In Partnership with Specsavers
Anyone in the arts knows that getting projects off the ground is a notoriously difficult task. From finding the time to create outside of paid work to simply keeping a roof over your head, following your dreams isn’t always easy. Melbourne-based director, animator, and stop-motion specialist Samuel Lewis knows this reality all too well.
“I’d been struggling to find work for most of last year and was on the verge of a career shift or at least finding a day job outside of animation,” they told Rolling Stone AU/NZ.
Over three and a half months in their studio, Samuel created Garbologist, a stop motion short film inspired by Specsavers’ iconic “Should’ve Gone to Specsavers” ad format. Garbologist was submitted as part of Specsavers’ annual competition in partnership with the leading short film festival, Flickerfest.
A judging panel selected five finalists before the public voted on their favourite. The creativity and dedication of Garbologist stood out and Samuel was crowned the winner, scoring a $70K cash prize as well as a screening of their film at Flickerfest.
“The prize has changed everything, and now I’ll be able to focus on my own ideas full-time and hopefully develop a short film or series concept,” they said of the career-changing prize money.
We spoke with Samuel from the UK, where they’re working at famed animation studio Aardman (the team behind Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep), to learn more about their prize-winning animated short film and what’s next for the artist.
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Rolling Stone AU/NZ: Your winning entry reimagines the Specsavers ad through stop motion animation. What was the original creative spark behind Garbologist?
Samuel Lewis: The idea for Garbologist came from a mix of things and is actually quite nostalgic for me. I was a truck-obsessed kid who would wait on the footpath to watch the bins get collected. My life peaked at three years old when I got to sit in the driver’s seat and operate the claw. The first bin that gets collected in Garbologist is 22, which is the number of my childhood home. I also grew up with classic stop motion shows like Fireman Sam and Postman Pat and wanted to pay homage to their influence on my animation career.
How did you get started in your career?
A childhood obsession with plasticine turned into studying a Bachelor of Animation at The Queensland College of Art. That then led to moving from Meanjin/Brisbane to Naarm/Melbourne to find anyone else who was doing stop motion. That seems to have worked out, and I’ve animated on music videos, commercials, short films, kids’ television and two feature films.
How did you approach balancing brand storytelling and constraints with your creative voice?
My whole aim for this ad was to tell a good joke, and I kept refining ideas until I thought I’d landed on a solid visual gag. Time was my biggest constraint, as stop motion is a notoriously slow process. I tried to keep things as simple as possible at every stage, but unfortunately, this meant cutting out a bin chicken character from my original draft.
Tell us about the production process for this film. How long did it take, and what were the challenges?
From initial idea to final export, the whole process took about three and a half months. My studio at the time was very small, and I had to fit everything on a set that was only 1.2 metres wide, and the scale of the puppets had to be about half the size of what I usually work [with]. I didn’t have much of a budget and tried to recycle and reclaim as many materials as I could.
90% of Garbologist is cardboard and acrylic paint. The puppets have oven-bake clay heads with plasticine hands, the grass is made from two painted bath towels, and the garbage truck is a toy I bought second-hand and added the claw. Building all the puppets and sets took two months. Animation was two weeks and I outsourced music and sound design at the last minute so I could focus on editing and compositing. Everything is real, handmade and full of hot glue.
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What do you love about working with stop motion and animation?
I love how stop motion and animation in general force you to collaborate or otherwise be lonely and sad and take four times longer to complete anything. I had a wonderful little crew of creatives in Lucy (Art Department), Mack (Art Department / Crochet Artist), Goldy (Colour Grade), Ryan (Sound Design/Music) and Seamus Spilsbury (Development). Check out their work!
Flickerfest has long been a launching pad for emerging filmmakers. How important is this platform to you?
I’ve been incredibly lucky to have worked on some amazing productions in my career, but it feels like I’m still searching for my own voice as a filmmaker. Flickerfest is such an important festival in providing a platform to do this, as well as opportunities like the Specsavers competition. I really hope to come back in the next few years with a film in competition.
Often, creators don’t want to touch commercial work for fear it’s not “real” art. What do you say to these people, and what are the pros of commercial filmmaking?
I understand why some people would feel that way about commercial gigs, and it can be stifling to work for brands when they give you minimal creative freedom. As a freelancer, I’ve never really had the luxury of picking and choosing what I work on and just try to catch the next thing that falls out of the sky. I’ve certainly learnt a lot from working on commercial jobs, and it’s improved my communication, problem-solving and decision-making skills.
What’s your advice for filmmakers wanting to break into the industry?
I’m not really one to give career advice, as everyone’s path will be different. For me, it was finding my people, persistence and quite a bit of luck.
What’s next for you? What are you working on at the moment?
I’m currently in the UK at Aardman, working on the new Shaun the Sheep movie, The Beast of Mossy Bottom, which is a dream come true, and after that, I’ll be back to my default of making it up as I go.
