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Simon Otto

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Simon Otto
Simon Otto in 2019
Born (1973-06-12) 12 June 1973 (age 51)
Uznach, Switzerland
Alma materGobelins Imagery School
Occupation(s)Director
Animator
Storyboard artist
Years active1997–present
EmployerDreamWorks Animation (1997–2019)
Known forHead of character animation on How to Train Your Dragon
HonoursVES Awards for a Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature
Websitehttp://www.simonotto.com

Simon Otto (born 12 June 1973) is a Swiss director, animator and storyboard artist. He is best known for working as the head of character animation of the Academy Award-nominated How to Train Your Dragon film trilogy for DreamWorks Animation.

Life and career

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Simon Otto was born in Uznach, Switzerland and grew up in Gommiswald in the Canton of St. Gallen. After completing a banking apprenticeship,[1] Otto started his career in the arts by carving commercial snow sculptures[2] in nearby resort towns and drawing news cartoons for his hometown newspaper "Die Suedostschweiz".[3]

Otto studied art formally at the F&F Schule fuer Experimentelle Gestaltung in Switzerland's largest city Zurich.[4] In 1995, Otto left Switzerland to study animation at Gobelins Imagery School[5] in Paris, France where he also received additional animation training through an internship with Walt Disney Feature Animation Paris.

Otto's professional animation career started in 1997 when he was hired by DreamWorks Animation in Los Angeles, California to work as a traditional character animator on the studio's first traditional animated feature film The Prince of Egypt (1998). Otto then spent 21 years as part of the character animation team working on both 2D and CGI projects for the studio. He is particularly known for his work as the head of character animation for the How to Train Your Dragon movie trilogy and has been instrumental in developing the look of the characters and their personalities[6][7] and the overall style of animation for the films.

Otto was rewarded for his achievements with the VES Awards for a Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature in 2011 by the Visual Effect Society.[8][9] Otto designed a number of characters in How to Train Your Dragon and did storyboarding work on the second film and the third film.[10] He was a key contributor to the development of Premo,[11][12][13] the animation software developed at DreamWorks Animation that won an Academy Award for Technical Achievement.[14]

Involved as a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,[15] Otto participates in numerous of events, talks and interviews by highlighting the work of animation in the feature film industry.[16] In 2016, Otto founded LuMAA[17] (Lucerne Master Academy of Animation) with the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Lucerne, Switzerland where animation industry veterans teach a 6-week summer course[18] for up and coming talents.

In 2019 after 21 years of working for DreamWorks Animation, Otto left the studio. He now works as an independent director on various film and television projects.[19] Otto's first released television project after leaving DreamWorks Animation was the episode "The Tall Grass" that he directed for season 2 of the Netflix adult animated anthology television series Love, Death & Robots.

On 14 June 2021, it was announced that Otto would direct the 2024 Netflix and Locksmith Animation film That Christmas (in his feature film directorial debut) which is based on That Christmas and Other Stories, a trilogy of children's Christmas books written by Richard Curtis and illustrated by Rebecca Cobb.[20]

Credits

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Director

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Actor

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Producer

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Art department

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Animation department

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Thanks

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  • Max (2013) (short film) (special thanks)
  • Goodbye Vesna (2016) (short film) (special thanks)
  • The Windshield Wiper (2021) (short film) (thanks to)

Self

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  • HBO First Look (2006–2010) (TV series) (2 episodes)
  • Kulturplatz (2014) (TV series) (1 episode)
  • Creative Spark (2015) (TV series) (1 episode from season 1)
  • Agora.Community (2021) (podcast series) (1 episode)
  • LCJ Q&A Podcast (2021–2024) (podcast series) (2 episodes)

References

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  1. ^ Maurer, Interview von Christian (15 July 2014). "Trickfilm-Star Simon Otto: Dieser Schweizer zähmt die Kino-Drachen". Blick. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  2. ^ "HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: Simon Otto – Head of character animation – Dreamworks". The Art of VFX (in French). 25 May 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  3. ^ mobiles, Maven Sarl, solutions Web et. ""Dragons 2": interview vidéo de Simon Otto". CLAP.CH. Retrieved 20 April 2020. (FR) Il se lance ensuite dans l'élaboration de nouvelles bandes dessinées pour un journal local, Die Südostschweiz. / (EN) He start then creating new cartoons for a local newspaper "Die Südostschweiz."{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Schweizer in der Traumfabrik – Computer-Animationen | Migros-Magazin". Migros Medien (in German). 24 July 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  5. ^ "HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: Simon Otto – Head of character animation – Dreamworks". The Art of VFX (in French). 25 May 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  6. ^ "How To Design an Infinite Number of Dragons in DreamWorks Animation's 'The Hidden World'". Animation World Network. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  7. ^ "INTERVIEW: Dean DeBlois And Simon Otto Talk About The Animation Evolution In 'How to Train Your Dragon' Trilogy". Cartoon Brew. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  8. ^ Finke, Nikki (2 February 2011). "Visual Effects Awards: 'Inception' Wins 4, 'How To Train Your Dragon' 3". Deadline. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  9. ^ swissinfo.ch, S. W. I.; Corporation, a branch of the Swiss Broadcasting (24 February 2019). "'Dragon tamer' animator shows Swiss kids how it's done". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  10. ^ "INTERVIEW: Dean DeBlois And Simon Otto Talk About The Animation Evolution In 'How to Train Your Dragon' Trilogy". Cartoon Brew. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  11. ^ Bishop, Bryan (12 June 2014). "The amazing animation software behind 'How To Train Your Dragon 2'". The Verge. Retrieved 24 June 2020. DreamWorks CTO Lincoln Wallen went to the company's artists, asking them to daydream what kind of tools they would like to use in a perfect world. "I recall it very well," Simon Otto, head of character animation for Dragon 2, tells me in a suite at the studio's Glendale headquarters.
  12. ^ "'How To Train Your Dragon 2' Made Using DWA's New Animation Software". The Hollywood Reporter. 27 July 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  13. ^ Daniel, Mary-Alice (2013). "A Southern Way of Talking About Love". New England Review. 33 (4): 178–179. doi:10.1353/ner.2013.0018. ISSN 2161-9131. S2CID 176978060.
  14. ^ DOVE, STEVE (10 January 2018). "OSCARS 2018: 10 SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENTS TO BE HONORED WITH ACADEMY AWARDS". oscar.go.com. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  15. ^ "THE ACADEMY PRESENTS THE 2017 CAREERS IN FILM SUMMIT IN LOS ANGELES". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  16. ^ Frei, Vincent. "Creative Spark: Simon Otto". Swiss Made VFX. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  17. ^ "Simon Otto – LuMAA". lumaa.ch. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  18. ^ "Schweizer in der Traumfabrik – Computer-Animationen | Migros-Magazin". Migros Medien (in German). 24 July 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  19. ^ ""Meinen Drachen werde ich vermissen"". suedostschweiz.ch (in German). 2 February 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2020. Nach 21 Jahren verlassen Sie die Dreamworks-Studios. Was haben Sie als Nächstes geplant? Otto: Ich bin jetzt «vogelfrei» (schmunzelt). Ich weiss, was ich möchte, aber noch nicht wo: Mein nächstes Ziel ist es, in der Regie von Animationsfilmen Fuss zu fassen. Wohin es mich genau verschlägt, ist aber noch offen.
  20. ^ Motayor, Rafael (14 June 2021). "Simon Otto to Helm Animated 'That Christmas' Adaptation, Based on Books by 'Love Actually' Writer". Collider. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
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