Fred O’Neil, Dunedin based animator, talks about his work.
Begins by explaining children’s responses to his animation. Discusses his Space Twins series. Talks about his plasticine animation and winning awards overseas. Mentions Flight to Venus, his Maori Legend stories, and Birdwoman. Also discusses Legends of Rotorua, the length of time taken to make animation films and the research that goes into putting a piece together.
Talks about children and how his films relate to their lives, with particular reference to King Collywobble and the moral messages for children. Discusses how he comes to deciding on topics to explore in his animation, particularly for older children.
O’Neill discusses his Space Twins, Rob and Dawn in depth and how he has made them appealing to modern teenagers. Discusses the merits and success gained by researching his market audience. Discusses the accompanying music, the plot and duration of the series. O’Neill explains how violence is not acceptable to children and describes the plot to the recent Space Twins episode.
Interviewer asks about where the plot lines come from and questions O’Neill on the origins of his creativity. O’Neill discusses the research he did for his animated Maori legends. Mentions the number of Maori legends that exist, his films Hatupatu and the Birdwoman, and The Great Fish of Maui. Recalls overseas responses to his animated Maori legends. Talks about The Enchanted Forest which was based on a Grimms Brothers fairytale with Maori characters and the response this piece received overseas.
Interviewer asks about the continuation of children's film being made in Dunedin. They discuss the National Film Unit and the Unit’s input into the production of O’Neills films. O’Neill explains how his string puppets work and talks about his other passion, oil painting. Explains how animation is an individual job. Goes on to talk about Phantasm, and the extent to which it was screened. Flight to Venus is discussed (the first amateur film shown in Australia). Discusses ‘elongating the mind’ whilst creating animation films.
Explains his characters personality types and how these determine their facial features.