INSPIRED by a Tim Burton animation, a talented model maker from the Island is pinching himself after being invited to work on a Hollywood A-list director’s latest project.
It has been a whirlwind two years for Island-born Yossel Simpson Little since he graduated with a BA (Hons) in wood, metal, ceramics and plastics from Brighton University.
In 2007, the 27 year old won a top award at the university’s annual art show — for a unique fantasy model, much like Blackgang Chine’s Crooked House.
The model took four months to create and went on to be shown at the prestigious New Designers’ Exhibition in London.
It was work like this and a report in the County Press which made someone in the film industry sit up and take notice.
A month after the article was published, Yossel was invited to join the art modelling team of hit animated movie The Corpse Bride. He helped refurbish the miniature sets in preparation for a major exhibition in the United States.
The film was the brainchild of Tim Burton — a hero of his who created the animated classic The Nightmare Before Christmas.
It was this film, coupled with the work of Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park, that inspired Yossel to become a model maker for movie and television sets.
"Being involved with The Corpse Bride was as good, if not better, than I thought it would be. It was great to work with some of the most creative and skilful people in the industry," he said.
Having been recognised for the intricate quality of his work and his role on The Corpse Bride models, Yossel earned his best break yet.
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| Yossel Simpson Little on the set of Fantastic Mr Fox. |
Last year, he was invited to join the art modelling team on the animated movie
Fantastic Mr Fox, which had its theatrical release, to acclaim, last autumn.
Based on Roald Dahl’s popular children’s novel,
Fantastic Mr Fox enjoyed box office success and stars the voice of George Clooney in the lead role.
Visually impressive, the sets include such exquisite detail it would probably take several viewings to notice them all.
Yossel was first assistant model and prop maker and a set dresser.
His job included silicone and fibreglass moulding, poly carving and canvas stretching.
Yossel’s degree, a woodwork course at the IW College and a job as a brickie and carpenter with a construction firm, stood him in good stead.
Working on the movie gives Yossel immense pride.
"To go from my small garden workshop, building little models, to do what I’m doing now, is something I thought would take many years to achieve," he said.
"The opportunities I have had do not come around very often. When I started out, this is the type of work I was always driven towards doing.
"So, Fantastic Mr Fox was a brilliant opportunity and I learned loads more skills and techniques."
Yossel has now been invited to work on Tim Burton’s latest project,
Frankenweenie, in London, in March.
Frankenweenie is an animated feature-length remake of Burton’s own 1984 short.
On it, Yossel will be a model maker, building sets, as part of a 15-strong team. The work is likely to last 18 months because of the slow process of stop-motion animation.
In a whole day of filming, only two seconds of work may make it into the can, explained Yossel.
"The thought of actually working on a Tim Burton film is incredible for me," he said.
"He was the reason I wanted to get into the industry in the first place."
In his spare time, when he is not building models, Yossel likes to restore vintage Vespa scooters and to breed and exhibit his show pigeons.
A member of the National Pigeon Association, he has won numerous trophies and accolades in the 15 years he has been exhibiting his birds at shows around the country.
Subsequently, Yossel has become one of the country’s top pigeon exhibitors.
Yossel’s interest in pigeons ties in nicely with a film project of his own.
Since making Fantastic Mr Fox, he has been working on an animated short, also using stop-motion techniques, in his new workshop at his parents’ home in Victoria Avenue, Shanklin.
Yossel hopes to show The Boy and the Pigeon to Tim Burton, when he begins work on Frankenweenie.
"My film is about a young boy and his relationship with pigeons. I am making it because of my love of pigeons and I will try to do it in the style of a Tim Burton animation," he explained.
"I enjoy the solitary nature of precision work and am constantly building different sets — often borrowing children’s books from my brother’s shop in Shanklin so I can visualise the story and try to turn them into unique sets.
"My ambition within the film industry is to become an art director. It gives you the ability to work on smaller but no less important stories."
Yossel has also made a puppet and is helping to make a trailer for a pilot of an as-yet untitled BBC children’s television show, due to be screened next year.
The former Sandown High School student’s designs on a big future in the film and television industries are certainly beginning to bear fruit.
Reporter: jonm@iwcpmail.co.uk