“We play to our strengths, but at the same time, we share the role of creative director.”—Timmy Fisher
Timmy Fisher: Partner, MK12 / Kansas City MO
mk12.com
“we play to our strengths, but at the same time, we share the role of creative director.”—timmy fisher
What makes the MK12 community and process different?
Our studio is very much an artist collective. We all collaborate with each other on almost every project, internal or client-based, from start to finish. The four of us who started the studio 13 years ago, graduated or dropped out of the Kansas City Art Institute. At school, we’d help each other out on our own respective projects, lending a hand at the grunt work for each other when needed. We also teamed on collaborative works, usually of the kinetic, animated, or experimental nature. We’d help build on initial ideas that we were all coming up with and expand them into workable projects. Each of us have certain strengths, like 3D modeling or compositing. We play to our strengths, but at the same time, we share the role of Creative Director.
Telephone Me
courtesy of mk12
We continue this type of work mentality in our client work as well as our current in-house projects. Everyone can participate on all levels of a project, from initial ideas, to storyboards, rotoscoping, compositing, and any other animation needs after that. This usually amounts to hours and hours and hours of tireless effort, patience, and imagination. Naturally, someone takes on a primary role in driving the development of the piece, due to personal proximity of the project, current workflow, and schedule within the studio.
Telephone Me
courtesy of mk12
Telephone Me
courtesy of mk12
We have no idea if we’re doing it right. We’re based in Kansas City, MO, so our competition isn’t exactly around the corner, where we could go and check out their facilities, share in their freelance pool, or gain knowledge on how they tick. We just do what we do; we like what we make, and that’s why we continue to create.
How does your studio facilitate/inspire collaboration?
The biggest nod toward collaboration within the studio is that we have no walls between our workstations. It’s an open studio, with groupings of three multi-hexagonal desk surfaces that sit in honeycomb formations.
To the west of our desks is a kitchenette, and beyond that is a very long work table that has a built-in light box and drawing tables. There are quite a lot of art supplies within the drawers below for anyone to use. Bordering the table are shelves filled with books, magazines, pulps, and comics, as well as little toys and trinkets from over the years. There are also video game consoles and a flatscreen that sits in front of two of the most comfy couches in the world.
Telephone Me
courtesy of mk12
Semipermanent Titles
courtesy of mk12
To the north, is a giant black theater curtain that splits the studio in two. Beyond the curtain is a big green screen. If any source or test material is needed to be shot, we walk over and help with the staging and capturing. It comes in handy, both in terms of R&D and live projects, when there are live action components that we need to film. There’s also a makeup and wardrobe area.
All in all, the space is around 6000 ft2, counting the front space, which serves as a conference room. Rather than a long table to fit the eight of us, we bought and refurbished a smallish airplane wing. It’s pretty cool. It has the MK12 logo worked into the green and yellow paint job.
We used to have a ping-pong table, but it was destroyed through lots of playing.
What is the arc of an MK12 project?
Each of us have our strengths, but as a group, we’ve become pretty balanced in terms of jumping in and around our production line. We’re able to pick up where others left off as they move on to other notes on the list or a different ongoing project. It’s pretty organic. We’ll collectively think of ideas, and as a group, hone in on the few that we want to explore further. We continue the process until we’ve all landed on a cohesive idea and technique that we’re digging. A script or outline is written, storyboards are made, style boards are constructed, sets are built, wardrobe is chosen, live action is shot, keying and rotoscope work is applied, edits begin, compositing and VFX commences, animation is created, compositing is composited, and final coloring is finished. With the eight of us and our shared skill sets, we can do most all of this in-house.
Follow the Sun
courtesy of mk12
Occupy Wall Street
courtesy of mk12
A lot of the time, we’re the background talent in all of our internal work. We’re cheap and we’re usually available.
Does authorship matter in group projects?
Everyone feels a shared sense of authorship with the work. We’re all working together towards the same objectives and share in most all of the tasks involved, so we’re all able to consider some ownership within the works we’ve participated in.
The work is always credited to MK12. Directed by MK12. Written by MK12. Animation by MK12. VFX by MK12. Even Produced by MK12, as we tend to self-finance our own internal work. Since we’re all creators of the work, it’s easier to have it all fall under the studio moniker. There’s also something nice about the anonymity.