People

What is your name?

My name is Andrew Park

What do you do at Cognitive Media?

I’m the Director of Cognitive Media

And what does that involve?

Well sometimes I have a lot of different hats but ultimately, I think what people see first off is my hand drawing the pictures that are the public view of Cognitive Media. Behind the scenes, I set the direction of the company and hopefully that direction helps me to work on lots of creative stuff that I’ve set for the team and also myself. It’s basically setting the agenda for the company so that we have good projects to work on and also to delight our clients.

Apart from your role here, what else do you do?

I am married to Caroline, who is the most amazing wife. She is doing a much harder job than i'm doing in being a full time mum and bringing up our two children. If it wasn't for Caroline I wouldn't be able to do what I am doing at work. It's a real partnership. We also own a dog called Margot who is part of the team here at Cognitive Media. She's the naughty one.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Funnily enough I wanted to be an Animator and I went a really long way around it to end up becoming an Animator via Fine Art and the like.

What three words would you use to describe Cognitive Media?

Innovative…fresh and fun.

What is your favourite Cognitive Media Animate?

Oh, I think it’s the Renata Salecl one. It’s the first one that I really started to dig beneath the surface of with content, beyond the actual words to the actual meaning. I know that sounds like I should’ve been doing that anyway, but added research behind the words that were supplied to me by the audio, doing my own research. It tied it back to my fine art practice, I think they call it. It really helped me cement my Cognitive Media practice, which is sometimes client-driven, but I’ve also united that with my art practice brain, a real glue between those two worlds.

Apart from the Cognitive Media Animates, what else do you watch on YouTube?

I don’t like watching cats playing pianos but that wasn’t the question. So, this is going to sound really odd, but I don’t watch a lot of TV, I’m quite myopic really. I like old school stuff, old 1950s cartoons. I don’t watch a lot of YouTube, that sounds counter-intuitive, I should be watching everything. I like to read some of the comments on YouTube about our work, the arguments that people get into is I quite fascinating. As you produce this work, a kind of discourse develops totally separate from your original work, which I find really interesting. It's like having a baby.  You produce this offspring and it enters the world and has its own life and people talk about it in a way you never thought they’d talk about it. And I enjoy that side of it.

What is the best thing about Folkestone?

The best thing about Folkestone is the fact that it is turning a corner and actually being regenerated.

If the whole world was a drawing, which animated character would you be?

If I was an animated character? I like Mickey Mouse, I mean an old school Mickey Mouse, the early, Steamboat Willy Mickey Mouse. He was kind of like Douglas Fairbanks character, he was a bit of a swashbuckler, and he could fly planes, rescue the girl and be adventurous. He wasn’t the Mickey Mouse that people see now, cute voiced and pink, he was quite rugged and black and white. I quite like that.

What is your favourite film?

That’s a good question. It used to be Stanley Kubrick's 2001 Space Odyssey. I am questioning that now a bit as Kubrick has got a tendency to be quite left brain, even though he is very visual, he is quite cold. I question myself sometimes in that way, am I a bit cold?  I like it for its scope and vision, but almost like you are watching it through a mirror or two-way glass, seems to be the way Kubrick directs. There is nothing fluffy about Kubrick, it is voyeuristic, you’re watching the film through a screen.

What book would you recommend to a friend?

Wuthering Heights. I think it’s really romantic. It’s amazing that it’s really passionate and there is massive soul to it and you live it. And my wife recommended it to me.

Tell us something we don’t know about you.

There are a lot of things people don’t know about me. I have shaken hands with Jesse Jackson whilst being naked.

Tell us a fact about someone else from Cognitive Media.

A fact or an assumption? I know Brad’s got a favourite jumper and it’s the star of many an animate. It’s like Where’s Wally? but with Brad’s jumper.

What is your name?

Rob Coward.

What do you do at Cognitive Media?

I am the Business Manager, looking after clients and making sure that the fantastic team here have what they need to do their creative stuff.

Apart from your role here, what else do you do?

I’m married with two children and a dog who is very much part of the family so we spend lots of time out walking at the weekends. My daughter and I are season ticket holders at Harlequins rugby. I’m also a charity trustee and school governor.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I was never a kid who wanted to be a fireman or a train driver, although I fancied being a television cameraman for a while. My dad worked in management and it was the natural thing to follow him.

What three words would you use to describe Cognitive Media?

Innovative, fun, leaders.

What is your favourite Cognitive Media Animate?

I love the work we’ve done with TED-Ed, taking sometimes very complex topics and making them accessible.

Apart from the Cognitive Media Animates, what else do you watch on YouTube?

Usually how-to videos for repairing my bike.

What is the best thing about Folkestone?

I love the whole harbour area, which has changed a lot over the last few years and is definitely 'on the up'.

If the whole world was a drawing, which animated character would you be?

Garfield - the strip cartoon one rather than the animated one though.

What is your favourite film?

I’m not a huge film fan and am probably the only person in the world who hasn’t seen ET. I have seen Star Wars though.

What book would you recommend to a friend?

Definitely Voices and Silences, the autobiography of the actor James Earl Jones. It’s an incredibly moving story.

Tell us something we don’t know about you.

I passed my advanced driving test…and subsequently wrote off my car.

Tell us a fact about someone else from Cognitive Media.

Andrew's dog, Margo, is named after Penelope Keith's character in The Good Life.

What is your name?

Daniel Stirrup.

What do you do at Cognitive Media?

I am the Creative Studio Manager.

And what does that involve?

Taking a lot of the images that Andrew prepares and breathing life into them, editing footage that we shoot of him as he draws.

Apart from your role here, what else do you do?

I do a lot of things. I’ve got my own allotment, I grow lots of vegetables. I play the guitar. I enjoy walking and looking for fossils down on Folkestone beach.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I think when I was very young I wanted to be a mad Scientist.

What three words would you use to describe Cognitive Media?

Fascinating, artistic and creative.

What is your favourite Cognitive Media Animate?

Umm, I am very interested in the RSA lectures, I found all the subject matters really interesting and quite intellectually stimulating.

Apart from the Cognitive Media Animates, what else do you watch on YouTube?

All manner of silly things, I occasionally try to track down something that you haven’t seen for years.

What is the best thing about Folkestone?

Umm, I like dramatic location between the sea and the hills.

If the whole world was a drawing, which animated character would you be?

It’s a difficult question, have to come back to that one.

What is your favourite film?

I don’t have a favourite film…I have several favourite films. I’ve seen Withnail and I far too many times. That’s probably the film I can quote off the top of my head.

It depends which kind of friend. But I think The Animators Survival Kit by Richard E. Williams is great if you want to get into Animation, it’s an essential read.

Tell us something we don’t know about you.

I’ll have to come back to that one.

Tell us a fact about someone else from Cognitive Media.

Vanessa had a nice bike!

What is your name?

My name is Matt.

What do you do at Cognitive Media?

I’m an Animator, so mostly I make inanimate things move… Like some kind of super-being.

Apart from your role here, what else do you do?

Eat, watch TV, browse the interweb, see my friends, play video games, watch Formula One.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I WAS Fireman Sam. Apparently in order to return me to myself my Mum had to ban Fireman Sam from eating my dinner. That pretty much worked. Apart from that I think at some stage or another I wanted to be: An archaeologist, an airline pilot, a train driver, a Formula One driver, an animator, a game designer, some kind of artist, an actor, a cat or a film director.

What three words would you use to describe Cognitive Media?

Fun, exciting, informative.

What is your favourite Cognitive Media Animate?

The one we’re currently working on.

Apart from the Cognitive Media Animates, what else do you watch on YouTube?

Freddie Wong, Tim Minchin, Auto Tune the News.

What is the best thing about Folkestone?

I’m getting hungry at the moment… So I think my temptation to say Batt and Berg, which is a sandwich shop, is slightly inaccurate. Probably the landscape is the best bit, there are some really good views of the hills near the station, and in my flat I can see all the way to France from my sofa.

If the whole world was a drawing, which animated character would you be?

Probably Stewie Griffin, not sure I should be proud of that fact, but I feel we share some characteristics.

What is your favourite film?

Primer is really good. It takes a lot of concentration to watch though, as it’s very script orientated. District 9 is a bit more mainstream and one of my favourites, although Alive in Joburg, which District 9 is based on is just as good, but only about 7 minutes long.

What book would you recommend to a friend?

Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks, by Christopher Brookmyre.

Tell us something we don’t know about you.

I’m hoping you didn’t know most of that stuff until now *Points up the page*

Tell us a fact about someone else from Cognitive Media.

Andrew isn’t real. We use a prosthetic hand on a stick in the animates.

What is your name?

Katie

What do you do at Cognitive Media?

I’m the Studio Assistant.

Apart from your role here, what else do you do?

I draw, I write (only one unpublished, pretty appalling first draft so far, but there’s still time!), I go to the theatre. I’m also a pretty big bibliophile and any spare time I have left, I spend being a bit of a geek.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a journalist. Then a vet, then an actress, and then, inexplicably, a dentist. I’m pretty pleased I vetoed all of those in the end!

What three words would you use to describe Cognitive Media?

Lots of fun!

What is your favourite Cognitive Media Animate?

The Paradox of Choice, it was the first one that really struck a cord with me.

Apart from the Cognitive Media Animates, what else do you watch on YouTube?

I tend not to go on YouTube very much! Occasionally I’ll watch tutorials on make-up, hair, and face painting styles.

What is the best thing about Folkestone?

The harbour on a sunny day – it’s like being on holiday!

If the whole world was a drawing, which animated character would you be?

I would be a Moomin.

What is your favourite film?

This is difficult! Somewhere between Stardust, Avengers Assemble, and Wilde, I think.

What book would you recommend to a friend?

Usually the last one I read, but The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, is possibly my favourite at the moment. It’s an incredible story about growing up and how we become the choices that we make. There are two more books in the series; I highly recommend those too!

Tell us something we don’t know about you.

I’m surprisingly Hobbit-like. Without the hairy feet, though.

Tell us a fact about someone else from Cognitive Media.

Julie is the new Doctor Who assistant – coming to a screen near you this Christmas! (This may not be a true fact.)

What is your name?

Julie.

What do you do at Cognitive Media?

Manage the accounts/books.

Apart from your role here, what else do you do?

Look after my family, run around – not literally – taking them places.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A social worker.

What three words would you use to describe Cognitive Media?

Interesting, creative, fun.

What is your favourite Cognitive Media Animate?

6Music.

Apart from the Cognitive Media Animates, what else do you watch on YouTube?

Totally pointless things my children find and think are funny.

What is the best thing about Folkestone?

The regeneration and what the town is going to become.

If the whole world was a drawing, which animated character would you be?

Thelma – Scooby Doo., but people say I am more like Daphne.

What is your favourite film?

Grease – but I love the Jim Carey movies and Richard Prior/Gene Wilder movies too.

What book would you recommend to a friend?

Having time to read would be nice!!!

Tell us something we don’t know about you.

I have a football-coaching badge.

Tell us a fact about someone else from Cognitive Media.

Katie is a secret dragon tamer – but only on the weekends!