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CTN New Member – Uwe Heidschötter

Welcome our newest CTN member Uwe Heidschötter:

CTN: Tell us a little about who you are. Where do you work? What do you do?

Uwe Heidschötter: My name is Uwe Heidschötter. I was born on new years eve ’78 in Germany. Together with my boyfriend and our dog, I live in Berlin. I am a designer and animation director.  In the last years I worked a lot with Studio Soi. Next to animation I also love illustration.  Just a few days ago, my first illustrated children’s book was published.

CTN: How long have you been working in the animation industry?

Uwe Heidschötter: 10 years

CTN: What are you currently working on?

Uwe Heidschötter: At the moment I do some character texturing for a TV special. Next week I will start with some character concepts for a german feature project.

CTN: Who do you feel has inspired you the most?

Uwe Heidschötter: I grew up with Disney films and Japanes-German animated TV series. ( Heidi, Biene Maja, Marco…) I think this is my base. Then there are a lot of different influences.  A strong one is the work of Claire Wendling.

CTN: Apples or oranges, tea or coffee: do you prefer creating for independent small studios, or large format big studios and what do you think is the difference?

Uwe Heidschötter: The project and the people are most important for me. I need to feel the right spirit and passion and the overall concept should be good.

At smaller productions I enjoy to have so much influence on the result by doing some of the boards, the design,
maybe a few shots of animation… this way I feel very connected to the final film.  But I also enjoy to work in one field and have the chance to push my level and work till it is really good. This is not possible with a small budget.

CTN: What is your medium of choice for storytelling through animation and why? 2D, 3D, stop motion or all of the above.

Uwe Heidschötter: I enjoy the mix. In my co-directed film “The Little Boy and the Beast” we used flat shaded CG characters with painted backgrounds.
In “The Gruffalo’s Child” we had miniature sets with CG characters. I think it is fun to combine and create new looks.

CTN: Where would you like to see animation be in the next 5 years?

Uwe Heidschötter: I would love to see more TV specials with warm and honest stories.
I think 30min is such a nice format to tell a story with a 1-1 1/2 year production time.

CTN: How did you first hear of The Creative Talent Network and what are your expectations and goals from being a member?

Uwe Heidschötter: I think, with the internet and our small industrie it is difficult not to know about it. I feel very pleased to become a part of this group, including to many people I admire.