LET’S TALK ANIMATION AND CREATIVITY : A DEEP DIVE INTERview with SKYMOGRAPHY

‘Mastering the Match Cut Transition’ by Skymography via Youtube.com

One of my favourite things to do is binge Youtube videos, after all, I practically grew up with it. Youtube can serve so many different types of purposes, but most importantly it’s the perfect outlet for all of us to share stories from around the world. That’s why today we’re talking to Sky, the creator of Skymography on Youtube. Without further a due, here we go! 

Hi Sky! Welcome to the Blog O3! Firstly, could you give us a glimpse into your background and how you found your way into animating and creating? Any interesting twists and turns along the path?

Sky: Hi! I started animating in Adobe After Effects at the age of 14 making video game montages for fun, but in reality my animation journey started much earlier. At around the age of 8 I would borrow my dad's camera and make short (and pretty terrible) Lego stop motion videos. So in all honesty, I've been interested in this field for as long as I can remember.I started working freelance at 16 with small gigs, eventually building my way up to bigger projects. By the time I graduated high school I decided not to go to college to continue pursuing my freelance career, which I consider to be one of the best choices I've ever made in my life. Fast forward to now where Youtube is the next challenge I've been taking on.

‘The Most Challenging Animation I’ve Ever Made’ by Skymography via Youtube

When you’re faced with a creative block, what straggles or techniques do you do to reignite that creativity and find new inspiration?

Taking a break. Whether that's creative block within a single project, or creative block that lasts for months. Looking at all the times I've been at that stage, I tend to find a similar pattern: over-saturation. I'll use both the single project and multi-month examples to explain: in a single project if I'm struggling to come up with a solution, it tends to be because I've reached my max capacity of creative stimulus in that moment. If that's the case, no productive solution is going to come from brute forcing more designs. The remedy is almost always to leave my desk, get a coffee, go outside, or anything else away from the problem itself. Even just a short 30 minute break can allow myself to escape the tunnel vision I was having.The same applies for multi-month creative block, which is admittedly a harder puzzle to solve. But the same over-saturation concept applies here too: when I feel like nothing is quite clicking no matter the project, it's absolutely indicative of needing a change of scenery. Whenever I find myself in that slump, I know that it's time to book a trip, as travel has always been the best way to change my perspective. The essence of my creativity is a product of my lived experience -- it's my job to stay in tune with keeping that flame burning.

You posted your video titled ‘The Start of Something New’ back in 2022. How has it been navigating through the Youtube space? What has been the most challenging parts and which parts do you feel like you’ve overcome since then?

I originally posted that video with no expectations of what was to come. I honestly still see that video mostly as a message to myself. It's a way to remember that trusting the process leads to great experiences. Looking back on the videos I've made since then, that first video is a marker. It's something that reminds me of how far I've come creatively, and by extension how much more I have to look forward to in the future. It was only uploaded a couple years ago but it's really like a time capsule for myself to periodically look back on.

In terms of challenges, I would say the biggest one has been the shift this year to really giving the channel more focus. There are sacrifices I've had to make in order to do this, most notably leaving the safety of my comfort zone. It takes quite a bit of time to produce a single video -- time that I would use for paying client work in previous years. So as of right now, balancing producing content and paying bills feels like learning a new way to juggle, but it's something I'm adamant about mastering. Fulfilling the need to create has always been my top priority over anything else, and I really believe that as long as I stay true to this path then the answers will reveal themselves.

‘A Summer Lost: A Short Travel Film’ by Skymography via Youtube

Once you have captured all the videos and photos you need to create your work, what does the editing process look like for you? Do you have a method in how your break down the editing and refining process or do you do as much as you can in one sitting then come back to it again? What does your process look like?

My process is ever-developing. I find a slightly chaotic back-and-forth from concepting to shooting to editing has been the truest nature of my productions. I don't think I've ever produced anything that was completely linear and predictable from beginning to end (although sometimes I wish it was that simple!). I do feel like I thrive when I let myself be adaptable though. Approaching the video creation process in this way lets the video unfold more naturally, whether that be a montage sequence or the storytelling behind my journey. I wish my answer was more cut-and-dry, but it always just depends on the project!

‘the freedom of purposeless creativity’ by skymography via youtube

Storytelling is a big part of what you do and I believe it’s what really draws people to your work because you articulate your ideas and thoughts so well! Who or what is your inspiration when it comes to storytelling and also being an educator?

I love this question. There are many facets to why I enjoy storytelling, but the most important is the personal growth I feel from materializing my experiences. By articulating anything from a creative experience to a tutorial, I'm making it real for myself. In terms of inspirations, the top of the list is definitely my family. My brother and dad have channels themselves also taking their spin on storytelling (Nathaniel Drew and Beneath the Surface, respectively), but it runs deeper than that. Both of my parents have always pushed for the importance of inner growth, and I find the creative process to be the greatest form of self discovery in whatever form it takes.

As for my teaching side... I've learned so much from other creators over the years that it only feels right to share what I think can help others learn from too. I enjoy seeing people experience the "aha!" moment, just because it's my favorite part of learning too! And by putting my knowledge into a digestible format, I end up finding further mastery in that topic. I have so many names I could say for people who have been an inspiration over the years: Andrew Kramer, BakersTuts, Ben Marriott, Mapal, ECAbrams, PiXimperfect, Texturelabs, Greyscalegorilla... the list goes on. I appreciate anyone that has contributed to the collective design & animation teaching space as I wouldn't be who I am today without them.

GALLERY

Photos 1,2, and 3 (left to right on top row) are from ‘The Freedom of Purposeless Creativity’ and 4th photo from top row (4th one to the right) and all photos on bottom row are from ‘Mastering the Matchcut Transition’ created by Skymography uploaded via Youtube