Over the past 30 years, Kyle Balda has risen from humble animator to co-director of beloved kids’ movies Minions: The Rise of Gru and Despicable Me 3. Beginning in animation for films including Mars Attacks, The Mask, and Toy Story 2, Kyle met director Pierre Coffin in Europe and helped create the animated series Pat & Stan, which would build the foundations for the Minions’ lovable antics.
In this illuminating podcast, Kyle shares the essential lessons he learned as an animator and his path to the director’s chair. He reveals the organic process of creating a Minions movie, from the initial concept with the writer to the collaborative addition of ideas as more people get involved. Kyle also gives a positive perspective on AI and its role in CG movies, and he shares his thoughts on how animation has evolved from a genre to a medium.
Links:
0:02:40 How Kyle learned to think like an animator
0:06:41 Getting into CalArts — unofficially
0:11:05 "Toy Story 2," "Monsters Inc," and traveling Europe
0:15:15 Meeting Pierre Coffin and the beginning of the Minions
0:19:15 How to become a director
0:23:35 How the Minions evolved as characters
0:27:53 The organic process of creating a Minions movie
0:30:30 Animation as a medium and not a genre
0:33:56 Thoughts on AI
0:39:35 What AI and new animators have in common
0:42:29 What's next for Kyle — and what serves as his North Star