This week, we meet up with a great animator behind the scenes of most of the 'Tales of Nazir' episodes and currently Black Rasta's video clip, Zenock Gyimah-Amponsah, a.k.a ZENKS! A graduate of the National Film and television institute of Ghana (NAFTI), with a major in Animation (class of 2015).
So who is Zenks? I’m a co founder and CEO of LetsAnimate, a 2d animation firm which I launch recently with a partner. We specialize in 2d animation, motion graphics, 2d animation tutoring and directing.
I see a lot of character sketches and concepts on your social media handles. Yes. I enjoy drawing and playing video games. I have worked as a graphic designer with various firms, individuals and events. Most of my collaboration has won international recognition and awards.
What led you on to this path? Growing up I watched a lot of cartoons and video games. I told my Dad I wanted to be a game designer. With his support, we'd visit cafes just to download games, tutorials and softwares which I used to create some cool stuffs. Along the line, I noticed the gamers had issues with the animations. So I decided to, you know, delve into the animation field to attempt solving their problems. The more I researched, the more I got interested. My interest led me to NAFTI and Fast forward, today, it's a deep passion and a business call for me...Solving problems with animation.
Let's talk about Nazir. Haha. I got involved in the second episode of Nazir series when I was in level 300 at NAFTI. As my early contributions, I did the Ebola virus and the dance in that episode which caught a lot of public fans. My role advanced to directing most shots, doing lip syncs and secondary characters. I don't come up with the stories but assisted in making sure each episode had the best in the visual appeal. It was a fun and learning experience.
Any list of Zenks animated handiworks aside Nazir? I have a very tall list of works ranging from animated shorts to adverts. I have been doing this for 6 years now. I have worked on over 10 animated music videos so far and more still on the way. I honestly can’t recollect all but I will mention a few.
ANIMATED SHORTS
Edem
Ayew(unreleased)
The Junta (unreleased)
MUSIC VIDEO ANIMATED
Blakk Rasta – Mallam Tonga
Blakk Rasta – Racist in Uniform
Stone Gee – No More
Stone Gee – Bottom Power
The Ras General – How long
That's quiet of lot of workload for your studio. What motivates you most in all this?
A long list of stuffs motivates me a lot; From spending time with loved ones, drawing
sketches, playing video games, motivational speeches, listening to music (especially Imagine
Dragons and Drake) travelling and watching animated films.
Any up comings from the Zenks anytime soon? Yes, a lot of projects. My team and I have been working on an animated series which we hope to release soon.
Charlie, Can't wait for more Zenks magic touch. More grace to the team to make Gh proud! Call the dude for your music videos y!