#aliki theofilopoulos grafft

[alikitheofilopoulos]

Dumbo soars into DUMBO, Brooklyn 💙🐘

[joons]

[alexandrasanimationblog]

Media Roles and Industries

Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft

Roles: Animated series creator, director, story artist, writer, character designer, Emmy nominated songwriter, voiceover actor 

Paper Wings show #31 Interview notes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgB2Escc9qc

Where did the dream begin?

Loved drawing for as far as she can remember

Loved cartoons 

Didn’t have a prejudice towards anything (cartoons)

Was moved by the beauty and artistry but also the humor and emotional quality of the stories

“There was something really attractive to me that drawings could do that”

Majored in art at USC, there wasn’t an animation program yet, there was one animation class 

Got an internship for college credit at Hanna Barbera - turned into a PA job upon graduating

Took classes at the animation guild at the same time - specialized training + life drawing

“‘At the moment I am terrified’ is the signal that I have to go do the thing I’m terrified of” - on taking risks (time stamp 21:54)

She went to talk to John K despite being scared - took the chance to speak to an animator - that conversation led to an internship

Focused on life drawing so her portfolio stood out by asking recruiters to have a second look on it - ended up working at feature animation

Life drawing - focused on character animation - did a lot before actually animating 

Kept signing up for creative classes - found that she loved ‘story’ - discovered that this was what she was meant to be in all along

Character Design class - important moment for her - redesign characters from the wizard of Oz at the moment (work in class) - felt like she lost herself because she focused on study so she lost her sense of a goal 

Nickelodeon was looking for new talent and was recommended by a friend who worked on Spongebob - character design drawings were given - was told to come up with a show for these drawings - didn’t know anything about pitching at the time - was told to base a character on herself to make her more interesting - actually made that cartoon in a short later on - got hired as a story assistant afterwards “Girls on the Go” and “Yaki and Yumi” (these shorts inspired Adventure Time and Funboy and Chum Chum)

“Who are you and what do you have to say?” - Be yourself 

Even though her shorts didn’t get picked up at first, through that experience she learned how to “make a film from start to finish and writing and post” etc.

“Failing upward” - Not letting disappointments break you because you gain experience and you develop your ideas 

Phineas and Ferb - could storyboard AND write- outline-driven show (not just drawing) - Dan Povenmire wanted female writers because of the key female characters in the show - Storyboarding is writing and drawing at the same time as you think 

A lot of trial and error - stacks of work were thrown away - don’t be too attached to something - busy schedule and constant changes to the story as the show was getting released 

What do you think when you’re making a story? 

From a script - critical - constantly asking “why” - “every scene should matter” - if it’s not entertaining/pushing the story/adding to a character then it shouldn’t be there - how is character A different from character B? How does A pick up a book that is different from B? - Index cards and Post-it notes that say in one word what each story beat is about - building a structure for the characters and story in advance helps set everything for when you develop the story as you go on 

Directing - having a clear vision for the project - technical + story-based side

Knowing your strengths and putting them on the table - being open to collaboration - not having to have perfect drawings yet being able to contribute to a project (even if your ideas aren’t all picked up)

“Many paths to the same place” - no right or wrong way - pay attention but you may not end up where you expect 

Heartbreak of a pitch that’s rejected - how do you deal with it? 

You have to pour your heart and soul into things but you should keep going despite the disappointment - You should continue to have the drive to create - Pitching is valuable even if your ideas don’t get picked up

On being overwhelmed by the home and work balance + a family - female animators concerned over being wives and having families while working in the industry - afraid of having to make a choice (men didn’t have that same concern) - “it is very doable” - not expecting yourself to be perfect at everything and to form friendships with people in the same boat as you (working moms, other female animators etc.) to create support for yourself to be in animation and be a good mother/wife 

[toontalkweekly]

Toon Talk Weekly - Episode 261 - “Harvey Street Kids”

On episode 261 of Toon Talk Weekly, Jake and Brad check out the brand new Netflix series “Harvey Street Kids.”

Listen to the episode above or download the MP3 (35.1 mb).

Harvey Street Kids is produced by Brendan Hay and Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft for Dreamworks Animation Television and airs on Netflix. The series premiered in June 2018 and currently has 1 season and 13 episodes.

The show is based on characters from Harvey Comics. The kids of Harvey Street live every day like it’s a Saturday with neverending games of kickball and infinite flavors of ice cream. The three main characters, Audrey, Lotta, and Dot, are the street’s self-appointed guardians and the worlds bestest BFFs. They will do whatever it takes to keep Harvey Street the best block to never grow up on.

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Toon Talk Weekly - Episode 261 - Show Notes

[kathleencoleman-blog]

07-12 HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 07: Writer / storyboard artist / voice actress Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft attends the opening night of the 11th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival at the Egyptian ... http://dlvr.it/PTxqq2

[kathleencoleman-blog]

07-11 HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 07: Writer / storyboard artist / voice actress Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft attends the opening night of the 11th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival at the Egyptian ... http://dlvr.it/PTqjJv

[kathleencoleman-blog]

07-11 HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 07: Writer / storyboard artist / voice actress Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft attends the opening night of the 11th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival at the Egyptian ... http://dlvr.it/PTpxR3

[kathleencoleman-blog]

06-29 HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 07: Writer / storyboard artist / voice actress Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft attends the opening night of the 11th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival at the Egyptian ... http://dlvr.it/PR4GsD

[kathleencoleman-blog]

06-21 HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 07: Writer / storyboard artist / voice actress Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft attends the opening night of the 11th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival at the Egyptian ... http://dlvr.it/PP0QRL

[kathleencoleman-blog]

06-18 HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 07: Writer / storyboard artist / voice actress Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft attends the opening night of the 11th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival at the Egyptian ... http://dlvr.it/PN6xJC

[kathleencoleman-blog]

06-15 HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 07: Writer / storyboard artist / voice actress Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft attends the opening night of the 11th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival at the Egyptian ... http://dlvr.it/PMNTyg

[kathleencoleman-blog]

06-14 HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 07: Writer / storyboard artist / voice actress Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft attends the opening night of the 11th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival at the Egyptian ... http://dlvr.it/PM7tfP

[kathleencoleman-blog]

06-12 HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 07: Writer / storyboard artist / voice actress Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft attends the opening night of the 11th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival at the Egyptian ... http://dlvr.it/PLncMG

[kathleencoleman-blog]

06-12 HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 07: Writer / storyboard artist / voice actress Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft attends the opening night of the 11th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival at the Egyptian ... http://dlvr.it/PLbDsl

[kathleencoleman-blog]

06-11 HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 07: Writer / storyboard artist / voice actress Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft attends the opening night of the 11th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival at the Egyptian ... http://dlvr.it/PLLb8r