Interview with animator/filmmaker Maik Hempel
Maik Hempel is not just a funny guy! He has some seriously AWESOME work. During his University years at Griffith QCA, Brisbane, he developed Rashman with his mate Adam Leigh. They have since created several episodes in this funny series.
Still from the Moby Music Video – Wait for Me.
Recent projects include “Wait For Me” Moby music video (This is such a great animated music video. Wish I could play the game to help the little guy have a better day. Worth a watch!) and “Mollusks” animated web-trailer. Read his hilarious bio below.
How you got to where you are today?
I was birthed in Germany’s Black Forest (not as primal as it sounds… there was a hospital involved) and a decade later, along with my family, migrated to Australia for the winter like a flock of wild geese – in “V” formation. As it turns out, that winter has lasted for the past 20 years and I now “call Australia home”, not unlike those pre-teens in the QANTAS ads.
Some time in my early to mid-teens, after seeing Mufasa get trampled to death by a heard of Wildebeest on the big screen, I grew pubes and an interest in animation (these incidents are unrelated). At the time, my enthusiasm for the art form was limited to amateur home videos and primitive stop-motion animation. In fact, it wasn’t until 6 or so years later, after a half-arsed attempt at a degree in Architecture, that I considered animation and film as a way to feed my habit – that habit being hunger.
In 2002 I enrolled in the Bachelor of Animation at QCA in Brisbane and have never looked back, proverbially speaking. Two of my uni projects included episodes of Rashman, which I co-wrote/directed with my high school mate and non-sexual (writing) partner, Adam Leigh. Post-uni, we went on to make three more episodes of Rashman, which seems to have spread through some online communities like meningococcal – you won’t catch it unless you actively seek it out and splash it in your eyeball.
The birds from Rashman.
Still from the Sneaky Sound System Music Video.
Still from The People People Music Video.
Other works I’ve had my hand in since then include music videos (Moby, Sneaky Sound System), commercials, children’s TV (Dogstar) and various personal projects.
In a few words, describe yourself…
Generally relaxed, Peter Pan complex, bi-pedal, hemispholiating.
What are you spending your time on at the moment?
At the moment, I’m developing a series called Mollusks – An Animated Comedy About Sex, Crime & Invertebrates. I don’t think I need to elaborate.
Do you have a ritual for getting into the creative mindset? Or a creative process?
To be able to write, I need a lot of down time. It’s not generally something I can “squeeze in” between harpsichord rehearsal and Sepak Takraw. Once I have something on paper though, the process of turning it into a finished film comes fairly easily, especially if there’s a deadline e.g. for a competition or studio. At that stage it’s just a matter of going through the different phases of production – like building a house, except not as fraught with nail-gun mishaps. The beginning – writing – is definitely the hardest matrix to crack, though.
What or who inspires you?
Things and people that make me laugh including, but not limited to, The Office (UK), Seinfeld, Family Guy, Black Books, Shaun Of The Dead, The Big Lebowski, comedians like Shaun Micallef and Ricky Gervais, my girlfriend and my mate Adam.
What are you most proud of?
That I’ve been able to make a living, although at times a very limited one, from what I love to do. Other than that – the fact that I’m still alive.
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Fireman, Vet, LEGO designer… in that order. Is it too late?
Maik’s website is equally as humorous with heaps of clips in the animation section – check it out!
