Celebrating the Magnificent Will Vinton
This past Thursday, Oct. 4, inventor of stop- motion claymation and Oscar award winner Will Vinton died at age 70.
In the back of mind the scene of our first creative meeting has played out hundreds of times. To know OF a hero can be just as great as MEETING a hero, but to work ALONGSIDE a hero is stop- short of magical, so as you can imagine, that first moment (like a lightning bolt) strikes over and over again.
To fully grasp the importance of Will Vinton, we must visit the timeline of his work and how he came to be an omnipresent figure in my life.
Do these singing Raisins look familiar? How about the singing Moon in McDonalds’s commercials? If you were alive in the 1970's/ 80’s it is likely you have seen Will’s work and may or may not have wondered… just how did they do that? I certainly did.
At a very young age, these breakthrough stop- animation characters struck me to my core. They were ads, yet they were gentle, friendly and the selling points were just pushed back, as if they were not there. Just like a true storyline, these characters formulated a much stronger message; the kind that resonates long past the product itself, with a longer retention shelf life.
These vibrant visuals, at that time, were unique to ‘Vinton Studios’. At the age of 4 I became obsessed with commercials — I collected as many tiny figurines as I could from a novice perspective. And when I had to pick a trade I thought back to these commercials as a driving force to entering the Advertising field.
Will Vinton was an observant person, humble and extraordinarily creative. He was an expert Claymation artist, who coined the term. ‘Gunniess World Record’ awarded him First Use of Claymation for Closed Mondays (1974.) He would collect many more accolades for his animated short films/ animation work including nods and wins for the ‘Academy Awards’, ‘Primetime Emmy Awards’, and more. In short he was a superstar.
But to me, he was dad. Okay, thats a stretch of the imagination, but he was the father of my love for advertising and the inspiration of a career path. In running in the same circles of the Portland Advertising, OMPA (film) events it was not long before someone pointed him out to me. Despite my fandom I would quietly mingle in and around our circles being careful not to completely cling onto his lapel begging him for a job in digital film.
The intrigue which followed years later, was only compounded when he walked into the small room of the Portland Creative Conference in 2009 situated himself amongst myself and other members of the board. Eureka! This was it… I could die happy, I by some chance got to work with my hero since 1984, and to this day those moments surrounded by his creativity are the lightning bolts that makes this all worthwhile. To be friends with another human who has solved a mystery that has eluded most, can really enlighten a creative dream.
So how do we make a living off a trade skill of art, design, advertising? This part is worth mentioning, because it is not so easy. To speak of Will Vinton and not discuss his journey in business would be to fail any of you starting out and to remind us seasoned entrepreneurs of possible pitfalls to success. Designer, Betsey Johnson, recently found herself in a similar predicament as Will. Following a downturn in profit and a downward shift in economic growth after enjoying decades of success, Betsey made the risky business decision to hand over financial control of her namesake, opting instead for Chief Creative title which has allowed her to create, leaving the business to others. This has proved to be a favorable decision for her.
Will Vinton, on the other hand, had a deal gone wrong with investor billionaire Phil Knight, CEO of Nike, who in many ways underhanded Vinton by inserting his son within the company. When Will could not repay his massive loan, Phil Knight became owner of ‘Vinton Studios’ by default and his son became the new director. With Will seemingly out of the picture, they changed the legacy name of its former owner, renaming it ‘Laika Studios’.
In creative business, your idea is just as valuable as any monetary amount. To think blockbuster movies like ‘Coraline’ stem from Will, and amongst us in the industry we are impartial to give him credit, where it is due. However, devastating this loss to Vinton may have been, there is no denying that he was the undeniable master craftsman of stop- film animation. I hope he knew that we know that. His work and legacy are testament that will live far beyond the latest film to stem from Laika who uses his techniques in Claymation, as Will Vinton made it, in his image. In this way, he will always live on. Sorely, too he will be missed.
“as your children have said, let the Intermission take you home…”
Thanks to ‘The Oregonian’, IMDB, Wikipedia, and his children, who notified his friends (me) beautifully on Facebook of his passing. Thank you.
