New Director: Julia Pott

shots’ editor at large, Lyndy Stout, scours the globe for fresh, new directing talent so we can find out what makes them tick and, of course, take a look at their work.

This time around RCA graduate Julia Pott pauses from packing for New York where she has just signed to Hornet Inc  to talk about her animation process, ridiculous dancing and being obsessed.

Your work features animal-like characters with wonderfully insightful human attributes. What comes first – the role or how the character looks?

The role of the characters comes first. What is most important to me in a piece of work is that a very specific sensation comes across. The little anthropomorphic characters are employed to help that happen.

What piece of work are your proudest of and why?

I would say I am proudest of my new film Belly as I tried something new and really pushed myself. It made me excited about animation again where I felt I was getting into a bit of a rut, and for that I’m very grateful to it. 

Did you write the script for Toyota Corolla commercial or was it scripted by Saatchi creatives?

The chap in the Toyota ad is actually a real guy. I am always finding out from various friends who work in advertising that caigns focused around these 'real life' character's are actually fictional and it really bums me out - mainly because I'm very gullible and feel cheated somehow. 

So I was super stoked to get to fly to LA and interview this real person about his failed love life/car. I went through and did a preliminary edit of the interview and Saatchi went back through and made it more people friendly. My original edit was a lot sleazier than the final outcome.  

When did you realise you wanted to be an animator? Were there tell-tale signs from your childhood?

My mom always tells me she knew I would be an artist because I never asked for the name of the book, I would always describe it based on its colour and pattern. I don't think that says much about my artistic abilities so much as my bad memory. I was a pretty keen drawer though and my mom did encourage that. I would draw my bad dreams, we would write a children's book together at night about a scuba diving secret agent and whenever anyone asked I would tell them I wanted to work for Disney. So I guess the urge has always been there. There was a brief period of time, after I saw the Addam's Family, that I wanted to be an actress - but I was painfully shy and God-awful at acting. 

Where were you brought up?

I was brought up on the outskirts of London in a house in the middle of all these fields riddled with horses and rabbits - very idllylic. The house itself is a bit run down but in a cosy way, where all the sofas are so old you sink in to them and never want to get up again - I love going back there - I feel very lucky that my parents still live in the house I grew up in. 

So you’re leaving London for New York now that you are signed to Hornet. Scary or dementedly exciting?

It's a bit of both. I find myself being so excited I can't wait, counting the days until my flight..and then i'll spend an evening with a close friend and get all nostalgic and sentimental and wondering if I should just stay in London a little while longer. It's the ideal time to go though and I know once I’m there I'll be so pumped I made the leap - if not just for all the glorious food stuffs I can indulge in. 

Your work is intricate and complicated – does it take you forever to complete a piece of work?

It varies from piece to piece in terms of my illustration work. I approach it like an elaborate doodle and can happily spend hours pouring over the same drawing. Animations however are always a long-term commitment. I'm always working to deadlines though which helps me  make snap decisions rather than humming and ha-ing for days over whether the elephants t-shirt should be red or yellow (you know, the really big life questions). 

Do you work in a routine fashion remembering to eat and sleep or do projects tend to take over your life?

When I am working on a short film or music video it's pretty much total lock down. I become a real hermit but I get a kick out of it. I employ routines to make everything a bit easier - everything is scheduled in but pretty much the only thing on the schedule is animating and eating. 

Like most animators I know, when a big project is on 8am until 4am becomes a constant relationship with a lightbox, very rarely leaving the house or standing up. You know you're working towards something you're passionate about though so it's not a struggle - and you really earn the time off when it's all over. 

What did studying for your Masters at the RCA bring to your animation? And what were the key lessons you learnt there?

I learnt a heck of a lot at the RCA. Before going there I had only made one short film and then gone straight into working as a full time animation director, but on jobs which didn't force me to look at story structure, character development or script writing. I thought if I kept going on that way my work would start to suffer so I took the two years out to focus on my own stuff. It was a big eye opener. Things I had never really addressed before turned out to be real weaknesses. Script writing was a big one and my new film Belly is my first entirely scripted narrative film and I'm so glad I tackled it. 

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learnt about making films?

Every film teaches me a new lesson about how I work and what comes more easily to me, but every time the lesson seems to be to push myself, try something new, and if it's a horrific disappointment it doesn't matter because playing it safe is never as satisfying. 

Do you write your own scripts? Where do your ideas come from and how do you develop them?

Belly was my first entirely scripted piece. My first short film, My First Crush was based on interviews with people about their experiences with love and Howard was part scripted and part based on an anonymous letter written to the Guardian. All of my ideas manifest themselves from something I am obsessed with at the time, based on my circumstances. With Howard I was intrigued by the idea of how most relationships end, not due to any fault on either side, but because the love just peters out. I usually tap into a sadness in myself and then use the film to pull it apart and add humor to it. It sounds a bit dramatic when I write it down but it's a very enjoyable process. 

With the upcoming move to New York, where I spent most of my summers as a child, I became wrapped up in coming of age stories. I started watching films like the Goonies, Harold and Maude, Stand by Me and then focused in on the concept of leaving something behind. You grow out of the lack of responsibility and curiosity you feel as a child, but you can still feel the sensation in the pit of your stomach. 

How do relax after completing a project?

When I'm in the midst of a project I tend to spout on and on about how I'm going to take three months off, do nothing, eBay everything I own and really make an effort to get out there and hang out with my friends. But about one week in I'm back on the lightbox working on something new. So I guess I relax after a big project by starting a new one. When I'm not drawing though I'm a big movie goer and I like going dancing with friends who acknowledge that bad ridiculous dancing is much better than good. It's great for blowing off steam.