Creativity& Detail—Jorge Canedo Estrada
Jorge Canedo Estrada is an animator and creative director based in Vancouver, Canada. What draws us to his work is his ability to use detail and motion in harmony to bring a story to life. He talked with us about his creative process and how paying attention to the details is such a critical part of his work.
Talk about your journey to becoming the creative you are today — and how the journey has influenced your work.
This question really made me pause. Does one “become” creative? Or do we just learn how to better use our creativity? I think, in a way, both aspects are true.
I’ve always been incredibly curious about how things worked. According to my mom, I’d stare at things for a long time until I figured out how they worked. Like, for example, the steering wheel. I would take all my toys apart to see what made them move the way they moved. I guess that thirst to know how things worked led to the desire to create.
Once our family got a camera, I wasn’t as interested in knowing how the camera worked. Instead, I found myself wondering what we could do with it. My brother and I spent hours creating homemade videos, and, eventually, all I did in my free time was make stop-motion films with my action figures. Those early films were key in my journey to “becoming” a creative.
When we discovered software (like iMovie and Movie Maker) that allowed us to edit our videos, I was struck by that curiosity again. I realized I enjoyed editing and adding effects to the (albeit terrible) movies I made almost as much as I liked to create them. So, when a friend introduced me to Flash, it was only natural that I wanted to play with the software. I made my first websites, keyframe animations, even “motion designs” with it (though, at the time, I didn’t know what motion design was.)
Years later, after I had recently discovered After Effects, I found an online competition for Vancouver Film School. And, for some reason, I decided to make my first real motion design piece for it. I was blessed to be one of the winners — it changed my career forever.
While at VHF, I created a piece called “Crazy Enough”, and it got me an internship at Buck. My first project with Buck was huge for me as a creative. The experience of partnering with such amazing, talented people made me realize how much better a project could be if the right people are working on it. It’s something I still try to achieve in every project.
What does detail mean to you as an animator and creative director?
It is about attention to and care for every aspect of the project, not just the end result — the end result should be the sum of all the details. It might sound obvious, but let me elaborate by breaking it down into four phases:
First, let’s say a project comes in. There might be a script, there might not, but in this first phase of the project, taking the time to solidify the concept before rushing into visuals is hugely important.
Secondly: design. It can be a temptation to over-design, and, as a result, obscure the concept. So, attention to detail is not only in the execution of the style frames, but also in the moments of critical thinking about the best way to visually communicate the concept.
Thirdly, audio. I believe a project is 50% audio (sometimes more), and giving the proper direction to a sound designer is pivotal. That means giving them enough room to be detailed, and, in some cases, letting the music direct the animation.
Which leads me to the fourth point: animation. On a high level, when it comes to animating (which is still my very favorite thing to do), I am careful that the animation fits with everything that came before it (i.e. concept, design, and audio.) On a more technical level, I’m a bit obsessive when it comes to motion. Keep Looking is a good example of this. My goal was to, ultimately, leave the viewer feeling like they need to watch it again to notice all the details they might have missed before (a theme that is closely linked to the concept of the video.) And so I didn’t want to leave a single element un-animated, not a single texture without subtle movement.
How do you balance attention to detail on a technical level with attention to the larger story? Do the two ever conflict?
They definitely conflict, especially when I am directing and animating. And in that case, I’ll often spend a couple of days on a shot, only to realize later on that the shot doesn’t fit anymore and I need to re-think the movement to make it work. I maintain balance by a lot of trial and error!
Another thing I find helpful in balancing the two is showing my work to fresh eyes — people without knowledge of the process. A fresh look (usually from my awesome wife) will let me know if I missed the mark or got lost in the technicalities and forgot about the story. Initial reactions and honest feedback are some of the best compasses for knowing if I’m still on track toward the goal.
Have you always had an eye for detail, or is it something you’ve had to practice and refine?
I think the curiosity I have had since I was a kid is a large part of it, but at the same time, it takes a lot of practice to develop an intuitive sense for good animation and to know what to look for when animating a scene. Part of what helps me refine my eye for detail is to look for projects that blow my mind. That’s why I started Wine after Coffee, because I constantly find myself replaying sections of a video I loved, studying the details to understand the movements that made it feel so right.
How do you integrate attention to detail into your creative process? Are there times you have to “make” yourself stay high-level to test an idea, when too much attention to detail might get in the way of ideation or movement forward? Or is minding details the best way you know to move forward?
Hard question! I think the key is respecting the process. That way I can focus “high-level” in the concept phase (and the design phase if I’m directing someone), so that when it comes to focusing on animation and really paying attention to the details, there is a strong foundation for the concept that I can return to.
Creativity& is an Open Book Communications project. It is a space to showcase artists/entrepreneurs/creative-people as real humans. We hope to show that it doesn’t just take creativity to make you a great creative; it takes a whole host of other things. And there are things that often go along with creativity that are rarely seen or talked about. We hope to draw that out from creatives — to inspire, generate conversations, and get their fans (and themselves) thinking about their creative process.
