Who…
I grew up in Culcheth, a small town or large village exactly midway between Manchester and Liverpool and more locally Leigh and Warrington. Culturally it was very straight and white working class. Living there in the early to mid 80’s as a teenager, music was obviously very important. There was a disco in the parish hall that played punk for an hour, indie for an hour and then about 2-3 hours of northern soul. No alcohol allowed but we sneaked it in in mini tonic water bottles, stolen rum or Cherry Kirsch from our parent’s dusty drinks cabinets. Later there was a pub called The Harrow Inn and every Friday night a guy called Gordon Twist organised a minibus for £2 to the Hacienda. It was there that I saw the Residents, The Smiths, Cocteau Twins and Nick Cave and I think I identified with that sort of culture. I had a boyfriend called Andy who introduced a lot of this music to me and his big sister Sara was at Art School doing animation, but not like Disney animation, it was more moving observational sketchbook drawings. There was a tutor there called Ray Fields (who once upon a time designed the Jacob’s Cream Cracker packaging) who was very influential and quite radical looking back. I ended up a student there and then went on to the RCA, London to study animation.

What…
I have a film and animation company called ArthurCox. I direct and produce films, commercials animations, websites and most recently an app. We have been running for eight years, set up in the Clerkenwell Workshops in London but are now based at the Spike Island studios in Bristol. In that time we have had three BATFA nominations with two winners, most recently Emma Lazenby’s film ‘Mother of Many’ which won best Short Animation 2010.

I have just creatively directed a huge archive project called ‘A Time Traveller’s Guide to Bristol’ http://www.atimetravellersguide.com We have close links to Aardman Animations and I am directing a massive project with them for the next year – The Tate Movie Project.

Learning…
I think my formal education was the very last of the 60s-inspired liberalisation of traditional education. I didn’t suffer from pressure to do particularly well at exams but I did alright as I am naturally a good reader and enjoy learning. At art college, I studied animation but was never taught to storyboard or do traditional character design, etc – we had a maverick tutor Ray Fields. What he did do was teach us to observe and to think for ourselves and to develop an innate sense of design and a high visual ethic. This all has allowed me to adapt when my career has spanned a time of massive change. I left Liverpool Polytechnic in 1988 with a degree in graphic design/animation and started working in Soho on commercials that were still animated on cel and developed on film. I now work entirely digitally and embrace CGI, AfterEffects and interactive technology. I don’t think my ability to adapt would have been so flexible if I had undergone a more conventional training. The skills I acquired since college have all been learnt on the job, pitching to clients, storyboarding, storytelling all that – you never know enough. You have to keep topping it up.

As a child…
I was very shy until I was 14 and then sort of emerged socially becoming very into music, boys and parties. I was considered rebellious but I wasn’t really. I still did all my homework and came home every night. I think I am the same now – I like to push the boundaries in my work but I live a fairly conventional home life really.

Being confident…
Ha, I don’t feel it. I’m just busking it – one day they’ll find out! Also, I work stupidly hard and I am quite stubborn.

Current projects…
The last few months are probably the busiest I have ever been as three projects overlapped. ‘A Time Traveller’s Guide to Bristol’ is now finally up and running. This is a website and iPhone app using archive film and photographs to create a virtual time travelling experience in six key spots in Bristol.

We just delivered our final script to iFeatures and this will determine if we get greenlit or not, decisions to be made in early October. This is for a live action feature film called 8 Minutes Idle based on the novel by Matt Thorne. It will be directed by Mark Simon Hewis and was co written by Matt Thorne and Nicholas Blincoe. It’s a dark and sexy comedy about a young man who is forced to secretly live in a Bristol Call Centre with his cat.

And, I am also working on a project with Aardman Animation called The Tate Movie Project. I will be directing a 20 minute film using drawings, ideas and sounds generated by kids aged 5 -11. The aspiration will be to allow every child in the UK to contribute in some way – the project launched with an amazing website on 15th July. We now have over 6000 children signed up as ‘crew‘ and I appeared on Blue Peter to promote the project, finally gaining a Blue Peter badge.

Likes and dislikes…
The majority of my work is self-generated so I almost always enjoy it but I particularly love the initial stages – generating and shaping an idea, writing, designing, building a crew and the enthusiasm for a project. In recent years, I have got less involved in the actual production. I used to animate and composite everything myself but now I find people with much better animation skills than me to work with. My interest perks up again in Post Production – I love the editing process and I love bringing a project together with music or sound design. Some of the practical elements of running my own business are the things I dislike, like trying to sort out website servers and email problems as we can’t afford full IT support. I also wish what I did didn’t take all of my time. I would love to spend more time with my daughter before she completely grows up.

Environmental influences…
The main driving factor for me was to escape the suburban village we lived in. I just wanted a hedonistic young adult life and was not hugely career driven. I hitchhiked across Europe and into Morocco, stayed in squats in Amsterdam and went to festivals. I didn’t want to waste my youth and regret it later, and I don’t.

Encouragement…
I get huge support from my friends and family. They always come to screenings and events, and my husband understands the huge amount of time and flexibility necessary for this sort of work. My 14 year old daughter refuses to be at all impressed by anything I do but I may crack this if our iFeatures film gets commissioned as we are hoping to cast a couple of ex-Skins actors.

Family…
My parents had us young, my mum was pregnant with me by the end of her first term at university and had three of us by the time she was 26. Meanwhile her sister my aunty Lynne was at Goldsmiths in London in the 1960’s doing textiles. Throughout my childhood Lynne would come and stay in our suburban cul-de-sac semi with her bright red nail varnish and massive sunglasses. At Christmas, she would send us strange presents from wherever she was living, a crate of Cyprus oranges, a box of hats, or German wooden toys. So, it was probably from Lynne that I knew you could go to art school and actually have a career in art, and that it seemed quite a glamourous and exciting life from my suburban perspective.
From my mum, I inherited a love of reading. We both always have piles of books by our beds, always fiction. This love of story is what drives my work now in all my projects. My dad’s dad died when he was five and the family were left penniless in a council house in Bolton. My Dad didn’t learn to read until he was 11, but through his and his mother’s determination he eventually became a nuclear engineer. I think the determination and a bit of arrogance possibly has rubbed off on me, certainly the drive to do well.

Best advice received…
I saw a documentary on Anna Wintour – she said it doesn’t matter what decision you make, what matters is how quickly and assertively you make it.

Collections…
Tins of old films, prints and vintage film posters.

Inspiration…
I usually get inspired on long journeys. Or just before I go to sleep at night. But I like to keep my inspiration levels topped up. I go to galleries, I go to talks. There is a thing in Bristol called Festival of Ideas – it’s good. I just went to a John Boorman talk there. I read books. I watch old films. I have interesting friends and I talk to them. I get inspired by buildings and the sense of history they absorb too.

Favourite things…
Cloud Farm Campsite Near Oare: I love camping and this place is brilliant. There is a clear blue stream with a deep plunge pool, open fires are allowed, and beautiful walks. Being John Malkovitch: the film that is inspiring ‘Eight Minutes Idle’ but a long time favorite of mine – I love this film. Rebecca (book and film): I like all of Daphne du Mauriers’ novels, I love the unabashed drama. I saw the film re-mastered at the cinema lately and was blown away by it, the lighting is just stunning.
Lots of other books mainly fiction: Iris Murdoch, Dickens, Sarah Walters and Paul Auster. Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsay’s film). Mad Men - I absolutely love this. The Thick Of It (British comedy). Music: gruff voiced men – Nick Cave, Tom Waits, The National, Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan.

Frequently visited websites…
IMdb Pro as I am fast track learning everything I can about the feature film industry and The Tate Movie Project for work.

Relaxing…
Walking on coastal paths, watching films, reading books, eating food and drinking wine with friends. Going out for cocktails. Camping. Watching rubbish TV with my daughter. Trying to grow things.

Back in time…
I think I spent too long trying to be an animator. I am much better at concepts than the craft. I perhaps should have started working with narrative sooner. My early films were resolutely experimental, but yearning for story.

People…
The Themersons (Stefan and Franciszka) set up Gaberbocchus Press and made experimental films. I like that they did not feel glued to a single discipline. My nanna, Doris Cox, who died in 1996 was great. Dodie Smith, Doris Lessing, Iris Murdoch, David Lynch, Hitchcock and Norman McLaren.

Plans right now…
Get this film greenlit. Work on the Tate Movie Project for a year. Paint my living room.

Dream life…
I would have outhouses and in each there would be a project, an ongoing painting or growing vegetables or a film being made. These outhouses would of course be connected to a beautiful house in the country. I would also like to be involved in a feature film or an archive based documentary.

Advice to admirers…
Focus on being good and not what people think of you.

Links to work…

A Time Traveller’s Guide
Tate Movie Project
World of Arthur Cox