Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexander Green and Chaz Walgamott.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Alex’s story. I started wanting to tell stories when I was little. I felt that movies were a more powerful way of telling stories than a book because they used more of the senses. I asked for a video camera for years and never got one. Finally, I decided to move on to microbiology and asked for a microscope and that was the year I got the camera. My parents felt bad that I was giving up on my dreams and they had not supported them sooner.
I ended up going to the Colorado Film school with a buddy and quickly found out that I loved the business side of the creative industry. I followed the school-producing track and spent most of my time at school helping other students not fail their classes. I would have the school’s instructors ask me to work with different students that were having trouble finishing their projects and he had me help them get across the finish line.
I would take a group of students failing to get their project organized and help them pull off the film shoot they needed. I filled out location permits, fixed scheduling conflicts, found tripped breakers in fuse boxes, negotiated with diva actors, calmed students having mental breakdowns, coordinated last-minute location changes, and talked a forest ranger out of giving tickets to a handful of students.
Overall, I had a blast and got lots of projects across to where they needed to be. The film program was based on an agreement between two schools. But the two heads of the program ended up having personal problems and the track I was on dissolved the year before I graduated.
I got married, moved to Utah, and was trying to start my own video business when I met up with Chaz Walgamott. Most of my contacts I had lost when I moved states so when I found out Chaz was doing motion graphics I was excited at the potential of collaboration. After some brief time talking about the possibilities Chaz offered to have me come work with him handling the clients so he could focus on the art. I jumped at the chase to be involved and we started working together in the fall of 2017.
With my additional help and Chaz’s excellent eye for detail, we quickly grew the amount of motion graphics and animation work we were receiving to be more than what Chaz could handle on his own. We began working with freelancers here and there until we had 2 people pretty steadily helping us complete the work.
It was around this time we moved away from just being a few freelancers and opened Digital Gravy Animation as a studio (smellthegravy.com). From there, things continued to rapidly grow. Every 6 months, we felt like a completely different company. Along the way, we moved away from motion graphics and focused more on character narrative animation.
We began to get work that allows us to bring on even more talented individuals and increase the quality of our work. Along the way, we were able to work on projects for Disney, Warner Brothers, Starbucks, Epic Games, The Utah Jazz, The United Nations, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. With each experience, we were able to push our skills and team further than before.
We have begun creating our own content. Chow Pow the game (chowpowgame.com) is a card game that our team created as an opportunity to practice character development and was one of our first attempts at creating our own product. We now have several series in production that we work on in between our client work.
Recently as a studio, we have recognized a need for Utah to receive a little more recognition for the amount of animators and amazing studios that are located here. Chaz and I attended CTN Expo in California last year and were surprised by how many of the people there were from Utah.
We began mentioning that we should have an animation convention in Salt Lake and many people enthusiastically agreed. Now we are excitedly racing the clock to pull off an amazing Large scale trade show here in Utah. The first-ever Salt Lake Animation Expo will be on May 20th and 21st 2022. (slanimationexpo.com).
Chaz’s story. As a young kid, when my friends wanted to hang out (I knew this probably just meant throwing stuff at each other for a couple of hours). I would often show up with my parent’s first-generation point and shoot digital camera (you know the kind that could take like 30 pictures!) and a backpack full of action figures with tech decks taped to their feet. Stop motion skate videos were on the agenda for this 10-year-old Spielberg, standing in the doorway of my unsuspecting, and disheartened, dirt claud lobbing, friend’s suburban home.
Not much has changed, I still love playing with action figures and I still love making weird little videos and art almost as much as my buddy loves flinging dirt at me. We all have a passion for something I guess.
My parents owned the Empress Theatre in Magna and I would often be involved in the productions there. I started painting sets and found a love for painting. That love for traditional painting grew and has become a passion for digital painting as well. Lighting and color have always been exciting to me. I also love movement. One of my favorite things is to watch animated clips but only one frame at a time, slowly thumbing through them as I break down and analyze the movement and arcs.
I am a bit of a rare breed in that I love commercials, I drive my family crazy because I won’t let them skip ads when we’re watching shows together. I love seeing the different ways text moves on and off of the screen, what typeface is being used, the way shots are cut together and timed to music, or how transitions between shots work. It’s one of the best ways to observe trends in visual advertising because they cycle out so frequently.
For a handful of years, I did freelance motion graphics and graphic design. I worked a few different more established positions at different companies for a while and enjoyed the team comradery, but ultimately enjoyed the freedom of freelance and so I returned to that.
When Alex and I began exploring the possibility of working together, I found a way to have both the freedom of being my own boss and working with a team. In all honesty, it truly has been a dream setup for me and my desired lifestyle.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Some of the challenges we have faced in growing Digital Gravy to where it is today are the constant changes in the structure of our business due to rapid growth and changing progress. New technology, new projects that need different methods, the shift from motion graphics to character narrative animation, and the change in members of the team.
All of this means we are constantly learning and trying to find answers. We have found one of the best ways to combat this is using our network and asking lots of questions of those who have already walked these paths. We often meet up for lunch with other business owners in the creative industry to ask questions about how they handled the situation.
We made a big leap shifting from motion graphics to character animation. Early on, we were the big fish in a small pool of freelance motion designers, but changing to character animation put us at the bottom of the barrel. We were now very little fish in a very big pond. Making space for ourselves has required a lot of out-of-the-box thinking.
This is still new territory for a lot of us. We spend a lot of time learning together as a team. Often, we will take time out of our day to teach each other, share ideas, and practice new skills. We are constantly learning new software and experimenting with new methods.
It can all be very overwhelming but also very exciting to constantly be trying new things.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Since 2017, Utah-based studio Digital Gravy Animation has been spicing up the world with storytelling, illustration, and–of course–top-notch character animation.
Digital Gravy Animation is primarily a 2D Character animation studio, though they are familiar with many different styles of animation. They are lovers of lunchtime foosball tournaments, D&D conquests, and barbecuing, the members of Digital Gravy are the creative team behind all the extra sauce.
We have always been involved in the animation community by hosting Meetups, trying to get all those interested involved in the industry by sharing opportunities where we can. We host the Salt Lake Animation Meetup on meetup.com for any local artist and animators in the industry. We are also organizing the first Salt Lake Animation Expo.
The Salt Lake Animation Expo is a new event built by and for the animation community. Centered in Utah, open to everyone, this event is brought to you by local Utah studios, including Digital Gravy Animation. Aimed to join together those in the industry to discover the future of animation.
The event will be held in person but will have a virtual portion for those who cannot make it out. With this event, we plan on creating some noise about the ever-growing animation industry. And with that improving and educating people on the local tax incentives, making Salt lake an Animation hub by helping animation in, not only Utah, but the surrounding areas thrive.
Our specific skills:
SERIES. Our skilled experience in 2D character animation and other parts of the pipeline are perfect for bringing long-form content for families to live.
With a workflow based on the Toon Boom Harmony software, we’re able to take on the production of animated shots, sequences, and entire episodes of series that require a practiced hand–as well as the creation of assets for any part of the process.
CHARACTER DESIGN. A strong, appealing, interesting design can take a character from drab to dramatic–and help convey the themes of the story on every level.
We have proficient illustrators ready to turn concepts into tangible characters of various styles and design languages. And with an eye for consistent art direction and the rest of the pipeline, our designs are expressive, production-oriented, and rig-ready.
RIGGING. Rigs are the puppets that let us control our characters. Thanks to our top-notch rigging experts, characters of every size and shape are given the rigs needed for professional, expressive animation.
In Toon Boom, we create characters, props, and vehicle rigs–the bones and controls for animators to manipulate so they can be brought to life. And with in-house animators providing valuable feedback, each rig is specifically tailored to make sure every animation need is met.
EFFECTS. Smoke, fire, water, or Jell-O! Making sure those animated effects are looking satisfying and pretty is an essential part of our craft.
From liquid to vapor to particles and explosions, adding a little extra sauce is right up our alley. Creating and compositing the 2D effects into shots of animation, smoothing out the kinks, and making sure timing is top-notch helps tell the story even better.
ENVIRONMENT DESIGN. Great location design can transform a simple animation into a vibrant story in an expansive world.
Creating production-ready, in-shot background matte paintings is yet another thing we do to take the animation to the next level. And with multiple layers for increased depth and simulation 3D parallax, the immersion only gets greater.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Alex’s memory. I started wanting to tell stories when I was little. I felt that movies were a more powerful way of telling stories than a book because they used more of the senses.
I asked for a video camera for years and never got one. Finally, I decided to move on to microbiology and asked for a microscope and that was the year I got the camera. My presents felt bad that I was giving up on my dreams and they had not supported them sooner.
Chaz’s memory. As a young kid, when my friends wanted to hang out (I knew this probably just meant throwing stuff at each other for a couple of hours) I would often show up with my parent’s first-generation point and shoot digital camera (you know the kind that could take like 30 pictures!) and a backpack full of action figures with tech decks taped to there feet.
Stop motion skate videos were on the agenda for this 10-year-old Spielberg, standing in the doorway of my unsuspecting, and disheartened, dirt claud lobbing, friends’ suburban home. Not much has changed for this rising friendless creative.
I still love playing with action figures and I still love making weird little videos and art almost as much as my friend loves flinging dirt at me. We all have a passion for something I guess.
Contact Info:
- Email: alex@smellthegravy.com
- Website: www.smellthegravy.com
- Instagram: @digitalgravy.animation
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DigitalGravy.Animation
- Other: www.slanimationexpo.com, www.chowpowgame.com
