John Godwin and Stephen Payne are responsible for A Tale of Rock, the story of a guitar-wielding dragon who outshreds a giant skeleton in a guitar battle of Homeric proportions. These sons of Britain kindly answered our questions about internet popularity, Guitar Hero, and Tenacious D.
Crackle: First, congratulations on the success of A Tale of Rock! Did you ever think it would be this wildly popular?
John Godwin: Thanks! I guess we didn’t think about it at all, really. We were so focused on getting the thing finished in time we didn’t have any plan to promote it. It kind of spread around the internet by itself, which was nice!
Stephen Payne: What I find amazing is that we finished it in June 2007, and we’re still getting views! Thanks to everyone for the positive feedback, it’s made all the hard work worth it.
Crackle: What are your backgrounds? How did you each get into animation?
JG: I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember, and doing 3D since College. I did some animation in my 2nd year of [college], but it wasn’t my strong point. Stephen wanted to focus on animation, so teaming up seemed like an obvious choice.
SP: I had studied traditional art through school and [high school] and started using 3D software when I started my degree. I soon realised how much I enjoyed animating.
Crackle: How did you guys get the idea for A Tale of Rock? And, if I may ask, why a dragon versus a giant skeleton?
JG: Well, Stephen initially had a rat as the main character, but when I started drawing the concepts I took inspiration from many different animals and turned him into a fantasy creature. I still don’t really know what he’s meant to be, but he’s been called a dinosaur/lizard/dragon quite a bit so that’s what he’s become!
The rock monster’s face was based on rock legends like Dio and Steve Vai. I made him quite skeletal because, well, he had to look menacing!
SP: We wanted to try and create some epic moments, and knew that by having a giant and a tiny character you can really play around with the camera to emphasize the size difference and hopefully build some drama.
Crackle: What were your animation influences in A Tale of Rock?
SP: Well, it’s a clichéd and predictable selection, but anything made by Pixar, and the Ice Age films, obviously. I suppose there’s a hint of Scrat in our hero character. Miyazaki’s films are always something to aspire to as well; the attention to detail is staggering. I looked at films like BFG and The Iron Giant for how they treated the size of the characters.
Crackle: What were your musical influences in A Tale of Rock? Do I detect a couple of Tenacious D fans?
JG: Hells yeah! In fact if we were to make a feature length version of Tale we would definitely have Jack Black play the main character. You know, because of course we can get Jack Black…
SP: A feature length version is something we would love to do; its just knowing where to start. [As far as] musical influences, well, where do I start? Iron Maiden, Dragonforce. To be honest we just let Ollie ([the] guy who did the solos) do his thing musically, then animated to it.
Crackle: How were the duties split between the two of you on A Tale of Rock?
JG: Stephen did the directing and animation, and I did the concepts, characters, backgrounds, compositing, and lighting.
Crackle: What do you both do professionally?
JG: We both currently work for Sony London studio. I am working on PlayStation Home as a character artist, and Stephen is a character animator.
Crackle: Do you play Guitar Hero? What are your band names? Who is better?
JG: I played guitar hero almost fanatically whilst making the film. I’m awesome and definitely better than Stephen. He spent most of his time animating. Our band name is probably too rude to put here!
SP: John claims he’s better; the truth hurts.
Crackle: Finally, what advice would you both give to budding animators who hope to subject their material to the acid test of the internet?
JG: Keep it fun, and don’t take too much notice of criticism, unless it’s constructive. YouTube can certainly be harsh and unfair!
SP: I’d say try and make a lighthearted approach to the film. Play around with ideas, and don’t be afraid to experiment. And submit it to everything!
Check out the Tale of Rock website.
Filed under: Interviews | Tagged: animation, CG, Dragonforce, Iron Maiden, Jack Black, rock, Tenacious D
