I was very intimidated by the visual effects world. But I began to realize that you don't have to know everything. You have to be able to talk about story.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I learned first of all not to be intimidated by any visual effects that I don't understand. It can all be learned. You can then use them as tools to tell your story. I also learned that you have to be really vigilant, the more complex the movie, to not lose yourself and to not lose sight of the priority.
Growing up, my sisters and I would always talk stories. One of my frustrations was I didn't know anything about cameras. I didn't know how to make a film and I obviously didn't have a special effects budget. I was a kid. So I was learning to draw to get down the stuff that was in my head, that I couldn't afford to actually do.
I liked to explore different arts. But when I started acting, I knew this was the medium I want to be in for the rest of my life. Stories onscreen affect me the most.
I always wanted to tell stories. Well, at least, I always came back to the notion of storytelling when the glitz and glamour of being a special effects designer or a fighter pilot or a DEA agent wore off.
I think almost always that what gets me going with a story is the atmosphere, the visual imagery, and then I people it with characters, not the other way around.
Before I became an actor, I was a visual artist, and I've always hankered for the storytelling behind the camera.
I think stories can grow out of the visual. It can be an engine for literacy.
The movies that influenced me were movies that told their stories through pictures more than words.
I brought in the stories many times. I don't just do animation.
From my very first movie, what was my concentration, my inspiration, was I didn't want to narrate something, I didn't want to tell a story. I wanted to show something, I wanted for them to make their own story from what they were seeing.