Fil Barlow Interview
In May 2015, I got in touch with Fil Barlow, who's had a versatile media career which has included being the lead character designer for a number of wonderful productions. Of course, EGB is the only one I gushed to him about, and he was kind enough to answer a few questions for me. Thank you, Fil, for the interview and for all the work you did to make EGB so very, very special. So, here it is: an interview with Fil Barlow by our very own EGB Fan!
EGB Fan: Can you briefly describe your role on Extreme Ghostbusters?
FB: Head of the Character Department, I had a team of artists working with me, and Producers and Directors above me that I had to keep happy. We designed a show a week once production was in full swing, which meant characters, ghosts, creatures, animals, crowd scenes, turnarounds, expressions and mouthcharts.
EGB Fan: Can you describe the brief you were given and the process of creating the central characters?
FB: I created the main cast in Queensland Australia, they were a process of back and forth phone conversations between Executive Producer Richard Raynis and myself. I would fax roughs for him to think about and we would discuss them within the next few days.
EGB Fan: You have some early concept art on your DeviantArt page. What can you tell us about the characters that never made it?
FB: I was largely teasing Richard sending him stuff that I knew he would reject just to get some traction on the project. He was distracted with other shows, so I kept throwing essentially junk at him to get a reaction. I knew it wasn't what he'd asked for but I was pushing the boundaries, hoping to make the show fun.
EGB Fan: Did you have anything to do with fleshing out the characters inside as well as out?
FB: I didn't draw their intestines if that's what you mean, I did naked models though so that we could redress them easily. Now if you mean scripts, I was not involved with that, I worked before any voice actors had been chosen, before there were any scripts. Richard had an idea of the kind of cast he was looking for and I provided samples until they fit, he was in charge of casting actors and developing scripts. Nothing to do with me.
EGB Fan: Can you tell us about the briefs you were given and the process of designing the creatures for the show?
FB: Initially I just drew whatever I wanted, once the scripts came in I had to do what they called for. Richard wanted to use designs from Everett Peck to link the ghost designs from Extreme Ghostbusters to Real Ghostbusters. Richard would chose between something that I had designed or something Everett had supplied. Sometimes ghosts were a combination of Everett, myself and Richard (who can draw). I would put what we ended up into the house style that I had developed.
EGB Fan: Did you watch the show and, if so, what are your memories of it?
FB: I can barely watch episodes now without flinching and I haven't seen them all. I had a hard time watching our animations back then. They used to have screenings and you'd hear different departments moan at different points, the Prop department would see a vehicle off model, we'd see a character go off model, the ink and paint would see a color pop, the storyboard artists a gesture that was misinterpreted overseas. They stopped the screenings because we all found it difficult or didn't attend.
EGB Fan: My RGB fan friends love talking about 'Back in the Saddle'. Is there anything you can tell them about the character designs for that one?
FB: Haha, you'll wish that you hadn't asked me about them. I disliked the original character designs for Real Ghostbusters, on Richard's request I faxed suggestions that were understandably ignored, I was in Australia working on ALF at the time. I felt that their faces were blobby and undefined, I still think that today. So a decade later when 'Back in the Saddle' came up, I was so exhausted and swamped with ghost designs that I didn't have time, so I spat out some roughs and handed them off to another artist on my team to deal with. One day I'll dig through my folios and check what I drew, I might even watch the episode to see what the fuss is about, but don't hold your breath on when.
EGB Fan: Is there anything else you think we fans would like to know?
FB: Animation productions are tough, we worked long hard hours, we did overtime without extra pay, and we were expected to. It was a job, it was political and there were egos to manage, I was one of those egos. I did my best and I'm proud of the designs that I did, but I couldn't have done it without my team. There were no fans back then, we just did the work and got on with the next show. Now it's a thing. I'm glad that our efforts affected so many people in such a positive way. Especially creatively, it's really good to see!
I've moved on to new projects, which means I'm back out in uncharted territory, this is where I work, an empty space where no one is looking, there are no fans here. My job is to fill the space with concepts and characters for people to fall in love with, and then I'll shed that style and move on, as I've done my whole life.
You might not like the next thing that I do, but it won't be boring, I promise you that. ;)
FB: Head of the Character Department, I had a team of artists working with me, and Producers and Directors above me that I had to keep happy. We designed a show a week once production was in full swing, which meant characters, ghosts, creatures, animals, crowd scenes, turnarounds, expressions and mouthcharts.
EGB Fan: Can you describe the brief you were given and the process of creating the central characters?
FB: I created the main cast in Queensland Australia, they were a process of back and forth phone conversations between Executive Producer Richard Raynis and myself. I would fax roughs for him to think about and we would discuss them within the next few days.
EGB Fan: You have some early concept art on your DeviantArt page. What can you tell us about the characters that never made it?
FB: I was largely teasing Richard sending him stuff that I knew he would reject just to get some traction on the project. He was distracted with other shows, so I kept throwing essentially junk at him to get a reaction. I knew it wasn't what he'd asked for but I was pushing the boundaries, hoping to make the show fun.
EGB Fan: Did you have anything to do with fleshing out the characters inside as well as out?
FB: I didn't draw their intestines if that's what you mean, I did naked models though so that we could redress them easily. Now if you mean scripts, I was not involved with that, I worked before any voice actors had been chosen, before there were any scripts. Richard had an idea of the kind of cast he was looking for and I provided samples until they fit, he was in charge of casting actors and developing scripts. Nothing to do with me.
EGB Fan: Can you tell us about the briefs you were given and the process of designing the creatures for the show?
FB: Initially I just drew whatever I wanted, once the scripts came in I had to do what they called for. Richard wanted to use designs from Everett Peck to link the ghost designs from Extreme Ghostbusters to Real Ghostbusters. Richard would chose between something that I had designed or something Everett had supplied. Sometimes ghosts were a combination of Everett, myself and Richard (who can draw). I would put what we ended up into the house style that I had developed.
EGB Fan: Did you watch the show and, if so, what are your memories of it?
FB: I can barely watch episodes now without flinching and I haven't seen them all. I had a hard time watching our animations back then. They used to have screenings and you'd hear different departments moan at different points, the Prop department would see a vehicle off model, we'd see a character go off model, the ink and paint would see a color pop, the storyboard artists a gesture that was misinterpreted overseas. They stopped the screenings because we all found it difficult or didn't attend.
EGB Fan: My RGB fan friends love talking about 'Back in the Saddle'. Is there anything you can tell them about the character designs for that one?
FB: Haha, you'll wish that you hadn't asked me about them. I disliked the original character designs for Real Ghostbusters, on Richard's request I faxed suggestions that were understandably ignored, I was in Australia working on ALF at the time. I felt that their faces were blobby and undefined, I still think that today. So a decade later when 'Back in the Saddle' came up, I was so exhausted and swamped with ghost designs that I didn't have time, so I spat out some roughs and handed them off to another artist on my team to deal with. One day I'll dig through my folios and check what I drew, I might even watch the episode to see what the fuss is about, but don't hold your breath on when.
EGB Fan: Is there anything else you think we fans would like to know?
FB: Animation productions are tough, we worked long hard hours, we did overtime without extra pay, and we were expected to. It was a job, it was political and there were egos to manage, I was one of those egos. I did my best and I'm proud of the designs that I did, but I couldn't have done it without my team. There were no fans back then, we just did the work and got on with the next show. Now it's a thing. I'm glad that our efforts affected so many people in such a positive way. Especially creatively, it's really good to see!
I've moved on to new projects, which means I'm back out in uncharted territory, this is where I work, an empty space where no one is looking, there are no fans here. My job is to fill the space with concepts and characters for people to fall in love with, and then I'll shed that style and move on, as I've done my whole life.
You might not like the next thing that I do, but it won't be boring, I promise you that. ;)
