In 2012, Yoram Benz's animated short Fisher (full film embedded below) hit the film festival circuit, screening at a dozen plus venues around the world. Emboldened by the success, Yoram has begun work on a spiritual successor to Fisher, The Tale of the Seas, a feature length animated film featuring new characters. What makes this new project so daring is the film's budget. When completed, Tale will fall somewhere under the $2 million range, an unheard of amount in a world of Pixar and Dreamworks. While the budget is small(ish), Yoram's experience is not. Working in the industry for over 10 years, he created One Eyed Robot in 2011. His clients have included Cartoon Network and TLC, and he's worked on projects that have featured the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Transformers, Lego's Lord of the Rings.
Yoram chats with Against Type about the culture of Animation in the United States, his hopes and dreams for independent feature animation, and what drives him at One Eyed Robot.
Yoram is running an IndieGoGo campaign for The Tale of the Seas through December 21. Visit the campaign page to donate and share.