We’ve decided to add a little twist to our series “What’s up Next?”.
We are meeting the 2023-2024 generation of talents in two key moments: at the start of their trajectory – focussing on finding out more about the artists and what they expect from the program, and at the end of their course, discussing the things they picked up on the way.
Without further ado, dive into the first talk we had with animation director and motion designer Kanso Ogbolu.
“It has been one hell of a ride and I would do it all over again.” Words not often associated with an educational experience but in the case of our Nexter Kanso Ogbolu, the way he reflects on his time at Master Animation of St. Joost School for Art & Design. Also: a perfect reflection of his adventurous and dedicated spirit, going full force in any endeavour and making the best out of it. “I started the Master’s Degree at St. Joost not knowing what to expect” Kanso says, “but I ended up with amazing friends, the best tutors, a new network full of possibilities and a 14 minute animated film, Ex, Why? that has been selected and screened at numerous festivals including the prestigious Kaboom Festival.”
When we talked Kanso worked as a motion designer for a software company, but transitioned in his trajectory to fulltime freelancing. ” When I worked for the software company I also tried to channel a lot of my creativity towards projects like the title sequence I created for Playgrounds, The Art Department.”
The title sequence for TAD 2023 remains an artistic experience very close to his heart. “I was given the freedom to do whatever I wanted and that in itself was a blessing and a curse because my brain tends to want to do a lot of things. I, however, had to channel what I’ve learnt during my master studies about killing your darlings and keeping things simple and cohesive.
The title sequence ended up representing my often chaotic visions and ideas. The ones people don’t often get to see. It show-cased a mix of styles, a ton of experiments, research and ideas all culminating to a grand finale – a final product worth showing the world.”
Reflecting on inspirational artists, Kanso mentions: “I have a lot of people and events that have shaped me into the creator I am today but in this case I would say the team(s) at BUCK. Their diversity in creativity is truly something to behold. Their fingers are in everything from commercials to film and games and they are not afraid to get messy in the playpen. I am always inspired by their versatility and hope to collaborate with them one day.”
Kanso’s expectations from the Next trajectory are perhaps some of the most beautiful and humbling wishes we’ve heard expressed. ’There are a couple of things I hope to gain from the Next Talent Program including the art of pitching my chaotic ideas to prominent people, creating a pilot episode of an IP I have developed over the years but most importantly, I would like to learn how to fail.
I would like to learn the ability to experiment, try out new things and see beauty in failing. It’s a hard task for someone like me who loves to work and see things to the end. I usually do not do well when I do not accomplish something I set out to do and while that is a trait many look forward to working with, it is also mentally draining if and when you do not succeed in a given task, which happens in life quite often. I would like to use this trajectory to learn that failure in the midst of hard work is an art form in itself, and it is one that must be embraced. Because often in failure new ideas are born!”
His dream mentoring session would be with Kevin Feige. “I would like to understand how he did what he did with Marvel when no one believed in the IP. Today it is the biggest franchise ever and I personally have IPs in my head I would like to take to that level one day, say 20 years from now!”
Passion, down to earth and kindness harmoniously reside in Kanso Ogbolu. “It can and will only get better” he likes to say about his artistic path “and I am here for all of it!”. And so are we, Kanso, so are we! Very eager to see all the awesome things you will do!