In our ongoing effort to not suck, AdultSwim.com occasionally spotlights a Williams Street employee as proof that we can provide something useful. This month we check in with Mack Williams, animator for Sealab 2021.
What do you do at 70-30?
I draw and animate for the show. We use Photoshop and After Effects. I would say I spend about 40% of my time in Photoshop, and 60% in After Effects.
Everyone we meet seems to know you. Why is that?
Probably cause they saw me kicking it Lemmy-style at the Heavy Metal Karaoke Christmas party…
How did you get involved with Sealab?
My college roommate, Ed, had an internship with 70-30, so the next summer I applied and got an internship too. I actually did my senior thesis at UGA on Sealab and the animation techniques that we use. Around a year later, Matt and Adam hired me full-time.
What's a day in the life of a Mack Williams like?
It's pretty easy, actually. Get up. Feed Dog. Go to work. Make Cartoons. Play video games. Watch movies. Read comic books. Repeat.
What image do you have on your computer's desktop?
Milk & Cheese. I love Evan Dorkin. I am a big comic book nerd. There is a framed original Milk & Cheese strip in the reception area at Williams St. It is my favorite thing in the entire building.
What are some of the challenges of animating a show like Sealab 2021?
Animating in after effects is very limited in terms of actual frame by frame animation. A lot of the challenges come from the scripts. We will have to animate something we've never done before, and we have to all work together to come up with a solution that will look as good as we can make it.
What can we expect from the new season of Sealab?
After Shanks discovers the Gauntlet of Hazth'eion in the Swamps of G'il Elden, he travels to the Halls of Menz'er'ik to seek Quinn's advice. Unfortunately, Quinn has been dispatched to Ulgarthisten to rescue Debbie from the vile dungeons of Castle Po'giler. And that's just the season premiere!
What is your favorite episode of Sealab?
Spiltsville. It was a really tough episode to make because it is the first one we made without Harry. It was also only about a month after I started working full time. I think that episode really determined whether or not we could keep making Sealab without Murphy, and I think we did a really great job.
If you had a chance to live in an underwater research station, watching fish, harvesting and cataloging various types of kelp, scuba diving with various species of dolphin and manufacturing kelp food alternatives...would you?
Absolutely. I really like sharks. One of my lifetime goals is to go cage diving with a great white.
Besides Sealab, what's your favorite Adult Swim show?
Family Guy. I am really looking forward to the new episodes.
What was working with MCHeshPants420 like? Was he as much of an auteur as he seemed?
MCHeshPants420 was one of the most brilliant young minds I have ever encountered. It is just a shame that his relationship with 70-30 had to end on such bad terms. His writings reminded me of a young F. Scott Fitzgerald.
What really sucks about being Mack Williams?
I wear a size 14 shoe, so it is hard to find shoes in my size. Also, I have allergies.
What sucks about not being Mack Williams?
Not having my dog. He is a Boston Terrier named Sue.
Top five albums ever.
That is a hard question. I am sure a list of the top five albums ever would, by law, have the Beatles or the Rolling Stones in it somewhere. Here are five of my favorites...
The Refreshments - Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy
The Clash - London Calling
Reel Big Fish - Turn the Radio Off
Weezer - Blue Album
Drive-By Truckers - Southern Rock Opera
Runners Up: Johnny Cash - at Folsom Prison, Alkaline Trio - Maybe I'll Catch Fire, The Ataris - Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits, Less Than Jake - Pezcore, NOFX - Punk in Drublic
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