When you’re watching an ad on TV, do you stop to think about the work that goes into that ad? About the care someone took with the scripting, or recording the voice-over, or maybe even the animation of that ad? Probably not. Most of us just flip the channels or lower the volume until our shows come back on. We don’t realize that there’s a whole world of small business people that are responsible for producing the advertisements we see on local TV.

One such person is Computer Animator Michael Watkins. Michael is the Creative Director of E.L.F. Productions in Atlantic Shores, a division of Tabby Services Ltd, which handles multimedia services, such as video editing, special effects and of course, animation, be it motion graphics or stationary computer-animimated images. He also boasts quite a bit of experience with 3D Architecture, which enables potential owners/proprietors to ‘walk through’ their buildings before they are even completed.

“I can change the furniture, the wall colour, I can even change the placement of pictures or doors or windows if a client wants to see how it would look,” Michael says. “That’s something you can’t get with a drawing or with conventional building plans.”

His main love, however, is animation. “I first got a passion for it watching the 1981 version of Clash of the Titans and wondered how they did it. Since then my curiosity for special effects has become my passion.” As he puts it, “I figured I had a service the public would want and that I could use. When I started there were only one or two people doing animation and incorporating it into print and TV ads, and I thought they could use some competition.” Michael holds a few Videography certificates from various technical colleges, a Barbados Community College Degree in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, and a BFA in film animation from Concordia University in Montreal.

Michael also manages several side projects and jobs related to his field. He teaches Motion Graphics, Video Production and Web Programming at the Barbados Community College, and he advises Art students in their portfolio year. He also enjoys creating mini-movies and dabbling in sound recording. One project that he feels quite strongly about is a short animated movie called “Hatched” about sea turtles and the dangers they face from the moment they hatch until they finally make it to the sea. “It’s a kids’ film, but with a serious message.” Michael feels that this movie could be a great educator about why turtles are so important and how difficult it is for them with all the shoreline development in Barbados. However, being the only animator, his challenge is funding and time to complete the project.

As with most people offering specialized services, convincing clients of the necessity of his expertise and convincing them to pay him accordingly is generally his biggest challenge. But it’s not all about the money. While his services are quite high-tech, “they don’t have to cost a fortune, as some in similar fields would want people to believe.” Being inventive and thinking on the cutting edge of art and the advertising/multimedia/film world is one way he hopes to get people to realize that they don’t need to outsource to the US or Canada for something like computer animation.  “The climate is changing slowly,” Michael says. “People are starting to embrace new and exciting ways of doing things, of selling their products. Which is, of course, good for me! “