how a lot of hard work can really leave the world in awe of Korean animation. What do you think?

Her Name is Skitsch

An interesting interview below! Keep reading. . .
Skitsch is her name. During the day she works as a professional inbetweener for Imagin, a Japanese animation studio in Korea. But outside of work she is an artist on the loose who is busy creating her own stuff. Here are some characters she's designed and put on some stickers. Along with many other young artists, she puts stuff like this on T-shirts and other goods that she sells at the Hongdae artist's market during warm seasons. She also has a blog/shop, D-Gecko, where you can see more of her stuff. And now, for the interview:

Midodok: So, what do you feel about your job and animation in Korea?

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Skitsch: I might disappoint you. I don't like my job. Sometimes I even feel shame. Yes, we draw, but we don't draw for our story and people here. Especially those who have worked as an animator for a long time, they think they've done something great, but most of them just have SKILLS. Not a story, not a style, nothing. They're just workers.

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One of my old co-worker was suffering. He was a talented storyteller and he had skills but he couldn't do what he really wanted because nobody was interested (I mean nobody invested). Animation in Korea? I don't know, right now, I can't see any future.

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Midodok: Why do you think Korean animation has little hope?

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Skitsch: We became a hand, not a head. Look at me, I've been working as an animator for 7 years but I just know a small part of animation. We're doing this to make money, we're following rules they (in my case, Japanese) made, not ours...

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Skitsch: I have a dream with my drawing, but I don't have a dream as an animator.

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Midodok: How so?

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Skitsch: Hmm. . . Someday, I wanna have my own street brand.

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Midodok: I see! Cool! Why a street brand and not animation?

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Skitsch: I don't know. . . Maybe I realized I can't make an animation all by myself.

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Midodok: Anything else you'd like to add?

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Skitsch: Nah.

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Midodok: Thank you for taking the time for this interview!

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Skitsch: Okay, no, you're welcome.

I hope that creativity and uniqueness like Skitsch's can be encouraged and she can find a place to use it. It would be a shame if artists like Skitsch do indeed just "become a hand" and can't put their talent to use. By the way, I thought I'd share her unique wrist piercing. If you look closely, you can sort of see it. As always, you can leave comments for Skitsch and I'll make sure she sees them.