tawsha chesterfield: UBC Film student produces Hollywood animated feature

While the challenge to juggle work and school is not unique to university students, few have been as industrious as UBC MFA Film Production student Luke Carroll has for the past three years.

Since 2009, Carroll has been trying to strike a balance between his commitments at grad school and producing what could be Hollywood?s next 3D animated blockbuster.

Escape From Planet Earth, scheduled for release on Feb. 14, comes from The Weinstein Company, the studio behind such films as Django Unchained, The King?s Speech and Inglorious Basterds. The 3D animated film, directed by Cal Brunker (Horton Hears a Who!), features the voice talents of Brendan Fraser, Rob Corddry, Jessica Alba, William Shatner and Sofia Vergara.

ArtsWIRE spoke with the 41-year-old Carroll about how he got attached to the star-studded feature, and how he managed to juggle a demanding production schedule with his academic commitments at UBC.

Q: What has your experience with the UBC Film Production program been like? When do you graduate???

Carroll: I have thoroughly enjoyed the program and would highly recommend it to others. Juggling a job and the program has been quite the challenge but it was the highlight of the week to be able to go up to the UBC campus and attend class. I especially enjoyed the writing classes with Maureen Medved (writing for film) and Maggie de Vries (writing for children) as well as a wonderfully dense screening and lecture series given by Mark Harris. There are so many incredible courses to choose from, my only regret is not being able to attend more of them!

Having started in 2006 it will be a delight and a pleasure to finally graduate in April 2013.

Q: What prompted you to pursue a career in animation?

Carroll: I was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time. After directing live action short films a friend offered me a chance to direct an episode of an animated television show at what was then Mainframe Entertainment, and now is Rainmaker Entertainment, the studio that produced Escape from Planet Earth. I really enjoyed the experience, and fortunately there were more projects available at the studio that ultimately led to producing Escape.

Q: How did you go about pursuing it?

Carroll: At the end of the day I was lucky and happened to know the right person at the right time to get my foot in the door. However to be given that opportunity I had to have something to show my abilities, so I suppose I went about pursuing the chance by continuing to work on independent projects that could show case what I had to offer.

Q: How did you get involved in the Escape from Planet Earth production?

Carroll: After directing for Mainframe Entertainment I was offered the opportunity to combine my live action experience with my animation experience to work in the relatively new industry of Motion Capture. I proceeded to direct and then produce the motion capture for numerous films, television shows and video games. This led to producing multiple animated Direct-to-Video projects for Mattel Inc. that have sold over 15 million units worldwide. By this time Rainmaker had signed on to produce Escape from Planet Earth and I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to line-produce the project and ultimately become the producer.

Q: What was it that attracted you to the project?

Carroll: The chance to work on an animated theatrical feature in Vancouver with The Weinstein Company as your client and an amazing crew. Good times!

Q: For readers who would like to know more about the role of a film producer, what has a typical workday been like for you on this project?

Carroll:? Busy. No one day is the same. As the Producer, your responsibility is to do whatever it takes to keep the show moving forward. Jobs included building the crew, motivating the crew, dealing with problems before they become problems, stopping the show from falling off the tracks and ultimately keeping the client happy. Basically making sure it gets done and trying to have a good time doing it!

Q: The film has a lot of great, recognizable voice talent attached to it. Did your team create these characters with voices in mind?

Carroll: On the whole the characters were designed before the voices were cast, but there are certain personality traits that lend themselves to certain actors so trying to match them up afterwards is a fun task.

Q: How did your team convince the actors to sign on to the project?

Carroll: It is a cool project and The Weinstein Company has a lot of connections.

Q: Creativity seems to have a higher bar in 2013 as the quality of animation seems to improve with each new major production. Animation must have been a tough business before computers ? but is it also tough today because of the high level of talent to compete with?

Carroll: Yes it is tough but at its core it is still about telling a great story that connects with an audience.

Q: What is the formula behind making a good animated film?

Carroll: Storytelling is definitely a critical element ? there is not one particular formula that creates success, but a strong team, a great script and wonderful artistic talent are important building blocks.

Q: You started work on this project in 2009. Are you excited for the film to finally get a release??

Carroll: Yes. It was a very challenging show to get to the finish line and we are all delighted with how it turned out.

Q: Do you see yourself in another position within the film industry? Are there other roles that interest you?

Carroll: I?m interested in any role that works with great people, helps to make the story the best it can be and supports the film getting to the finish line.

Q: Do you know yet what your next project will be?

Carroll: Finishing my thesis film by April!