Keeping Fresh the Old Spirit: An interview with JJ Sedelmaier
by Jake Friedman
Witty animation with mature themes have inspired most of us [watch “Stoned Wheat” on Youtube.com] but much credit should probably be given to JJ Sedelmaier. Very few studios have a track record like JJ Sedelmaier Productions; upon entry of the studio, which currently houses six hired full-time staff, nearly a hundred awards grace the shelves. This is the studio that introduced us to SNL’s “TV Funhouse” the first season of “Beavis and Butthead,” the intro to “Strangers with Candy,” countless memorable animated commercials, and most recently the Tek Jansen sequences on “The Colbert Report.”
In an age of CG departments in 2D studios, or in which all the drawing done is on digital Wacom tablets and Cintiq screens, Sedelmaier’s studio, co-run by JJ and wife Patrice, stands out in the sea of time. It’s a studio that encourages a creative vibe with hands-on art, using [ooh!] light discs and [ah!] pencils. I was recently graced with freelance animation work at the White Plains studio, where one of my first tasks there was cleanup and inking with pens on paper!
There’s no question of Sedelmaier’s strength in the New York animation community, but I wanted to uncover the secrets of the masked man, Sedelmaier himself.
JF: What’s your sense of quality work that you strive for?
JJS: It’s based on really thinking about why something is designed the way it is and trying to keep it as valid as I can. You can have something that feels conventional, but there should be something about it that sparkles. Sometimes it’s a glorious, luscious style. Other times the style is very rudimentary, even crude, but there’s still something charming or smart about it. (Read the article)
