An Oscar nominee Animation of a video writer is a remote worker in Oulu

Sanna Myllykangas from Oulu works for a legendary animation studio from her hometown.

In March, the film world meets again to follow the annual Oscar gala, but this time there is plenty of excitement in Oulu.

How has he ended up with international hit animations?

During the interview, Myllykangas is wearing * Chicken Flight 2: Nuget Press * Hoodie. Completed in 2023, the film is Aardman’s previous full hit – and also Myllykangas’ favorites as a factor.

– The characters and the genre of the movie were familiar and dear. I like those Mission Impossible -style Heist movies like this, he says.

Participating in the second part was a kind of dream come true, as the pre -part * Chicken Flight * (2000) was an important movie for Myllykangas as early as childhood.

Aardman is not any animation like a sausage workshop. In fact, it’s a legend in its field. Its crown jewels include *Wallace

Founded in 1972, the animation studio is known for its peasant Stop Motion wax animations.

During the reign of turbocharged computer animations, it seems strange that Aardman still believes in the jerk of handmade wax characters.

After all, the whole technology is extremely slow: ready -made material is generated for 2-5 seconds per week.

This means that the work must be carefully designed. The instructions of the animators are the drawings of video writers.

For example, Sanna Myllykangas.

Telecommuting from Oulu

Myllykangas has been a member of Aardman for eight years and has been able to testify from the fence to see how beloved animations are created.

The new *Wallace

For the past few years, he has worked in his home region from Oulu. Moving from Britain back to Finland was due to life situation and home life, including, he says. The distance has not been a problem for the employer.

– During the corona pandemia, it was noticed that this work can also be done well remotely. I have colleagues around the world, Canada and China, says Myllykangas.

Aardman’s headquarters is in Bristol, so a two-hour time difference to northern Finland does not cause any problems with communication. Myllykangas sometimes admits that he longs for a work community and a creative atmosphere.

– But as an introvert, I also need my own peace of mind. It is not always possible in an open office.

The video writer has a lot of power

The animations were of interest to Myllykanga as early as childhood, but they became a profession eleven years ago.

An important step in the journey was the decision to go on to study animation in Dublin Ireland. There he dawned on him that there was also a video writer in animation production. The school was teachers, for example, in Disney’s earning factors, who received precious guidance on the secrets of the industry.

– Initially, I fell in love with how much story and atmosphere can be modified at that point.

The video writer has the power to pace the viewer into emotional storms.

– Sounds nasty, but I can manipulate the audience’s feelings: I want you to cry at this point and laugh at this point.

After graduation, the first work clicked from home in Finland: Myllykangas made a series of * Angry Birds *. After Rovio driven his animation studio in Helsinki, Myllykangas made short work here and searched for internships.

– I placed a lot of applications for different places, including Aardman, but I would never have thought I’d get here.

Aardman was convinced by the skills of Myllykangas, as after six weeks of training, he was offered a permanent place.

The storyboard is the floor plan of the movie

But what does a video writer really do?

– The video script is a sketch version of a movie where each angle, cut and scene are hand -drawn in cartoon -like form. It could be thought a bit like a floor plan of the house.

First, Myllykangas gets its traditional manuscript. Based on this, a video script is created, which brings the story to life.

Changes are also easier and cheaper to sketch into a story -screenwriting, as the actual animation is really expensive and slow, according to Myllykangas. Especially when you remember Aardman’s technology.

Time, money and nerves are saved when animators can customize the characters according to the sketches of Myllykangas and his colleagues.

So there are already a lot of what is seen in the video writer’s drawings in the finished movie: surgery, lighting, character design, among other things. Occasionally, Myllykangas may add funny details and jokes.

– The video writer must have a pretty big tool kit under control.

The last word about everything is always the director, but every now and then the ideas of the Story artist end up in the final movie. For example, * Late Lammas: At the end of the Farmageddon * movie, you will see stupid amusement park activities designed by Myllykangas that one of the characters in the film is developed by funding.

But is the video writer a creative worker or does he only do the vision of others?

Work definitely requires creativity, even if it is done as part of the group, Myllykangas ponders.

– Because the finished output is made up of a creative contribution of more than one person, my interpretations and ideas matter a lot. The video writer’s job is not a conveyor belt, as the job description includes importing according to its own creative contribution, and is even required in almost every production.

– But my own ego must still not come in the way of the process, because in the last handshake, the director’s vision is the one that we will start to implement together.

Genre studio

Over the years, Aardman has developed his own, recognizable style. This is also signed by Myllykangas.

-We make more genre outputs.

This means that the Story artist must have a good knowledge of popular culture and film genre. You have to know different genres in order to catch the director’s idea.

– For example, a sci -fi is a little stranger to me. When we made Late Lammas: Farmageddon, I watched a lot of sci-fi movies and TV series.

Of course, when working with British screenwriters and instructors, the British popular culture is emphasized, so it brings one preferred spiral to the job.

Above all, Aardman animations are comedies. British humor has always sunk into the mill, and he says that is not very far from Finnish humor.

However, there are certain frames that need to be taken into account. For example, many Aardman projects do not use dialogue.

-Nasty humor is not part of Aardman movies because these are family movies.

The difference to the humor of American animations, for example, is clear, says Myllykangas. He noticed it in a project that included American producers.

– They had a much more humorous concept of humor, they wanted big gestures. Aardam has a pretty minimalist grip compared to that. Humor comes more from discomfort.

Myllykangas has not yet seen the latest *Wallace

He admits that it is difficult to look at one’s own work objectively, especially when one movie project usually works for two years.

– On the other hand, there is also the charm of the novelty when you see a finished work that had only black and white pictures and sketches when leaving my desk.

Thoughts are already in the next animation project, but for the sake of contract reasons, Myllykangas must not tell.

– Unfortunately.

However, he hopes to work in the film and TV industry for a long time. Perhaps in the future you can also expand the played movies.

But first, the Oscars are tensioned from below.

*The Oscar gala will be performed at Yle Arena and Yle Theme live at 2.00 am between Sunday and Monday night March 3. Shipment from the red carpet starts at 00: 30.*