Who are you and what is your role at Fox&Co?
Hi, I’m Nico Speziali, and I currently do motion design @ Fox&Co.
Why did you decide to become a motion designer?
Well, I’m actually a graphic designer. I’m part of that transition generation of designers, from early 2000’s who were surrounded by new technologies and media in a sort of a revolution where all the tools to develop animation and web design started to be easier to use. I’ve always loved animation and film, so, it was a logical transition for me.
How did you end up working at Fox&Co?
My wife and I came to New Zealand from Argentina looking for new adventures and experiences. We both wanted to live in a different country with a different language and culture. We traveled across the country for a couple of months, and then we decide to stay in Wellington. I had a friend who worked with Phyo, and after a couple of emails and one cup of coffee, I started work the next morning.
What are you most excited to achieve at Fox&Co?
I would love to see Fox&Co. maintaining this growing rhythm, and continue landing interesting projects.
How do you keep your creative juices flowing?
It varies. On a daily basis, I usually watch my Vimeo Feed or Motionographer, and design portals like Abduzeedo, Designspiration or my Pinterest/Behance feed. That usually fuels some ideas. If I’m stuck, I’ll try to do something out of the work environment like taking a walk outside, and ideas usually start to pop.
What was the coolest project you’ve worked on thus far?
The next one, haha. Nah, I think we are lucky to be trusted with a huge variety of projects of different techniques and scales. I really enjoyed working on the Mountain Dew piece, that was a really fun project to do for a week’s work. The Kraken was fun too, and we are currently working on a massive project that we can’t talk too much about, but I’m enjoying every bit of it.
How would you describe your general approach for your workflow? Which tools or software do you usually use?
Well, it really depends on the project, but usually during the briefing meeting I’m already trying to dissect or think of a possible approach to it. Afterwards, I draw some sketches to try to put the idea there and see if it works. Then I’ll jump to Adobe Illustrator to make something closer to the brief. From there, it would depend on the type of project, but it could be produced in Cinema 4D, other 3D tools, or directly in After Effects (for 2D or 2.5D animation).
What does make working at Fox&Co special?
I think that being a close team, communication is super clear between me and the other motion designers. And, in time, getting to know each other more as we are getting better and better working as a team. It almost feels like we are a garage band about to get a really big gig.
Another cool thing is that we have a lot of room for experimentation including testing out new tools, both creative and productive ones. I think that’s really important for us to keep pushing the boundaries.
The possibilities are endless, but often the hardest part is the beginning. What advice or parting insights do you have for aspiring motion designers?
First, I would ask something that may seem obvious, which is: are you sure that you want to make a career out of this? A lot of people have an idea of what motion design is, but when they start to work in the industry...well, they begin to find out the little perks, the competitive environment, and lots and lots of training required. It could be a little discouraging.
I think the main requisite for everything in life really, is passion. From there, I would recommend to start slow and try learning things one baby step at the time. The cool part in what we do is that you can focus on many different aspects. If you think about it, you have composition, design, style framing, concepting, typography, 3D (modelling, texturing, lighting, rigging, etc). So, I would say to try and find out what you like to do the most because once you find it, you’ve got a lot of learning to do.
And from there...it’s practice, learn again, get inspired, and loop. A good starting point is to do personal projects, but don’t be too ambitious at first. Try something, learn from it, and then upscale. It’s a little like going to the gym. If you go crazy on your first week and do 100 reps of each muscle, you’ll end up all sore and you won’t go anymore. If you do it in a progressive way, not rushing it, you’ll start to see results in time.
What tv show universe would you like to live in?
Ah, a tough one. I would say Mad Men. One thing I could tell you is, I DON’T WANT TO LIVE IN ANY BLACK MIRROR EPISODE, EVER.
