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Supervising animator of
Shrek
Oscar winner aims for the best
Raman Hui is the supervising animator of Sherk, which took in over US$267 million.(Courtesy of Raman Hui)
By Cherry Cheung
Local talent Raman Hui is climbing up the ladder in the animated film industry. In the 74th Annual Academy Awards, the animated film that he was supervising animator for, Shrek, won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film in 2002.
Raman, 40, was the one responsible for making Shrek, Princess Fiona and the dragon come to life.
“When I knew that Shrek had been awarded, I was so happy that I thought I could retire immediately,” Raman said, laughing.
After the winning the award, Raman received hundreds of emails congratulating him.
With Shrek 2 due for release May 21, Raman is taking things in his stride.
Despite his previous achievement with Shrek, Raman says he does not feel any pressure at work.
“It would be okay even if Shrek 2 did not receive an award as long as we have tried our best,” he said.
Although the job is hard, Raman enjoys it because, as he said, “I am very lucky, because I am doing something that I like.
“In America, I work very hard from Monday to Friday. On weekends, I do my own thing.”
Sometimes, in order to meet deadlines, Raman has to stay overnight at the office for a few days in a row.
“My record is 7 days.
“Apart from my colleagues, I didn’t see any other people in those 7 days.
“Sometimes, I have to travel to other places, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco.
“And
sometimes I don’t know where I am when I wake up,” he said.
Raman’s interest in graphics was evident from childhood days,
when he would doodle.
Raman said, “I wanted to be a painter when I was young.
“I still want to paint oil paintings now, like Vincent van Gogh.
“I want to have an exhibition of oil paintings in a gallery.
“If I have time, I also want to learn drawing at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.”
His path to the Oscars began at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where he studied design.
After graduation in 1984, he worked as an animator in Hong Kong for 4 years.
He the went to Canada to take a 3-month computer animation course.
After finishing the course, he worked in Canada for a few months and then in Hong Kong for another few months.
“I didn’t plan to work in the U.S.
“I just tried to apply for a job there, and they employed me.”
When he was offered the job at Pacific Data Images in 1989, he grabbed it. Pacific Data Images was later acquired by DreamWorks.
“I knew I would regret it if I didn’t take up the job. It was a golden chance,” he added.
“At the beginning, I just wanted to work there for a year. But then, I got used to working there, and I didn’t leave."
He still works for DreamWorks.
When he first arrived in Canada for his computer course, Raman’s English vocabulary consisted of only a few words.
“In the beginning, I said ‘yes’ to everyone who talked to me because I didn’t understand what they were saying.
“They did not understand what I was saying, either.
“For example, when I said ‘beautiful’ without the ‘l’ sound, they did not know what I was saying.
“But for me, there was no significant difference between pronouncing words with the ‘l’ sound and pronouncing words without the ‘l’ sound.
“Now, after 15 years in the U.S., my English is much better and I know the difference.”
The multi-cultural background at DreamWorks has given him a good grounding not only in English, but also in other languages.
“I am learning about other cultures, because there are people of many different nationalities in our company. I have been ‘internationalized’,” he chuckled.
When he was still in Hong Kong, Raman hoped that his work would be watched not only by local people, but also by foreigners.
“And it is beyond that now. Our work is recognized by the international public,” he said.
Not only is his work gaining international acclaim, Raman is also gaining recognition for his own talent.
His resume boasts of being the lead character designer and supervising animator for Antz in 1998.
In 1994 at Pacific Data Images, he wrote, directed and produced Sleepy Guy.
Most recently, in 2003, he lent his voice to Jin of Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas.
Raman’s next dream is to be a director.
“It would be a great challenge.
“For Shrek, I only needed to produce good animation.
“But a director controls the whole film,” he commented.
He will never forget his days in the U.S.
“My most unforgettable experience was meeting my idol, Steven Spielberg.
“When I met Steven Spielberg, I was so nervous that I turned around and wanted to run away.
“Luckily, a friend stopped me and I shook hands with him,” said Raman excitedly.
Another dramatic experience was an earthquake.
“Once, there was an earthquake in San Francisco, just after I arrived.
“I could feel the building shaking, but I didn’t know it was an earthquake because I’d never experienced one before.
“Everyone ran from the building except me,” he said, laughing.
“Another experience was when I first felt like an American.
“Before the 9-11 incident, deep down, I considered myself a Hong Kong person working in the U.S., although I had already been living there for about 15 years.
“But after that, I suddenly felt like I was in some ways an American,” Raman added.
Ultimately though, the Hongkonger hopes to return to his home country.
“I still want to come back to Hong Kong and do something for the Chinese, because I am a Chinese.”
Raman Hui, supervising animator for Shrek.(Courtesy of Raman Hui)