2016 SBIFF Movie Spotlight: Floyd Norman – An Animated Life

He’s been called the “Forrest Gump” of animation, a legend and a great storyteller, a pioneer being the first African-American animator at Disney Animation, but to Floyd Norman, he was was simply a starving artist looking for a job.

Floyd Norman: An Animated Life is a must-see film for not just Disney lovers or fans of animation, but by everyone that appreciates being told great stories, and bare witness to the amazing history of a man that was born and raised in Santa Barbara.

The film screens on Friday, February 5th at 8 p.m. at the Metro 4 Theater, and on Sunday, February 7th at 10:20 a.m. at Fiesta 5 Theater. Do not miss this film.

I don’t think I could sum up the type of special movie this is, and what a jewel to Santa Barbara it is, as well as the filmmakers themselves, Erik Sharkey and Mike Fiore. They were gracious enough to answer a few questions about the film and give depth to the project that took about two years to complete.

Why should people go see this film?

Michael Fiore: Floyd became a success at Disney, as an African American man, in a pre-Civil rights world. He largely avoided racism for most of his life. But now, in 21st Century corporate America, he has found himself dealing with another scourge: ageism. This is something everyone will have to contend with at some point in their life. This is not a problem for just one race or gender. We’re all going to be met with ageism. The film opens up a discussion about this very important topic. It’s time for a real change in how we respect and honor those who have dedicated their lives to their work. I hope that Floyd can become a face in the battle against ageism.

Erik Sharkey: I think Floyd is an important part of animation and cultural history. He started working at Disney when Walt was alive and was the first African American artist to work for the company. He later went on to work at Pixar during their early years. In the late Sixties he helped start a company that made black history films for schools at a time that they were really needed. Floyd has had a truly amazing career and life. He’s also really funny and tells great stories.

How did you first meet Floyd and when did you know you had a documentary film in front of you?

Erik Sharkey: I first learned about Floyd Norman when I was introduced to him at the San Diego Comic Con by a friend that works for Disney. During our conversation I learned that Floyd was a Disney legend and he told amazing stories about working at Disney when Walt Disney was alive and years later working for Pixar. He was instantly likeable and a great storyteller with a rich history and life. I thought it would make for a great documentary.

Mike Fiore: I had just finished producing another film (Sony Screen Gem’s “Keep Watching” starring Belle Thorne) and I was looking for my next project. A mutual collaborator, music composer Ryan Shore, connected me with filmmaker Erik Sharkey. I cold-called Erik in the Winter of 2014 and asked him if there were any projects he was close to getting off the ground. He mentioned a couple things, but his pitch about Floyd Norman stuck with me. He told me about Floyd’s storied career as the first black animator at Disney and extensive roles in the cartoon and comic worlds. It hit me like a bolt of lightening: Floyd is the “Forrest Gump” of the animation world.

With a little research, I realized no one had told Floyd’s story yet through a film or documentary. This was shocking to me. Over two sit down’s, Erik and I met and discussed the potential of a creative partnership. We both knew that Floyd was special. Here is a man that overcame racism in a pre-Civil Rights America, but at 65 had to deal with an even bigger scourge that effects us all at some point: ageism.

With his sharp mind and amazing drawing skills at the age of 78 (at the time we met Floyd), it was clear Mr. Norman could speak for those dealing with ageism and forced retirement. Within a few days of Erik and my second sit down, I told Erik that we should get this movie off the ground immediately. I said we would keep the team small and nimble, with the two of us taking on a creative partnership. Believing wholeheartedly in Floyd’s story, I put up the financing myself. After all, I’m a filmmaker and not interested in managing a Kickstarter campaign for endless months. Two weeks after our second meeting, I flew Erik and I out to LA where we filmed in Floyd and Adrienne Norman’s home. The rest is history.

What was the process of making this film like, the challenges and dealing with post-production?

Erik Sharkey: A major challenge in shooting was almost all the shooting was done in LA. We live in NYC. So it’s tricky trying to get all the interviews required and film all the events Floyd was participating in for the film. The challenge in post production is we ended up with so many hours of footage and it needed to be shaped into a great story. In a documentary you have no script, so the story really comes together in editing and it takes a lot of time to do that. It was a great experience working with Michael on that because he is such a fantastic editor and storyteller.

Michael Fiore: I always wanted to make sure that we were cost and time efficient. You hear of filmmakers spending 3, 4, 5 years (or even more) to make a documentary. And some premises warrant that kind of time investment. But in the case of our story, I felt we could be done in a year to a year-and-a-half. Erik and I live and work in New York City. As Erik mentioned, Floyd Norman and a majority of our interviewees are in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas. So I mapped out a shooting schedule that had us traveling to the West Coast only a few times,. In each of those trips, we would film as many interviews as possible, usually centered around another event like Comic-Con, Floyd’s birthday, etc. Often times the crew was just myself, Erik, and our wonderful LA-based Production Coordinator Brianna Waddell.

The biggest challenges came in post production. The honest truth is that there were so many different ways we could tell Floyd’s story. We started with a 3-hour cut that we knew needed to be cut in half. “What do we cut out?” was the big question. Keeping in mind that I wanted the movie to be finished within an 18 to 24 month period, another challenge was coordinating the creation and delivery of over 30 pieces of original animation.

I had over 10 animators from all over the world working on hand-drawn animation. Given that these talented folks were in different time zones, it made for many long days Skyping with them to develop the animations that are based on gags created by Floyd Norman. Coordinating their deliverables within the larger editorial schedule was a challenge, as I was often editing with “black slugs” in the place of the animation. When I would screen a cut with Erik, I would have to tell him “imagine an animated Floyd doing this here, or doing that there”. We had to use our imagination for a majority of the editing schedule.

It wasn’t until about 4 to 6 weeks ago that we actually saw the entire movie in one piece with all the animations, music, etc.

Was there something you left on the cutting room floor that you wished you could have fit into the final cut of the film?

Michael Fiore: We could have made a 90-minute movie just about Floyd’s first 10 years at Disney from 1956 – 1966. Also, there were so many great moments from the time we spent with the various notable animators at their weekly animator’s lunch at Lancers in Burbank. I would have loved to have spent more time with them in the movie. But given that there was so much information to cover from Floyd’s life, we had to use the animator’s lunch sparingly.

Erik Sharkey: There were a lot of great things said by the people that we interviewed that unfortunately had to be cut for time and pacing. We got so many great answers from the people we interviewed.

One word to describe Floyd Norman.

Michael Fiore and Erik Sharkey: Animated

What was the most intriguing and/or surprising moment for you in making this film?

Michael Fiore: I actually don’t want to give it away. It’s a moment that occurs in the last three minutes of the movie. You’ll just have to come to the screenings this weekend to see what I am referring to.

Erik Sharkey: I had no idea that Floyd and his business partner Leo Sullivan filmed the Watts riots back in the 1960s. Floyd is a true filmmaker who will do anything to tell a great story — and he captured an important part of history!

What is Floyd up to these days? Do you still keep in touch with him? Perhaps join him at the animator’s lunch?

Michael Fiore: Come see the movie at SBIFF and find out what Floyd is up to today! We haven’t been back to the animator’s lunch since we filmed. Our work schedules have been very busy. But now that the movie is complete, I hope to spend more relaxed social time with Floyd and his wife Adrienne. They are wonderful people and I am so happy to have taken the opportunity to document their lives with Erik.

Erik Sharkey: We are still in touch and we are very grateful to him for allowing us to make a film about his amazing life. It would be a lot of fun to join him at the animators lunch that they have every Friday in LA. They swap great work stories and make each other laugh. The only problem is I don’t have any stories about working for Walt Disney and Hanna-Barbera like Floyd does!

What does it mean to you and the entire crew that worked on this film to have the World Premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival?

Michael Fiore: It makes perfect sense that we’re debuting at SBIFF. Floyd was born and raised in Santa Barbara. He loves this community. He saw his first Disney movie (DUMBO) at the Fox-Arlington Theater. That was an indelible moment for Floyd, when he knew that animation was going to play a large part in his future. His interests and passions all grew out of this very supportive community. It’s a thrill to be here with Floyd, sharing the story of his life.

Erik Sharkey: It’s a big thrill for all of us to have the film premiere at SBIFF. It also really means a lot to Floyd. He grew up in Santa Barbara and returns to visit often. He had a great experience growing up in Santa Barbara and we feature that in the film. So it’s very special for all of us and the perfect event for us to screen the movie.

Is there anything else you would like to say?

Michael Fiore: What makes our movie special is that there is only ONE Floyd Norman. This isn’t a sequel or derivative material. What you’ll witness is a one-of-a-kind story about a man that saw himself as the spoke in the wheel of animation. But what this movie reveals is that he was actually the wheel – moving animation and storytelling forward over the last 60 years.

Erik Sharkey: We hope people will enjoy the film and learning about Floyd Norman and his animated life!

Watch Floyd Norman: An Animated Life Trailer

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