Boxtrolling

• Travis Knight is not only one of the animators behind the recent stop-motion film The Boxtrolls, but he is also the president and CEO of Laika where the animation happens. There, all of the skills and tricks learned from its previous movies are not only maintained but utilized in future films because there is a single core staff that sticks with the studio from film to film. Though Laika has made a group of movies with similar settings and themes, Boxtrolls is determined to be different. Boxtrolls is taking a more absurd and fantastical route, involving new creatures. To Laika, animation is more than just a genre, it's a method of conveying ideas and stories to viewers who watch it, regardless of genre. Travis Knight states that his transition from animator to CEO was challenging. He had to go from focusing on the small details to the big picture. He also had to deal with a variety of different people and a variety of different problems and the initial transition was uncomfortable and uneasy. The team seized the opportunity to try something new by rigging the Mecha-Drill with motion controls that have never been used before on anything other than cameras. Doing this was a step towards making a more sophisticated movie that people could watch and feel as though the characters were more than just dolls, but real living beings. With stop motion films such as The Boxtrolls, redoing shots is tricky and difficult. Laika relies on its careful cast of animator/actors to get the job done right the first time. For a successful film such as The Boxtrolls, the team needs to be made up of those who are good with their hands and crafting things and those who are good with technology and keep up to date with the newest gadgets. They might occasionally but heads, but in the midst of the tensions, some of the best ideas can form.

•  Personally, I don't like The Boxtrolls. That just isn't my cup of tea. Most of the information in the article does not pertain to my interests or my ideal field of animation, but I suppose the article would be useful to someone who did want to go to the stop-motion field. I learned a lot about stop motion stuff and Laika stuff: What makes up a good team, how innovations can change the feel of a movie, and how Laika doesn't want to be put into a box, so to speak. They want to be known by just one type of movie they did, but by the movies themselves. Everything in the article was pretty agreeable. It was all factual and based on the personal experiences of Travis Knight. This article is huge for those who not only plan on going into this field, but also those who enjoy animation altogether. It gives a brief insight into the Laika animation studio and what makes them tick.