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Rick: So, when you are directing - you find yourself drawing extensively to communicate those ideas to your crew?
Tim: Yeah, I always have a pad of paper with me, and it really helps. Whether its animation, lighting, or character design, to be able to throw something down there. Believe me, I’m no draftsmen; I’m a doodler, my stuff pales in comparison to the brilliance of the character animators that are and were here. But, I know that I can communicate. The drawing may not be beautiful, but what I need to say with it is effective.
 Rick: Tell us about the schedule for OTH.
Tim: It was 4 ½ years. Fox dropped the option and we immediately snagged it up back then. We began working on it right away with a genesis story of how these characters met. Over the course of 4 or 4 ½ years, you spend half that time just exploring character design, making sure you have everything in software, building the models, tons and tons of storyboarding and scripting. The last two years are really when you start adding your full crew and reaching 300-350 person bandwidth. Each of the 1,400 shots take its journey from storyboarding, layout, animation, lighting, effects, and final rendering.
Rick: Did you handpick the leads and/or supervising animators, or was that done by someone else?
Tim: A little bit of all of that. I know this crew very well, so I was involved in casting and very key in picking out our five supervising animators.
Rick: Was this production split with both the Northern California and LA crew?
Tim: We did have some folks help us up there. Although, we were centered down here; Half a dozen or so animators joined us from up North on some scenes.
Rick: On average, how much footage were animators expected or scheduled to push out per week.
Tim: I think they averaged about 5 feet of screen footage (not character) a week.
Rick: What aspect do you enjoy the most? What is most satisfying?
Tim: It’s all pretty great, I gotta say. For a paid gig, directing an animated film is as good as it gets. But, I’ll say, animation is number one. I’m an animator at heart, I love working with talented animators, I love being surprised, stunned, and overwhelmed at the way they take the dialogue of these great talented voice actors and make them come to life. And the second thing I really enjoy is the story process, especially early on. You have a wide-open field to play with.
Rick: What are the pros and cons of having a co-director [Karey Kirkpatrick was Tim’s Co-Director on the film]?
Tim: The only cons are when you have a disagreement and the two of you have to hash it out. The list of pro’s are pretty extensive. It is a four-year journey and having someone that can take the heat off, so that you can see your kids at night is important. In addition, having a creative partner that you can bounce ideas off of. Test them at any time. It makes for a better movie.
Rick: What’s next for you [after your time off]?
Tim: We’ll see. I have a couple of things I’m interested in developing. There is the possibility of Over The Hedge 2 as well. I know I love animation and I’ll stick to that. I’m ignoring the live-action offers. Being an animated filmmaker is the best gig in the world.
Rick: Thank you Tim for your time with CGCHAR. It is much appreciated. It was a pleasure.
Tim: It was nice to touch base with you again and I’m happy to talk with CGCHAR. It is a great service provided to the animation community .
Tim's IMDB listing.
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