Filmmaker Focus: Isaiah Ferguson
10 Questions with the Mixed Media Artist, Animator, Musician & SLS Regular
Isaiah Ferguson is an Afro-Cuban American Multimedia Artist, Animator and Musician born and raised in Los Angeles. Isaiah specializes in digital 2D animation, stop motion animation and fabrication. He works as a fabricator at Apartment D Films and currently has his artwork featured at the Metro K Line station in Leimert Park. His work has also featured in Silver Lake Shorts, Show & Tell Screening Spectacular, Varietyville, and the 2016 White House Student Film Festival. Isaiah is one of the rotating regular animators at Picture This! Comedy!
Karissa Breuer:
Isaiah has been a very supportive SLS community member for a few years now. He has screened his short films and tabled with his visual art at our monthly screenings on many occasions. His shorts have also been featured in special screenings we have produced with Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix. Not only that, but he is very active in the local independent art and film screening scene. He frequently attends many LA based film screenings, does live drawing at comedy events, tables with his art at comic conventions, and organizes events like the Tick’s 30th birthday party at El Cid. He is an artist of many different talents, interests, and is someone who is always working on a new creative venture. If you’ve had the pleasure to meet him, you know that Isaiah has a certain zest for life that comes across personally in conversation and is also very present in his creative work.
We first screened his work ‘My Bologna: the “Weird Al Yankovic” Stop Motion Fan Film’ in February 2024. I remember watching it for that first time with an enthusiastic crowd and it filled me with such joy. It’s well crafted, has a lot of personality, and is not only a love letter to Weird Al but adds his own unique spin on things with all of the visual gags and art design. A pure delight!
We also screened his live action/2D/stop motion animated short ‘Chori Choo Choo’ in March 2024 which is his own original concept about a train conductor getting a little help from his friends, which happen to be a bunch of anthropomorphic food items like an egg, avocado, lime, etc., to make his favorite chorizo breakfast. It once again infuses his charming multimedia style with what is clearly important to him- trains and food that celebrates his cultural heritage.
Isaiah has been working hard to put the finishing touches on his upcoming short ‘Chori Choo Choo Episode 1’ which we’re excited to premiere at our next SLS screening on Friday, March 6th. Very interested to see how he expands his original film idea!
KB: Do you have any core memories with animation that influenced you?
IF: I was always fascinated by character designs that were simple enough to animate yet so appealing on the small screen. The original Peanuts specials from Lee Mendelson/Bill Melendez Productions come to mind - Charlie Brown and Snoopy had a charming limited animation style which suited the pint-sized designs and sometimes even led to great comedic effect (see the famous repetitive dance scene from A Charlie Brown Christmas!). VeggieTales was another huge inspiration; for characters that didn’t have limbs due to the limitations of the technology at the time, so much emotion was conveyed through the eyes alone.
KB: Side Note: Definitely check out Isaiah’s short ‘A Chori Brown Christmas’ a short yet sweet homage to the Peanuts dance scene from A Charlie Brown Christmas that features Isaiah’s original ‘Chori Choo Choo’ characters
For stop motion animation, shows like Gumby, Wallace and Gromit, The Canterbury Tales and Pingu fascinated me with their uses of replacement and clay animation. These little blobs of clay had so much personality. And although technically not stop motion, the practical effects, models and sets of Thomas the Tank Engine were some of my biggest draws to the mediums of film and miniatures. Every little detail was so lovingly handcrafted - nothing you’d ever get from an AI generated video nowadays!
My style of humor also comes heavily influenced from media like SpongeBob SquarePants, The Tick, Pee-wee’s Playhouse, Rex the Runt, One Day at a Time, Monty Python and Jimmy Neutron. I’ve always been a big fan of absurd, surreal comedy and rooting for bumbling underdogs that were doing their best.
KB: How did you get into animation & what is your background with learning how to animate?
IF: As a kid I liked to draw a lot, and it carried itself over to learning how to animate. When I was 10 I taught myself how to animate with MS Paint and Windows Movie Maker (I think using both was a right of passage for a lot of animators my generation!), and a little later I started attending CalArts’ Community Arts Partnership (CAP) animation program. CAP was where I learned more about mixed mediums of animation like claymation, cut out animation and rotoscope. I think it wasn’t until college where I narrowed down the styles I liked to work in best. I primarily use Adobe Animate for 2D as well as Dragonframe for stop motion animation, and I occasionally use Stop Motion Studio on my phone in a pinch.
KB: It is clear your personal, cultural identity has influenced your work visually and thematically. How have you approached developing your own style technically and philosophically?
IF: I believe you just have to follow your heart and make what you would want to see in the world! I learned less is more with a lot of the animated media I grew up on, and I try to reflect that in my character designs and movement - keeping things less “in-your-face”. I like to draw my characters with little slash pupils and a highlight - something that might have been influenced by the Peanuts/Calvin & Hobbes comics. I got away with a convincing stop motion translation of it with the Weird Al puppet in “My Bologna”! I also love cheery, colorful environments.
I lean into a humorous style with my storytelling and an emphasis on visual gags. I keep a sketchbook with lots of character doodles and try to come up with the funniest ones that’d work well in a short. A lot of the gags you see in “My Bologna” for example (the slide projector screen, Al morphing into a bologna slice, etc.) all originated from simple doodles in my sketchbook. I also do my best to write what I think is funny, but never mean spirited.
KB: Side note: Watch Isaiah’s Timelapse for his “My Bologna” video where he shares a part of his behind the scenes process of making the puppet come to life. His “My Bologna” Animatic & Final Video Comparison is another great glimpse into his creative practice as well.
As a first generation American born Afro Cuban (my mom was born in Santiago de Cuba), I believe it’s important to let my cultural identity shine through in my work especially in these unprecedented times of hate and fear mongering by thoughtless world leaders. In the first “Chori Choo Choo” short film, the characters all speak Spanish, and salsa music is blasting along the train journey! I’ve been lucky enough to travel out to the island itself and it’s been a big influence on the Chori series I’m currently working on. I’m very proud to wear that on my sleeve.
KB: What advice would you give to someone thinking about getting into multimedia animation?
IF: Keep on experimenting with different styles, and see what sticks with you! Stop motion is my favorite medium because of how texture-based and toyetic it is. Shows like Bob the Builder and the Rankin/Bass holiday specials; the characters just felt like toys you could pick up and play with! I also enjoy the hands-on process of building puppets, props and sets. 3D could be a good medium for someone coming from a stop motion background as it follows similar principles of blocking poses. Study your favorite pieces of animated media and note the ways each uses their specific medium to their advantage. I think studying live action films and TV is also important for learning camera angles and composition of visual elements like lighting and characters.
KB: What was one of your most challenging projects & why?
IF: “Chori Choo Choo”, my original CalArts film from 2021, was a little challenging. I had to figure out how to make the two different stop motion and 2D mediums compliment each other naturally. Chori was also created during the pandemic, so I didn’t have access to much of my college’s film equipment. Half the fun was figuring out how to film the train sequences - at one point we had model train tracks going all around our home kitchen! I also took pictures of food for my props and animated them in a “collage” style for the characters that meet a comical but unfortunate end on the stovetop. In the end, I’m glad I finished the short - it laid the trackwork for the characters and stories I’d set out to produce years later!
KB: What project are you especially proud of & why?
IF: I’m really proud of “Blue Anchor Bay”, the music video I was commissioned to produce for Irish singer/songwriter Gilbert O’Sullivan, one of my favorite musicians. Gilbert first noticed my “Alone Again (Naturally)” animated tribute in 2022 and gave me full creative freedom in producing the video to his new song based on his experience in art college. He and his family were so kind and fun to collaborate with! The video is a nice, cinematic narrative of a quaint, British trip to the seaside. Music videos have been my favorite medium to work in, and the song itself is so mellow and uplifting. It paired perfectly with my style!
I’m also really proud of “My Bologna” - after all, it was my whole introduction to Silver Lake Shorts! I just wanted to do a short but fun stop motion project and Weird Al has always tapped heavily into my nostalgia. His music lends itself so perfectly to animation! The project took months of experimenting and executing, but it was worth it! The video eventually led to me meeting Weird Al himself by surprise at Dr. Demento’s 84th birthday party! Al couldn’t be any sweeter, and being a big fan of animation himself, was tickled to see my little puppet caricature of himself in person. It was a moment I’ll never forget!
KB: What artists or work are you inspired by lately?
IF: I’m really inspired by animator and director Jorge R. Gutierrez and Stephen Chiodo of The Chiodo Bros, both incredibly kind souls and mentors of mine. Jorge’s style calls directly back to his love for Mexican art and pop culture, as well as his background growing up in Tijuana. Stephen’s practical effects work on UHF and Pee-wee’s Big Adventure were big influences on me as I got into puppet fabrication. Stephen, by the way, taught me everything I know about building stop motion puppets! My favorite piece of stop motion media is currently Guillermo Del Toro’s version of Pinocchio.
Music also influences a lot of what I do! I’ll usually have it on in the background while I draw or fabricate. I love Weird Al, David Benoit, The Beach Boys, Vulfpeck, Incognito, Jamiroquai, Jazzanova, Steely Dan, Jane Monheit and DAISY to name a few artists.
KB: Your work has been featured in so many screening series and events all around LA. What are your favorite independent, local LA screenings/events you’ve been to and why?
IF: Show & Tell Screening Spectacular is one of my absolute favorites screenings, which highlights unreleased, absurd comedy videos. I’ve met many close friends through that screening and I always get a kick out of the monthly selections! The Great Film Club is another fantastic screening, which hosts weekly showcases and an Open Mic for filmmakers, as well as screenings highlighting the work of queer filmmakers and filmmakers of color. Hot 30 Shorts highlights shorts under 60 seconds, and for that length of time, you get a crazy variety! Although it’s not technically a screening, I’m also one of the rotating regular animators for Picture This! Comedy, a fun live animated standup show. In the past few years of going to all these events, including Silver Lake Shorts, I’ve learned it’s so important to get yourself involved with your local arts community. There’s something for everyone! You never know who you’ll meet and potentially collaborate with, and maybe even form long lasting friendships!
KB: What does Silver Lake Shorts mean to you?
IF: It means community, collaboration and films! There’s a welcoming atmosphere of acceptance of people from all backgrounds and walks of life. I always come away inspired by and in awe of the sheer talent on display each month. My favorite part of each event is the mixer after the screening, where you get to meet and chat with the filmmakers whose work you just saw. It’s cool to be able to pick at their brains and learn just what made them tick to create that film. The event is also a great way to network with industry professionals who attend - and it’s all free! With the animation industry in an uncertain limbo, finding Silver Lake Shorts has opened so many opportunities to me that I hadn’t known before. I’m proud to be a member of this wonderful community!
KB: What are your goals moving forward & are there any dream projects you’d like to work on?
IF: Right now my main goal is continuing producing my new indie comedy animated series, Chori Choo Choo, which expands on the concept of the original 2021 short. It follows the adventures of a Cuban food ordering and delivery service in Los Angeles, in the form of a magic model train. It’s like if you put four of my favorite things in a blender - trains, great food, growing up in Los Angeles, and my Cuban background - and out came the perfect “Isaiah” show! The first short episode will be released soon and I’m excited for people to see it! The hardest part of doing any project can be just starting, but once you’re over that hill, the rest just comes to you naturally. I’ve already gotten started on the next short and am working on a tie-in Chori puppet project.
My pie in the sky would be to work on a stop motion project for an IP I love, like SpongeBob. If the opportunity ever comes, it’d be really cool to direct another Weird Al music video officially, or something for one of my other favorite musicians! I’d like to beef up my stop motion resume in general and do a few more one-off shorts in the medium. I have some ideas and it’s always fun to bring a stop motion puppet along to a screening!
Coming Up This Week with Silver Lake Shorts:
This will be a FREE special screening event and has limited capacity but we have been releasing more spots as they become available via the Partiful link to RSVP
Save the Date:
Our next monthly screening is Friday, March 6th at El Cid
Doors at 7pm & Screening at 8pm
Thank you so much for reading!
<3
Karissa
& The Silver Lake Shorts Team