acid house

Take a peek at the creative cocoon of animators Ivan Despi and Pauline Vicencio of Acid House! :)

Ivan Chris Despi and Pauline Vicencio
(Quezon City, Philippines)

Website: www.acidhousepost.com
paulinevicencio.multiply.com
gaktikol.blogspot.com
acidhousepost.tumblr.com

Occupation
Ivan: Animator / Motion Designer
Pauline: Animator / Motion Designer

Favorite toy as a child
Ivan: TMNT foot soldier at Lego
Pauline: Etch-A-Sketch, Magic Cup! (Yung binabaliktad na cup pero hindi tumatapos yung juice sa loob :) At si Polar Bear, ang polar bear na brown :)

Favorite toy now
Ivan: Nikon D90 at Heatblast ng BEN10
Pauline: Madami eh. Toy cameras (Holga, Seagull TLR), iPod, iVan, si Oprah, and Pocco

Turn-ons
Ivan: gutsiness, independence, geekiness/technical knowledge, self-made people, team players (for L4D), low profile-ness... and matapang parang lalake... hehe
Pauline: beach, spontaneity, people who take risks, good conversations, fun people, sense of humor, and good hygiene. MUST be at least 5'8" in height, knows how to draw and appreciate talent / art

Turn-offs
Ivan: parent-dependent people or people who just so happen to get all these opportunities because their parents pulled them favors, or their parents accomplished to begin with... :) selfishness & laziness... ok lang kung mabaho ka, 'wag ka lang tamad at madamot
Pauline: reckless people, mukhang pera, tactlessness, poor hygiene, naka-get at greasy hair, japorms sa simbahan, English speaking at may twang kahit Pilipino naman ang kausap, maskuladong naka-sleeveless or cut-offs, at pasosyal. Haayy ang dami!

Top 5 movies
Ivan: Dazed and Confused (at mga Richard Linklater films), 2001: Space Odyssey, The Shining, Star Trek XI, Jerry Maguire (at mga Cameron Crowe films)
Pauline: Labyrinth, Swept Away, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Great Expectations, Pido Dida 1 2 3

Top 3 books
Ivan: Transmetropolitan, Animator's Survival Kit, Life in Pictures by Will Eisner
Pauline: Saddest place on Earth, Cream of Tank Girl, & Transmetropolitan

Music you listen to
Ivan: Radiohead/Thom Yorke, Led Zeppelin, Explosions in the Sky, Beatles, John Mayer Trio, Kings of Leon, ThemCrookedVultures, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd at mga ambient / post-rock stuff (dahil feeling ko minsan artist ako): M83, Sigur Ros, Aphex Twin, Mogwai at Tortoise
Pauline: Top of my list pa din si Bjork; Pink Floyd - pamana ni mama at papa. Sa Triphop - I listen to Wax Poetic, Massive Attack, Portishead and Lamb; And just recently, I've started listening to neofolk music like Devandra Banhart and Ida, which were recommended to me by a friend :)

When you're not busy with work, what do you do in your free time?
Ivan: I love to eat whatever Pauline cooks in her free time :) Usually I only draw or read books, manood ng TV, makipaglaro sa dogs, or if it's not a weekend, gusto ko lumabas, kahit kumain lang sa labas. If it's a longer time available, we like to go somewhere na pwede kaming magshoot ng photos
Pauline: Minsan we read books sa terrace, nagse-set up kami ng banig under the stars at reading lamp ;) I also love to cook and experiment with food! Sunday is no fast-food day for us.

If you were to choose a different job, what would it be?
Ivan: Professional zombie killer? Comic book creator.
Pauline: I sometimes fantasize being a chef. At sa fantasy ko, sexy chef ako. Making food kasi is also an Art, consumable art at that :) And of course, yung fascination ko sa photographs kasama din, kaya pwede din maging documentary photographer. Documenting society in bloom or decay sa iba't-ibang lugar sa mundo. Sana lang madami akong pera to fund that :)

If you can have any super power, what would it be?
Ivan: Kili-kili power. (Hmm, asim)
Pauline: Wa-wifi-yin ko kayong lahat.

Where do you find inspiration for your creations?
Ivan: Sa totoo lang, anything and everything. Although malakas appeal sa kin ng various subcultures, offbeat stuff that I usually only discover through the 'net. I have a number of personal illustrations that were inspired by stuff I read at mentalfloss.com
Pauline: Mostly from my childhood and experiences as a young adult. I also try to remember my dreams from time to time. Weird things happen there and sometimes interpreting it gives me more ideas pa... Parang nanganganak ng ideas! Hehehe... Also, thinking in the shadows or in the dark works for me. May alternate effect kasi na nabibigay sa original concept. So lights on first, and then lights off.

Most inspiring statement/moment (heard/said/read)?
Ivan: The core skills of innovators is error recovery, not failure avoidance --- Randy Nelson, Dean of Pixas University. Angas 'di ba. Kaya sugod lang ng sugod.
Pauline: How'd you know if you are living the life you like? Ask yourself if you'd ever wanna trade yours. --- It's a short and simple statement, but definitely has a lot of meaning.