Designer Deborah Cook, Professor John Canemaker and Director Chris Butler
On April 8th at NYU Tisch School of the Arts Animation, we had three special visiting guest speakers:
First came gifted, triple-threat director/writer/character designer CHRIS BUTLER, and the brilliant costume designer DEBORAH COOK, who showed clips from the new LAIKA animated feature “MISSING LINK,” a witty, literate Victorian era comedy with a serious subtext commenting on the loneliness of the outsider — a story with resonance for our times.
Chris and Deborah inspired our students by generously sharing production backstage secrets and their personal histories as filmmakers.
Later that morning, COURTNEY DiPAOLA, NYU Animation alum who is currently animating on Andreas Deja’s eagerly-anticipated short, “MUSHKA,” visited my Action Analysis class. She offered thoughtful, cogent suggestions to the students regarding their animation tests. Courtney is also an illustrator whose drawings hold enormous charm and humor— see her work on Instagram.