Sun 29th Mar 2015, by Mike Hepburn | Peoplestudios
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Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe located between Romania to its west and Ukraine to its north, east and south. It’s probably best known for its ancient vineyards and the glorious varieties of booze that are squeezed from the bulbous grapes found there. It is also the home of Simpals, a small animation studio that packs a big punch. CGSociety caught up with Serghey Kirillov, CG supervisor of Simpals Animation Studio, recently to find out more about this hidden gem.
Can you tell us about Simpals?
Simpals Animation Studio was founded in 2002 by Dmitri Voloshin, director and producer of the studio, an enthusiast whose goal is to promote animation in Moldova and make animated films on an international level. The studio is located in Chisinau (Republic of Moldova). At first, it specialized in the production of TV commercials and music videos, successfully cooperating with local and international creative agencies. But after some time, we realized that we are ready to create something independent and decided to try our hand at CGI animation. We produced 3 short animated films: “Baro and Tagar”, “Gypsy and Death”, “Santa and Death” and 2 more shorts about the adventures of a terribly unlucky Grim Reaper named Dji.
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What is it like working in Moldova? What is the 3D animation scene like there?
3D animation is a field that is not quite developed in Moldova and we are doing our best to promote it both within and outside the country. As there is a shortage of qualified professionals in this area, we decided to open a school (Monsters School), where we could train specialists in the field of computer graphics. This school has already produced more than 300 graduates and some of them continue working in our studio.
When did you start to work in 3D and why?
I have always been passionate about computer graphics and visual effects. So, I didn’t have to choose my career. It chose me=) Initially, I worked as a CG generalist, and then I started to specialize in compositing and rendering as I loved to create CG images. Currently, I’m working as the studio supervisor, lead compositor and assistant director.
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Where did the idea for the series of Dji animations come from?
At first, we made two animated films about a Gypsy and Death, as well as Santa and Death. But we loved our unlucky Grim Reaper so much that we decided to make a series of animated films about his misadventures. In our movies we wanted to break the common stereotype of death. Our Dji is the complete antithesis of the ugly old lady with a scythe. Firstly, he is young and handsome. And secondly, he is kind-hearted, curious, naive and fascinated by the human world.
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What tools (modelling, VFX, compositing) were used to bring your story alive?
We used mainly Maya for modelling, setup, animation and visual effects. It is great software that covered basically all our needs. We also used V-Ray for rendering and After Effects for compositing.
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Have you entered the animation into any awards? Any success?
Yes, we submitted the animation to a number of festivals and now we are waiting for the selection results. The previous episode “Dji. Death Fails” participated in more than 100 international film festivals and received more than 20 awards, among which Best Animation Budapest Short Film Festival 2013, Best Film Shortini Film Festival 2013, Best Comedy Nevada International Film Festival 2013, Best Animation Dieciminuti Film Festival 2014, Best Animation Tri-Cities International Fantastic Film Festival 2014, Best Animation ClujShorts 2014, etc.
Is there something you are currently working on, or are excited about starting, that you can tell us about?
Currently, we are working on the next episode about the new adventures of our unlucky death. We can’t reveal any details yet, so stay tuned!
What would be your #1 advice to other artists?
Always keep learning! Set yourself new goals and try to accomplish them! If you are totally satisfied with your work, it means that you stopped growing.
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