Creator behind Emmy-winning animated series holds boot camp for writers, animators, fans

The Vancouver Film School will host the three-day workshop for animators, writers and fans of The Dragon Prince show. (CTV News)

Aspiring voice actors, writers and animators are being offered a peek behind the curtain of one of Netflix’s most beloved animated series this weekend, as a workshop designed to teach all the tricks of the trade in Vancouver gets underway.

The Vancouver Film School has teamed up with the creative minds behind the Emmy-winning fantasy series The Dragon Prince to host a boot camp at its West Hastings Street campus, running Friday until Sunday.

“There are a lot of great, talented, creative people ready to teach, it’s going to be a lot of fun,” says actor Jason Simpson, a Vancouver Film School graduate and the voice behind the show’s villainous Lord Viren.

Simpson will be on site with fellow cast members and voice actors, including Omari Newton, Paula Burrows and Jesse Inocalla, alongside the show’s co-creator Justin Richmond, to mentor and work with students as they craft their own, short animation scene.

“They’re going to be looking at writing and working with a proven, award-winning director in Justin, who’s absolutely brilliant,” says Simpson.

The Vancouver-based actor says the three-day boot camp will be “very extensive” and “all-encompassing,” as those attending get to grips with the numerous moving parts required to bring just a few moments of animation to life.

Among the lessons over the course of the weekend are workshops on voice acting, animation – where students will design their own original character animated with facial movement and expressions – and writing.

The creative crash course will culminate Sunday with the formation and screening of a final, short, animated scene.

Simpson, who describes voicing the character of Viren as being one of the “greatest joys” of his life, says he has learned so much about acting and the industry by watching the efforts of The Dragon Prince animators behind the scenes.

“I do hope that actors, or folks who aren’t necessarily animators, get to see that process as well, because I think it’s pretty vital,” he says.

“It changed the way I looked at how I approached my work as an actor and storytelling, as well how a story gets made on the screen through our voices and the writing … I grew such an enormous respect for what the animators do.”

The process is incredibly time consuming and requires a “lot of creativity,” he says.

The weekend boot camp is open to “anyone and everyone,” he adds, not just actors looking to sharpen their craft or animators hoping to garner some inside knowledge, but the lovers of the show, of which there are many, who are looking to meet and collaborate with their heroes.

The Dragon Prince, which aired its seventh and final season in December last year, has amassed a passionate fanbase for its magical, fictional world of Xadia and the elves and dragons that live within it since it first launched in 2018.

“Fans made our show what it was for seven seasons, and just to be able to connect with them and work with them, it’s sort of a dream come true for all of us, because they’re just wonderful,” says Simpson.