ANIMATIC STORYBOARD
The Godfather of Storyboarding By Connor Judson Ga r re t t
F ive-thousand production credits and 40 production and distribution deals later, the writer / director / storyboard artist Mark Simon continues to find new ways to evolve his craft and his career to stay on the cutting edge. “At first, I wanted to be a cartoonist. I had a syndicated comic strip, but it didn’t really go anywhere. The genesis of film for me started with theater. I was attacked by a gang before that,” says Simon. “I thought Hollywood sounded cool, so I moved. I didn’t know anybody there but ended up as the art director on Slave Girls from Beyond Infinity . While I was on a different set, I talked an agent from Storyboard Inc. into training me. I practiced until I was good enough to do it on shows. I went on to become the second art director at Nickelodeon. Spielberg came to Orlando. I went there with the express intent of becoming the storyboard artist for his show seaQuest DSV, which at the time had the biggest budget of any program on television. I’ve been doing storyboarding full-time ever since.” Toon Boom Animation referred to Simon as “The Godfather of Storyboarding”, a name that’s stuck ever since. Simon was brought on as a consultant to help create Storyboard Pro — the main software storyboard artists use in production — and optimize it for live action and animation. His work with the Toon Boom software team earned him a Prime Time Engineering Emmy. The books he’s written on storyboarding are used around the world. Another reason Simon has earned such a grandiose nickname is because he has found a way to either create or remain up-to-date with the most forward-thinking technological developments in his field. “One thing that directors like most is something that I’ve added to the set of The Walking Dead. The system I’ve implemented allows them to see what I’m storyboarding in real time. This means I can get approvals on the fly and press play so they can see the entire animatic move,” says Simon. “I’m fast with the software and few people can do this stuff live under pressure. Most artists take notes and go away to do their work. But this on-demand approval process reduces miscommunication and saves the director and production a huge amount of time. The director gets to see their vision immediately. “I also utilize the technology in a similar fashion even from long-distance. I share my screen with them, so they see me drawing. It doesn’t matter where I am or where they are, they can see it develop in real time.” Early in his career, Simon saw an opportunity to put himself in prime position in his field at the dawn of the digital age.
“When I first moved to Hollywood, I failed an animation test for Masters of The Universe. I didn’t know how to fill out dope sheets,” he says. “We could scan things digitally years later. Everything became easier as long as you evolved with it. I bought a digital ink and paint system, trained myself in it, and once I had a portfolio of samples, I snuck onto the back lot of Disney. I approached the owner of
Mark Simon
a company doing CG and told him I wanted to be his source for animation. I ended up animating Tinker Bell. Disney was actually my first animation client and that first piece was used as a commercial to launch Disney’s cruise lines. They also used it on a 40-foot wide screen as the finale to their live Broadway show on the ship.” Simon’s skill and experience continued to develop, culminating in a grand-prize victory at the first-ever Nicktoons Film Festival. “Every animation network called me the next day and asked me to pitch,” he says. “While I love storyboarding, animation, and live action, I think a lot of people don’t know how much I enjoy directing. I love to tell and sell stories. I was the second unit director for Spielberg on seaQuest DSV. ”
Currently, Simon is working on an undisclosed Netflix animation, Black Lightning (a program about an African-American superhero with the power of electricity) and storyboarding The Walking Dead: Season 10. “In a way, these recent projects are a return to my roots. I had 7,000 comics and learned to draw by copying pages of comic books,” says Simon. “There’s a huge overlap between comics and storyboarding. It’s all about visual storytelling and every story is about the characters — heroes, villains, antiheroes, sidekicks,” says Simon. “I’m still a fanboy after all these years.”
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