Takeover Tuesday with Nol Honig
An interview with Nol Honig: director, designer and animator who lives in New York City.
Q&A with Nol Honig
Read time: 5min
Mack Garrison:
Hey, Nol! Thanks so much for taking the time to hop on a Tuesday Takeover; I've been a big fan of yours for a while. For those who are not familiar with you or your work, could you tell us about yourself?
Nol Honig:
Hi Mack - thanks for the kind words, and for inviting me to participate in this excellent series! Really glad to be here and in the company of so many others I admire.
My name is Nol and I’m a director, designer and animator who lives in New York City. I’ve been freelancing as a motion designer since the late 1990s, which makes me OG. At this point I’d say that I’m best-known for photo-driven, mixed-media “collage” animation, as well as for teaching After Effects Kickstart at School of Motion. Hello everyone!
The Andy Warhol Diaries
Mack Garrison:
How did your career begin? Did you always know you wanted to be in the motion world or did it take a little more luck than that?.
Nol Honig:
It took a lot of luck!
My parents were both very artistic, and encouraged me to be creative from early on. So right there, that’s extremely lucky. I was really into drawing and painting and all the usual stuff, but when I was seven years old Star Wars came out and after that I became fascinated with visual effects, stop motion, photography, and optical trickery. For me, that’s pretty much where it all started. I was also pretty lucky to have an older brother who got seriously into ‘home computing’ in the early 80s, and so I grew up feeling comfortable around computers ahead of a lot of other kids of my generation.
As a teenager I really wanted to be an indie filmmaker like Jim Jarmusch, Spike Lee, or the Coen Brothers, so after making a lot of 16mm films in college I applied to NYU for an MFA like all of those guys. And I was lucky to get in. When I was there I was really drawn to editing and post production, and volunteered to cut my thesis film on the film department’s first ‘non-linear’ (aka, computer) editing system — an AVID, which the department had just gotten that semester. Spending a few months working on a film project on a computer, and having to learn new software, was a big turning point for me.
I graduated in 1996 and while working in film production, I found myself much more interested in learning the newest software from Adobe called After Effects that had come out in the last year or so. I know it sounds obvious now, but at the time After Effects was the missing piece of the puzzle that allowed me to combine my love of filmmaking, design, animation, storytelling, staying indoors, and technology together in a way that just clicked for me. Still, there was no coherent motion design community at that time, and I worked in various production and post-production roles for many years — including directing a number of music videos for indie bands like Guided By Voices and Apples In Stereo.
My entryway into full time motion freelancing also happened as a result of luck. Somehow I had talked my way into working as an editor for a company that was producing commercials for then Senator John Kerry, who was running for President at the time. And after a few days I convinced them that I should be making commercials for them in After Effects, and not AVID. I made a ton of spots for the campaign that way, and even though John Kerry lost, I became a one-man freelance graphics department for this company. Fast forward many years, and that’s how I wound up as a lead animator for President Obama’s team in 2012.
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Mack Garrison:
You've got a really impressive resume of clients: Golden Wolf, Elastic, Buck, Pentagram, Hornet, Block & Tackle, PepRally, Ranger & Fox, Gretel, and let's not forget winning a Martin Scorsese Post Production Award! Tell us a little about that.
Nol Honig:
Well, the Martin Scorsese Post Production Award was something I won for my thesis film at NYU — specifically for the editing. I didn’t get to meet the great man, but as part of the award I was required to write him a letter of thanks. Not much of a story there. I believe the award was $300.
But yeah, in terms of studios … I’m super lucky to have worked with so many excellent teams over the years. As a senior freelancer, I appreciate great producers so much. They work tirelessly to make everything run smoothly, and often don’t get much credit or attention. For people entering the industry, remember: Creative Directors inspire, but Producers hire. Be nice to them, be honest about your calendar and the way you estimate your time, and always make sure to credit everyone on the team if you post about your work — including the producers.
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Mack Garrison:
You're a creator and a teacher. What led you to the education side of motion design. Do you prefer one more than the other?
Nol Honig:
I wouldn’t say I prefer teaching over animating, but I will say that being a good teacher is much harder than being a good animator. At least for me. People are more complex than keyframes.
Honestly, I got into it by accident. In 2000 a friend recommended me for a job teaching a class called “Broadcast Design” at Parsons School of Design. I got hired on the spot because I knew After Effects, even though I had no prior teaching experience. But in the end I taught at Parsons for 18 years and in 2017 I won a Distinguished Teaching Award for my contributions to the school. And I’m still in touch with a number of very talented people who I first met as students and are now working in all corners of the industry.
Even better, I had the great luck to team up with School of Motion in 2017 to create their foundation class After Effects Kickstart. I am so proud of that class, and couldn’t be happier that I partnered with such great people.
Mack Garrison:
I see you also do some writing as well. How important is it for creative to be able to write in your opinion? Any tips or tricks to being a better writer?
Nol Honig:
Being a good writer is very important, in my opinion. It helps me make good first impressions over email with people who want to hire me. It helps me win pitches for new work. And it helps me promote that work.
My advice is to remember that writing and editing are separate tasks. Both are necessary, but write first and then edit second if you can help it. And don’t skip the editing part.
The Endless Scare
Mack Garrison:
Tell us a bit about "The Drawing Room." Where does the name come from and why not just go by Nol Honig?
Nol Honig:
Traditionally, a drawing room is where the owner of a house, perhaps with a guest, could ‘withdraw’ for more privacy. For me, that’s where I want to work. In that private, relaxed space, maybe with a friend.
But the reason I don’t work under my own name is just mostly for tax reasons, as boring as that sounds.
Mack Garrison:
Looking ahead, what do you think the future of Motion Design looks like?
Nol Honig:
Laser-guided keyframes.
Mack Garrison:
Any final takeaways?
Nol Honig:
Generally — figure out what works best for you, and then work in that direction. If you want to be a better designer, find sources of visual inspiration outside of motion design. If you want to be a better animator, observe the world intentionally.
Also ... if everyone is doing X, do Y. But that’s just me.