Simon James Smith (born 16 September 1968) is a British

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

, and voice actor. He is best known for his work at

DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division ...

. Smith came to PDI/DreamWorks in 1997 as head of layout for the company's feature film division. A CG animation veteran with nearly 35 years of experience, Smith supervised the layout department on PDI/DreamWorks' first animated feature '' Antz'', serving as the Head of Layout in '' Shrek''. He then directed the Universal Studios Theatre experience '' Shrek 4-D'', followed by the short '' Far Far Away Idol''. His first feature film as a director was in 2007, with '' Bee Movie''. He then directed another DVD short, '' Megamind: The Button of Doom'', before co-helming, with

Eric Darnell Eric Darnell (born August 21, 1961) is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, screenwriter, songwriter and occasional voice actor best known for co-directing ''Antz'' with Tim Johnson, as well as co-directing and co-writing ''Madagas ...

, the comedy/spy action spin-off from the ''Madagascar'' series, '' Penguins of Madagascar'', the mini series "Baymax Dreams" for Disney, and is executive producer "Batwheels" for Warner Bros.

Early and personal life

Smith was born in Watford UK, to English parents. He grew up in Hatch End, Middlesex, before moving into London proper in 1982.

Career

Smith began his career in London, where he worked as a boom operator/sound assistant working on various film and tv productions. He discovered video editing at the advertising agency BBDO, editing on the Apple and Pepsi accounts. He then jumped over to post production house

SVC Television SVC or .svc may refer to: Biology * Spring viraemia of carp, a disease of fish * Superior vena cava, a heart vein Colleges * Saginaw Valley College, now Saginaw Valley State University, Michigan, US * School of Visual Concepts, Seattle, Wa ...

, to continue editing but there he also discovered the computer graphic machine Symbolics. He fell in love with the evocative combination of art and technology and taught himself how to animate. He continued animating and FX supervising on various projects at the editing and effects house Framestore and post house VTR, where he established his own 3D department. Immediately prior to joining PDI/DreamWorks, Smith served at The Mill as the CG supervisor on commercial projects for Nike, Honda, Volvo and VW Polo. He was a pioneer in the field of pre-visualization, becoming the second ever Head of Layout in cinema history on the film Antz, using that skill set to create PDI's Layout/Pre Viz Department which became an integral part of PDI's filmmaking process. Smith was also instrumental in helping to set up a CG layout department for Aardman Animation for the production of '' Chicken Run''. Known for his work on the award-winning pop video '' Go West'' for the

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

, Smith also received the first ever

Gold Leaf Award ''RPM'' ( and later ) was a Canadian music-industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. ''RP ...

for his 3D directorial work on the commercial West Lites. Smith supervised the layout department on PDI/DreamWorks' first animated feature '' Antz'', serving as the head of layout in '' Shrek''. He then directed the Universal Studios Theatre experience '' Shrek 4-D'', followed by the short '' Far Far Away Idol''. His first feature film as a director was in 2007, with '' Bee Movie''. He then directed another DVD short, '' Megamind: The Button of Doom'', before co-helming, with

, the comedy/spy action spin-off from the ''Madagascar'' series, '' Penguins of Madagascar''. He then created, wrote, and directed "Baymax Dreams" for Disney. A joint Unity/Disney production to prove that a real time engine could be used to make broadcast tv content. Smith won an Emmy for that project. He is currently executive producer/showrunner on the next Batman CG animated tv series "Batwheels" starring Ethan Hawke for Warner Bros.

Film credits

Directing

Animation

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Simon J. 1968 births Living people British animated film directors British animators British cinematographers British film directors British male voice actors DreamWorks Animation people Warner Bros. Animation people