Finding thrills in animation

IF YOU are a fan of the Minions, then you would probably be familiar with the name Kyle Balda, who co-directed the blockbuster 2015 animated film with Pierre Coffin.
Balda was recently in Kuala Lumpur to give a masterclass on 3D Animation Film Directing, co-­organised by The One ­Academy and The National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas).
This was Balda’s s­econd time in Malaysia, after having been invited before, also by The One Academy, to give a ­masterclass on Animation ­Methology.
Balda has worked in the animation industry for over two decades. He began his career in the early 1990s at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) where he did ­animation work on films such as The Mask and Mars ­Attacks!, and was the ­supervising animator on Jumanji.
After animating the Grim Reaper for Peter Jackson’s The Frighteners at Weta Digital in New Zealand, Balda returned to California to work for Pixar on A Bug’s Life and Monsters, Inc. He also served as directing animator on Toy Story 2 (1999).
He then moved on to ­conducting 3D animation masterclasses at renowned ­European and Asian film schools, as well as directing short form animation projects.
Balda eventually ­returned to feature ­production as the head of layout for I­llumination’s Despicable Me (2010), followed by a co-d­irecting ­position on The Lorax.
Now, he is teaming up with his Minions co-director Coffin on Despicable Me 3, which will be released here on July 3.
When asked what it was like working with another ­director, Balda said: “There are d­efinitely differences of opinion on which way the story would go. But it actually brings ­interesting results.”
Casting the right voice actor was also essential, he added.
Initially, people were ­surprised when actress S­andra Bullock was cast to voice chief villain Scarlett Overkill in ­Minions. Bullock was well known for her lovable girl-next-door persona.
“It was precisely because she was America’s Sweetheart that we cast her as Scarlett ­Overkill.
“Sandra has this powerful voice when she wants to. When she first takes in the Minions she is really sweet, and then she ­reveals that she has this ­bombastic side.”
Many animators have ­revealed how initial storylines change during production.Balda puts it as “a very organic process”.
He said: “In animation, you can explore and try things out during s­toryboarding.”
Having also worked in live action films where he did computer animation work, Balda agreed that the line between the two has blurred.
“If you look at all the ­Marvel movies, there is as much ­animation as there is live ­action in the movies.
“Computer ­animation has opened up so widely the kind of stories we can tell.”
To those ­planning a career in ­animation film, Balda said: “To be a good ­animator, you really have to be an ­observer of life.
“A lot of what ­interested me as an ­animator was drawing and watching Disney films. An ­animator is an artist, and also an actor and storyteller.
“The biggest challenge ­nowadays is not just drawing, but also learning computer ­software and branching out to tell stories and character ­performances.”
Balda said that with each new movie, there is a ­different set of ­challenges with new ­characters and ­taking the ­audience to new places.
When asked if he plans to direct a live action film in the future, he said: “I think that will be really exciting. ­Ultimately, it is still storytelling.”