About the Artist
Did you have any weird, funny, horrible, or in some other way memorable moments during the making of your Flash piece for this contest?
There were far too many ridiculous moments for us to recount each one, but a particularly memorable one was when Andrew first introduced the Büte (yes, that’s what they’re called and that’s what they’re saying: “Büte”) to Aaron.
You see, Aaron and Andrew both work about 50/50 on most aspects of the cartoon, but Aaron handles most of the technical work, like editing, challenging animations and a whole mess of digital specifics - all while trying to make sure Andrew doesn’t get carried away.
SO - when we got to the point where our characters were going to be drawn, we had already spent a lot of time discussing and getting excited about our idea. Then one night, Andrew decided it was time to create our Bütes. After a few revisions, he created a little introduction piece and sent it Aaron’s way. When Aaron saw the Büte hopping around the screen, he was convinced Andrew had hit it right on the head. The two of us hit the ground running from there and, in the end, we’re really pleased with how those little guys turned out. So as we look back, their inception and creation was really something special.
Just imagine two grown men (we’re almost 25… does that make us grown?), in a tiny New York apartment on a beautiful Friday night, scuttling around with a microphone going “Büte. Büte. Büte!”
How did you choose your topic –OR- Why is your topic important to you?
We spent a lot of time talking about the contest theme question. The long and short of our opinion is that global issues matter to Americans because we have the ability to help. To us, however, it goes beyond a responsibility held by Americans only. The two of us think that anyone who has the capacity to help should. Of course there is a deep debate between charity and personal gain, but the truth is we were never trying to argue a point - just trying to share a perspective. We see a lot of potential for good in the world, but have become increasingly frustrated with the amount of war, greed and indifference. Human life is far too precious to ignore.
Before the contest, did you consider yourself fairly knowledgeable about global issues?
Yes. The truth is we’re two brothers from a small town whose worldly awareness has grown exponentially since moving to New York. It’s not that we’re any more ignorant or naïve than the next person, but living in what is arguably the most diverse city in the world has given us a greater appreciation for other cultures and the human race in general. The Citizens for Global Solutions Flash Contest provided the perfect vehicle for focusing our experience and furthering our global awareness.
Was this your first Flash piece? How did you first learn Flash?
We have actually been working in Flash for about a year. Always trying to find outlets for our creativity, on one fateful night we decided to learn how to do flash animation. Since then, we have completed two full-length cartoon episodes (totaling an hour’s worth of animation) with animated versions of us—Aaron and Andrew Cao—as the main characters.
Actually, when we first decided to use Flash as our outlet, it wasn’t because we preferred that style of animation or because either of us were particularly knowledgeable about the program. As a matter of fact, neither of us knew anything about Flash, but we saw it as a creative outlet with limitless boundaries. So, we set out and taught ourselves everything we could. When we coupled this new knowledge with our other experiences in story-telling, music composition and recording, we realized we had a tool that was quickly becoming the perfect means of expression.
Did you show your friends and family your Flash piece? What did they think? Are they still your friends and family now?
Our friends and family are incredibly supportive. We have always aimed our creative efforts at specifically entertaining them. When others find joy in our work, it’s a lovely, added bonus. We do always run our work by our family and closest friends first and to put it one way, if our mother were to write a review of our piece, she’d give it 4 out of 4 stars and about 8 seconds of happy clapping.
Any last words?
Our deciding factor in choosing to do this contest was the nobility of your organization’s efforts. Working on this project felt good each day and we’re very grateful for the opportunity to have participated alongside your Citizens for Global Solutions. We hope that you never stop what you’re doing. You really are making the world a better place.
