Feb 11, 2016

Why Steve Katz was hired as a couch gag for "The Simpsons"

The guest-creator couch gag has become a fixture on "The Simpsons" over the past few seasons. The tradition began in 2010 with a sequence devised by Banksy. Since then, animation icons such as Sylvain Chomet, Don Hertzfeldt, and John Kricfalusi have created couch gags in their own personal styles.

Compared to these predecessors, the most recent artist assigned the iconic opening, London-based filmmaker Steve Katz, is a relative newcomer to the animation scene. He also represents the ever-changing world of animation, where reputations are often built online rather than on the film, television, or festival circuit.

After studying sculpture at art school, Katz turned to illustration to earn a living. While working at an advertising agency in East London, he taught himself Flash and After Effects and began posting his finished work online. on December 21, 2012, on what was supposed to be Doomsday, he uploaded "Man was uploaded. It was the first of his short stories that would become an online hit.

"It was a huge surprise when it went viral, and it seemed to spread everywhere overnight," Katz told Cartoon Brew in an email. Suddenly, "I was inundated with hundreds of emails, offers to collaborate and distribute the film.

Katz earned further online credits in 2014 with Where Are They Now, a film that made cartoon characters vulnerable to the everyday hardships humans face, such as unemployment, weight gain, and aging.

The Simpsons couch gag pursues a similar theme of cartoon transformation, but this time in the opposite direction. Katz's "LA-Z Rider," which opens an episode of The Simpsons titled "Hurdles Caused by Teenage Mutant Milk," transforms Homer into a macho tough guy with all the sweaty charm of an '80s cop show.

The muscular, gun-toting, black-brimmed glasses-wearing Homer in his new incarnation battles the evil, cigar-toting Ned Flanders against a neon backdrop. From the wailing synth-pop theme song to the LCD display on Homer's Knight Rider-esque couch, the sequence perfectly captures the glorious kitsch of the time.

"The producer of 'The Simpsons' basically contacted me directly and asked if I wanted to do the intro," says Katz. I grew up watching 'The Simpsons' every week, so to be a part of that legacy was a bit of an honor, to say the least." The instructions from the producers of "The Simpsons" series were to have the Simpsons themselves appear alongside the sofa in the sequence, and everything else was up to him.

The most difficult part, he says, was narrowing down the "hundreds of ideas and directions running through my head. His illustration work is sharply critical of today's consumer culture, but he avoided taking such a bleak path in the opening.

"I considered the idea of a darker tone, a social commentary, or a commentary on the nature of the show or longevity in general, but I felt that both Banksy and (Don) Hertzfeldt had already covered this territory." Katz eventually settled on something more lighthearted and set about creating a vision of Springfield where "everyone is hell-bent and living the '80s dream."

Reminiscent of the way Guillermo del Toro filled his Halloween couch gag with horror icons, Katz considered offering a parade of specific 1980s pop culture. Instead, the sequence drew primarily on "Miami Vice," but also incorporated stylistic cues from Saturday morning cartoons of the time, such as "He-Man" and "G.I. Joe." (The neon grid is an homage to the opening of "M.A.S.K."). Familiar characters from The Simpsons appear in new guises, Bart and Lisa dress in the teenage fashions of the day, and Dr. Hibbert and Comic Book Guy become gangsters.

"The fun part was choosing who was the good guy or the bad guy. It was natural for Ned to be chosen as the bad guy," says Katz." Even if you recognize Ned as a realistic-looking person, he naturally appears to have a dodgy past." Viewers pointed out that Ned the criminal bears a distinct resemblance to Bryan Cranston's character in Breaking Bad. Katz says that was unintentional, but "maybe I was imitating Heisenberg when I created him."

From sculpture to illustration to animation, Katz's detour to Simpsons stardom was an unlikely one. When asked what tips he can offer other artists trying to navigate the tumultuous world of freelance animation and illustration, he recommends being patient. One of the main things," he says, "is to be steady and take your time. 'It's basic stuff, but a lot of people get disillusioned if they don't get on track right away.'

Katz understands that the Internet is a great equalizer for independent artists like himself. He says, "There has never been an easier time to get your work out there. The old notion that 'you can't make a living at art' doesn't apply today, when the industry relies on creative professionals to realize their visions."