Peter Lowey Annecy Interview

Melbourne-based Animator Peter Lowey  recently got back from Annecy after winning the Festival’s YouTube contest with his gorgeous short film, “Sidewalk Scribble”:

Peter is the second Australian in a row to win the competition following Bernard Derriman’s entry (POP), last year. We asked Peter to share some of his impressions on his French experience and his week at the Annecy International Animation Festival, Oulala!

Ozanimate - What was your initial reaction when you heard of the win?

Peter Lowey - Annecy told me that I had won 2 weeks before the festival started, so I was in Melbourne when I got the email, and it was night time.  My initial reaction was to wake everyone up and … scream.  But I had to keep it a secret until they announced it on awards night.  Probably the best part of the whole thing was finding out I won.

How would you describe you experience at Annecy? Was it your first time at the Festival?

It was my first time there,  I was also the only one going there that knew that I had actually won something. I’m amazed by the amount of networking that goes on there in that week,  the whole town seemed to have animation fever.

What was the best highlight of your stay?

Meeting up with other filmmakers from other parts of the world was a great thrill,  another highlight was the Disney BBQ where the Youtube award ceremony was held, it was a surreal experience,  I had the French Minister of Culture award me the trophy, and then in typical Disney fashion a huge rainbow appeared in the sky above us.

Peter accepting his trophy from French Minister, Frédéric Mitterrand.

You took only two weeks to complete Sidewalk Scribble, how much coffee was involved?

Ild say caffinee was a big part of my diet in those 2 weeks, I wasn’t sure if I was going to finish it in time so I was working as fast as I could. The whole staging of the film seemed to fall together surprisingly easily and I just became very focused and motivated to make this thing happen and try and win. As far as production goes, It was probably the easiest short film I have ever done.

What were your inspirations and ideas for the short?

I have a habit of overcomplicating my animations and overdoing things,  so  a big obstacle for me to learn was to keep it simple,  I really believe that less is more. As far as learning to keep it simple, I’d say the biggest inspiration would have been a 2007 film I’d seen called ‘The Tourists’  I was amazed at its subtleness. The squiggly drawing style that I used is slightly inspired by jean michel basquiat, His work taught me that scribbling can be as expressive and emotional as any fine art.

You’ve also won a five-night trip to LA and a visit to Disney Feature Animation, is that yet to happen?

After I polish of a few projects im involved with right now, ill be heading to L.A in late August,  Im really excited about going,  I remember when I was about 9 years old, I used to read and study books about the Walt Disney studio like they were the bible, it used to be my mission to know everything about Walt Disney,   So to be actually walking through those hallways in that studio is pretty crazy.

What’s the Animation community like in Melbourne?

The animation community is getting stronger in Melbourne,  Im always seeing amazing work from here, I think animators here can learn from each other help inspire each other to make greater work,  who knows what great animations might come out of Melbourne in the future.

What projects are you working on now? (If you can tell us)

I should have a music video im working on coming out around august,  I also have a 3 min pilot episode of this new character im working on named Alfred Skimmy coming out not long after that.