#scribble jam

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure to e-interview Andres Salaff, and I’d like to share that interview with you today! Andres worked on Adventure Time as one of the supervising directors from seasons 6–8, and he has also worked on shows like Regular Show, Big Mouth, Uncle Grandpa, and Close Enough! Read on for fascinating info about how Andres got his start in the biz, what his duties as director were, and what inspired Flame P and Neptr’s rap in “The Music Hole”:

What is your ‘artistic origin story’? And how did you come to work on Adventure Time?

Andres Salaff: I was living in Ohio and drawing mini comics for fun. While visiting California, someone saw them and told me about Calarts Character Animation. I visited the school and looked at the student's work. I knew instantly that it was what I wanted to pursue. I love it because it encompasses a lot of my interests. Drawing, acting, writing and storytelling. After graduating from Calarts, I was hired as a storyboard artist on Regular Show and after three years of doing that, I was asked to direct on AT.

As a supervising director, what were your many duties? Was it largely coordination, or were you drawing/boarding alongside the board artists, too?

AS: [The job was mostly about] weigh[ing] in on storyboard pitches and voice records. But mainly, my job was at the storyboard animatic stage. To make sure that everything was working at that stage of the process and to make sure, along with the art director, timers and designers that all of the necessary information was there for the overseas animation studio. It was very collaborative in that I got to work with the different supervisors in seeing it through the pre production phase up until it got shipped overseas.

What was the energy of the crew like?

AS: [There were] a lot of thinkers on the crew. At times even reserved, but their wit would always come out and surprise me.

Did you do much coordinating with the South Korean studios with regard to the animation? Or was that someone else’s job?

AS: My work was to provide the information necessary to ship. Once it came back, I didn't have a hand in it. Once or twice I did, but that was when Adam Muto, the EP, was on a hiatus.

One thing I'm interested in is the production of the show's miniseries. How did production differ from the 'norm' when it came time to do Stakes?

AS: Stakes was so fun to work on. There wasn't much of a difference on my end from the regular season other than helping to keep an eye on the overarching story and making sure things were tracking. It was so cool seeing the different parts being pitched and coming together. All of the boarders had such a unique voice and style, yet when assembled they somehow blended seamlessly.

One of my favorite episodes has to be "The Music Hole.” How did you come to work on that episode?

AS: Adam Muto had seen a pilot that I had done at the studio called Ridin' With Burgess. There is a lot of rapping in it. He must've liked it because he asked me to board on The Music Hole. The episode centered around a music festival and Flame Princess and Neptr had a rap group.

In a separate interview, Polly Guo waxed poetic about the rap you wrote, so I was wondering if you could speak about where those ideas came from?

AS: As a kid growing up in Ohio, I used to attend a yearly festival called Scribble Jam. I tried to make FP and Neptr's song/ performance as close to that as I could remember. It was really fun to work on that episode and to collaborate with Polly Guo!

A huge thanks to Andres for answering my questions! As always, here are some useful links:

Andres’s personal website: https://andressalaff.com/

Andres’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mr_dres/

DAILYSPICE - NOCANDO VS MAD ILLZ (Scribble Jam 2005)

DAILYSPICE - NOCANDO VS ILL SPOKEN (2005)