Takeover Tuesday with Elyse Kelly
An interview with Elyse Kelly: a filmmaker who unites the unique characteristics of animation with documentary storytelling.
Interviewer: Bella Alfonsi
Read time: 5min
Bella:
Hi Elyse! Thanks so much for taking the time to join us on a Tuesday Takeover. For those who aren’t familiar with you or your work, could you tell us about yourself?
Elyse:
Hi! Thanks for having me. It's an honor to be in such good company with this series.
I'm a director based in Washington DC, as well as the founder of Neon Zoo. I'm best known for my work in the documentary world, but I've done a little bit of everything at this point in my career. Regardless of genre, what I love most is giving a platform to unexpected and untold stories.
I also teach animation at Georgetown University, which I'm told by my partner is my one true love when it comes to anything career related. Who knew!
Bella:
How did your career begin? Did you always know you wanted to be in the motion design industry?
Elyse:
To be honest, I don't know if I would consider myself to be in the motion design industry even now! I'm more of a "floater" (that's definitely going to read weird) between a bunch of different industries in our entertainment/media world.
I did always know that I wanted to work in animation though. Not to age myself... but I fell in love with animation after seeing the 1990 re-release of The Jungle Book in theaters. It totally amazed me to think that grownups could make cartoons for a living. What more could you ask for?
Of course, my journey to get where I am now was anything but linear, and includes everything from mocapping robots to cheesemongering and everything in between. But looking back on it all, it's amazing to think that I essentially achieved my childhood dream.
Style Frame from “Home School".”
Bella:
Tell us about your full-service animation studio, Neon Zoo!
Elyse:
Neon Zoo is a little over a year old now! But really it's much older than that in practice--it was a natural next step to the work I'd already been doing for years, which is directing/producing projects with the most creatively talented and joyful artists you could hope to work with. Definitely make sure to check out our portfolio to see all their credits--hire them, befriend them, and hug them for me if you live in the same city! I have too many Zoom friends... but now I'm rambling.
Building off of my work in the documentary world, our focus at the studio is to create both "impact-driven and artistically-minded content for film, television and the web." If we can use our skills to help uplift communities and important messages, that's where we're interested in spending most of our time.
In addition to that, we're continuing to invest in our community by supporting teammates in telling their own stories. We have a number of projects in development that range from very personal short docs to surreal narrative series to interdisciplinary productions. It's early days for a lot of them, but I can't wait to share them with you all.
Bella:
The motion design industry is full of folks who have extensive schooling and none at all. Do you feel like getting a Masters Degree in Animation and Digital Arts helped a bunch? Would you recommend higher-education for other folks?
Elyse:
Don't do it! Haha. I'm joking. Kind of.
I talk about this a lot with my students who oftentimes feel that they'll be at a disadvantage in the industry for not attending an art or film school. But there are so many different angles to approach a career in our field, especially if you want to direct. And the skills you use most in those roles aren't the ones you "learn" in school: good communication (see every relationship), effective sales (cheese shop), and compassionate leadership (real estate firm).
Grad school is a huge financial commitment; you can't quite wrap your brain around it when you're younger, or at least I couldn't. So what I would say is think about what you're looking to get out of a formal education: is it skills? Contacts? Time? If you have the means and feel that it's worth the cost (in all senses of the word), go for it. But if it's not for you, that's ok. There are definitely alternative places to learn, and build your community.
And while I don't think grad school was necessarily the right fit for me, I did meet lifelong friends and creative partners that I'll always carry with me. That wasn't my "goal" going in, but it's definitely not something I would trade.
Also, I did learn one CRITICAL lesson in grad school: YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANIMATE ON 1s?! (shoutout to Sara Spink and Willie Williams! IYKYK).
Frame from “Johnny’s Home” - a 2018 Annecy Selection.
Bella:
You have a super impressive resume of clients (Netflix, the ACLU, Sony Music, etc.) as well as awards (Emmy, Webby, Addy, etc)! Tell us a little bit about that.
Elyse:
It always sounds so fancy when you line everything up together. What I'll say is that I've been incredibly lucky to have worked for and with incredibly talented people--clients who trust us to bring their stories to life, and artists who pour their hearts into every project that we do. All of that comes through in the work.
Bella:
You are an amazing storyteller and all of the work you’ve directed evokes such emotion. Where do you find inspiration for the stories you tell?
Elyse:
That means a lot. Thanks so much.
The inspiration always comes from the people featured in the work. That's definitely true with documentary projects, but applies to my other work as well. I start by asking the basic questions, "Who is this person? What is their story?" You can tell a lot about someone by the way they tell their own story--their tone, when they pause, what makes them cry (and sometimes more importantly what doesn't). As a director, it's my job to figure out how to translate that in the most authentic way possible. Being the custodian of someone else's story is a lot of responsibility, and not one that I take lightly. Every creative decision is made not just in service of "the art", but with that person and their experience in mind--they are my audience and end game. If I can ensure that our work connects with and respects those people, anything else is just icing.
Letter to Body.
Bella:
How do you get yourself out of a creative rut?
Elyse:
Great question. I feel like I'm continuing to evolve my approach to this. One thing that I'm working to be better at is giving myself the time and space to just "be". There's a lot of pressure as a creative to always be doing, making, creating. I've found that I'm most creative after I've taken time for myself, even if it's just a walk around the neighborhood. It's obvious, but definitely a lesson I keep reminding myself of. I've also learned over the years not to put too much pressure on having to make "my own" work. We pour so much of ourselves into everything we do, including client work, that sometimes that's enough for me to be creatively fulfilled. Plus those client projects help me flex my creative muscles while giving space to simmer on all the personal stuff that I'm excited about.
Bella:
What’s your favorite thing about being a director?
Elyse:
My team. Day in and day out. Their passion and insane talents inspire me, drive me to be better, and really make this job worth it. And to go back to the previous question, definitely help pull me out of those creative ruts!
Bella:
As someone with over 15 years of experience in the industry, where do you think the future of the motion design industry is headed? And how is it already different now than it was 15 years ago?
Elyse:
This is a big one. It reminds me of the classic, "Where do you want to be in five years?" interview question that was always so stressful to answer.
We're definitely at a crossroads in a lot of respects across the entire animation and media industry--insane technology advancements, unionizations, the further commercialization of art, the continued fight to bring more diversity to the table, etc. It can feel like a lot, so instead of a prediction, what I would say is that we need to keep pushing. Pushing for spaces like this that champion unique voices and honest conversations, pushing to give anyone and everyone the opportunity to tell their stories, pushing this artform forward because of the love we have for it. It's been a weird few years, and as cheesy as it sounds we need to continue investing in ourselves and our community because no one else is going to do it for us.
Either that, or we all just escape to one of those Italian villages they've been giving away for free. Who's with me?!
The Speech Wars.
Bella:
Any final advice/takeaways?
Elyse:
I've already talked too much! Thanks for listening.
("Applications" for Italy will be opening soon.)