On My Radar: Paul Donnellon

What the most creative advertising idea you’ve seen recently?

The brilliant Sipsmith gin Mr Swan advert; the voice acting and character animation in the stop motion and the attention to detail in the puppet build and costumes is fantastic.

What website(s) do you use most regularly? 

Cartoonbrew, for any news on animation; its editorials give good insight into what’s happening in the world of animation and it can be critical and objective about the industry too, not just hype. Boing Boing for mad stories from the oddball places on the internet.

What’s the most recent piece of tech that you’ve bought?

A Moza Air 2 gimbal rig for my Black Magic camera, to give the best stabilisation when filming. It’s been great for getting smooth moving shots.

What product could you not live without? 

My iPad Pro; I do everything on it, even animating on the go and doing illustrations with the amazing ProCreate app.

What’s the best film you’ve seen over the last year?

Pain and Glory, by Pedro Almodovar. It’s very emotional, more low key than his early films, but I think better for that, and a great story of friendship and love over a 30-year period. It also looks great; the art direction is superb.

What film do you think everyone should have seen?

Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, for its tight storytelling and use of restricted location to create tension and mystery. It’s an editing miracle and keeps your attention gripped.

What’s your preferred social media platform?

Instagram. I like the fact it’s visual and not text-heavy like Twitter because it’s like keeping a scrap-book of visual ideas everyday and becomes a great personal reference book when coming up with ideas. I can look back over doodles from years ago and those might trigger an idea for a short film or a project.

What’s your favourite TV show?

I love Apple and Onion on Cartoon Network, and Richard Ayoade’s voice acting is so funny and ironic.

What’s your favourite podcast? 

I really enjoy the podcast Everything is Alive, about giving everyday objects a personality, and the objects all have life issues and angst.

What show/exhibition has most inspired you recently? 

Well, it’s last year, when shows were open, but I saw a great Hofesh Schecter dance piece at Sadler's Wells, and his choreography is mesmeric, and his use of Korean drum music.

What’s the most significant change you’ve witnessed in the industry since you started working in it? 

The ability to show your work to a world audience on YouTube and similar platforms. Now we take it for granted, as if it had been always around, but it used to only be at film festivals where your work was discovered.

If there was one thing you could change about the advertising industry, what would it be?

The rampant ageism; the idea that, over 40, your creativity vanishes and you become irrelevant. In animation you get better at your craft over time, and ideas and points of reference in art, film and theatre strengthen with experience.

Who or what has most influenced your career?

The late Richard Williams [below], animator and director of Roger Rabbit fame; because he always took care over the small details, never became jaded, was always inspiring and was a great teacher to new generations of animators