NMCO’s Animator and Video Specialist Carlos A. Arreola always brings a great amount of enthusiasm and heart to every project he gets his hands on. His motivation comes from the most creative and efficient way to convey an idea.
Q: What made you interested in pursuing Animation as a career?
Carlos Arreola (CA): It was the tool rather than the art itself that made me an animator. When I was in middle school, my father thought he was getting me Premiere for my birthday since I was really into film making. However, not knowing the name of the software really well, he got me After Effects and Flash instead. That was the CS3 version that was released in 2007. I quickly felt inspired by the idea of creating moving content without using a camera. Since then, it’s been my passion to learn new tools to convey the client’s vision.
Q: How is Motion graphics different from Video Production?
CA: I believe they’re both very beneficial when it comes to promoting a business. However, I believe motion graphics can potentially do more with less. A video production can film a tree in the most beautiful way, however, there are thousands of ways that you can draw/animate a tree.
Q: How do you think social media is changing video?
CA: Social Media can be challenging for animation. It requires faster and consistent productions in order for the content to be visible, which may limit creativity. The great thing about this is that new technology is coming out to speed up this process. No one really knows what the next step for animation will be, but as we’re getting faster and stronger and more advanced computers, the animation will improve and become something unique.
Q: What do you love about working at a creative agency such as NMCO?
CA: I get to work with graphic designers and videographers that increase the quality value of my work exponentially. We all learn from each other in this place, and there’s something unique about NMCO that makes you show your best in each project.
Q: Top 3 favorite Animated Movies?
CA:
– The Illusionist (Animated movie by Sylvain Chomet, not the Ed Norton one)
– The Hunchback of NotreDame
– Klaus
Q: What’s your approach to an animated production at NMCO?
CA: Time Budget and References are always a priority. There are so many ways you can get an animation done, so we want to be efficient. We get the reference images and an idea of what we’ll be making. Once that’s clear, we move on to the script, graphic production ( from the Graphic Department), and voice-over process before we start working on the animation. After all this, the animation is almost a straightforward process. I usually try to find a new way to challenge my animation skills to improve in each project.
Q: What’s on your Animation bucket list?
CA: To direct and animate a whole music album! I love the Graphic style of Gorillaz and that’s something I’ve always wanted to try for myself.
Q: If you weren’t doing Animation, what other types of projects would you work on?
CA: Website programming. Another thing that I love from NMCO Media is that they embody all the skills I want to master. I want to be able to master graphic design and web development, and potentially assist my coworkers in those areas.
Q: What would you like to teach people about what you do?
CA: Never underestimate animation! It can do so much for your business! Watch some TV or check out your favorite social media pages and identify how much animation is involved. You’ll be surprised!
Q: What can we expect to see from you?
CA: Great enthusiasm and creativity!
Q: What projects have you completed with NMCO Media?
CA: Well, most of our clients have had a degree of animation involved. Our retainer clients have been able to enjoy these types of services the most. However, some of my favorite projects have been:
–Otero County Census
This was a fully animated campaign! Our graphic design team did a great job providing the graphics that I used for this project. The goal was to promote the 2020 census through information provided by a cute little character that would move through the screen. It was so fun! In the end, we were able to provide more than 15 videos for this client. These videos were featured on social media, websites, and TV.
–Desert Sun
This is one of my favorite projects to work on from one of our retainer clients. Animation plays a great factor in the production of these videos. From terrifying dinosaurs to genies, this successful dealership features incredible animations and videos in order to promote their vehicles.
– 8Beat films
This is a VFX project. I was the lead on this very short and sweet task: to remove and replace the screens shown in the short film. People usually forget that Motion Graphics also involves skills in Visual Effects on video. Working on this short film and watching the finished product was a very satisfying experience.
– Logos!
I just LOVE animating logos. It certainly gives a unique personalized feeling to the brand that people can remember. Make sure to check out our Animation reel! There’s so much we can do for your business!