Binary Fable
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Binary Fable is a young animation company based in Edinburgh, founded by Helen and Adam. We tell stories using 3D CGI animation. Our last project, called About Here, re-told the myths and history linked with places in Scotland as bitesized made-for-mobile films – and won us ‘Best Animation’ at Mobifest Toronto 08.
One minute interview: Helen Jackson
Occupation:
Animator
Where were you born?
Kent
Where do you live now?
Edinburgh
How many books are there on your shelves? (Approx.)
Over a thousand
What’s been the most fun thing about this project? (The first word of your answer must begin with L and the last word begin with B!)
Lots of books!
Oh, and lots of people with great ideas and enthusiasm. And, a chance to bring new characters to life and tell a new story – brilliant!
Do you think that constraints are creative?
Yes. Give me a completely blank, infinitely big page and allow me to do anything at all, and I’m paralysed by the limitless possibilities. Constraints give something for my imagination to play with.
Who do you think stole the book from the National Library?
An alien ninja called Xurpejix
Which book would you most hate to lose?
My Fontana Lions paperback edition of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, cover price £1. It’s inscribed ‘To Helen with love from Grandma 4/12/83′. It’s the only book my grandparents gave me.
Who’s your favourite fictional detective?
Dirk Gently
Who’s your favourite fictional dog?
What-a-Mess – an Afghan puppy created by Frank Muir and brought to life in Joseph Wright’s illustrations. I’ve always identified with What-a-Mess – both his scruffiness and his constant questioning – and the illustrations are amazing, with all sorts of other little characters and stories in the background.
Which book has affected you the most?
Any of Barbara Trapido’s novels – my best friend and I first bonded because we loved Trapido. The friendship was sealed when we both adored Carol Shields and Robertson Davies too.
When and where do you read the most?
Everywhere and every-when
Where’s your favourite ‘booky’ place?
Any bookshop with a cafe. You can’t beat the coffee/cake/good book combination. A few real favourites: The Watermill in Aberfeldy (bookshop, café and gallery – ideal!), Barter Books in Anwick (brilliant train set!) and Waterstone’s Edinburgh West End (my local).
What do you like most about a book apart from the story: its size, its smell, its cover, its…?
The way that, in a good book, the characters live inside your head after you’ve finished.
For you what does a book lack the most – music, moving pictures, …?
Nothing – a book plus a bit of imagination contains everything (including a ginormous effects budget).
Have you ever used a book as a 1) doorstop, 2) missile, 3) an excuse not to do the washing up?
Excuses, all the time. Doorstops and missiles, never.
Have you ever regarded a book as a friend, or indeed a monster?
My Sony Reader e-book is my friend. It makes sure I never run out of stories to read, wherever I am.
One minute interview: Adam Brewster
Occupation
Animator/tea monkey
Where were you born?
England
Where do you live now?
Scotland
How many books are there on your shelves? (Approx.)
Lots (hundreds), but I haven’t read many. They’re mostly my partner’s.
What’s been the most fun thing about this project? (The first word of your answer must begin with L and the last word begin with B!)
Let’s come back and answer this one properly when we’re done. So far, it’s been meeting lots of new and exciting folk. Oh, and not having yet had a single minute of being bored!
Do you think that constraints are creative?
I never believe they are until I experience them at close quarters. Then I realise their full and surprising potential.
Who do you think stole the book from the National Library?
Pirates.
Which book would you most hate to lose?
This is hard. It is probably a book my parents brought home to me when I was about 8 called Comparisons (I don’t actually know who it’s by). Its beautifully designed 200-odd pages are dedicated to mind-boggling juxtapositions of things in ways you wouldn’t dream (like, it would take 269 days to fill the dome of St Paul’s cathedral with a fast running tap – how weird is that?). I very much doubt I could get a replacement copy.
Who’s your favourite fictional detective?
Hong Kong Phooey
Who’s your favourite fictional dog?
Muttley
Which book has affected you the most?
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger – absolute genius and moving beyond words.
When and where do you read the most?
In bed.
Where’s your favourite ‘booky’ place?
If it was still there, and if I was still as small as I was when I went there, Heffers in Cambridge. That was a lot of books (well, for an 8 year old). Back in the real world, though, The Watermill at Aberfeldy.
What do you like most about a book apart from the story: its size, its smell, its cover, its…?
Good question! I like the crispness of a new book and how opening those pages for the first time is quite akin to climbing into a freshly made bed.
For you what does a book lack the most – music, moving pictures, …?
Levitation. Yes, definitely levitation. The number of times I’ve been knocked to my senses by a falling book, having fallen asleep…
Have you ever used a book as a 1) doorstop, 2) missile, 3) an excuse not to do the washing up?
None of these, I have too much respect for them to risk hurting them and I also see them as a bit of a luxury. Washing up on the other hand, although I know someone who will strongly disagree (that I feel this way), is a necessity – books can wait. I have hidden behind a book on several occasions though.
Have you ever regarded a book as a friend, or indeed a monster?
I struggled glacially through Middlemarch this year, so that was a bit of a monster, until I made it to the end – but glad I did. All books are friends in a way, but I would like to think I could be friends with one or two, I was going to say authors, but I’m going to change that to characters. Henry and Clare I could definitely be friends with.
The Lost Book is an animated web series where you wrote the plot.
