Mark Kirkland

Mark Kirkland (born November 5, 1956)[1] is an American animation director. He has directed 84 episodes of The Simpsons since 1990, more than any other director.

Director Mark Kirkland

Career

At the age of 13, Kirkland began making super 8 films and working for his father, noted photographer and filmmaker Douglas Kirkland,[2] creating “making of” films for major production companies. This exposure to Hollywood sparked Kirkland's desire to seek a career in the entertainment industry. Kirkland developed an interest in drawing at an early age. At the age of 17, he began studying in the Experimental Animation Program at the California Institute of the Arts for four years, earning a BFA degree.[3] There, he was mentored by people such as Jules Engel (serving as his teaching assistant), A. Kendall O'Connor, Ollie Johnston and Moe Gollub.[2] In 1976, he won the Student Academy Award for animation along with fellow student, Richard Jefferies, for their graphically animated film made to the song "Fame" by David Bowie.[2][4] After finishing up his degree, he applied to Disney, but he was not accepted and instead began working for Hanna-Barbera.[2] He began working on The Simpsons from season two onwards and has directed 82 episodes, more than any other director.[2][5][6] In season 18, he became the show's supervising director.[2]

Kirkland has won three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Environmental Media Awards and a Pioneer in Television Animation Award from the Burbank International Film Festival for his work on The Simpsons.

An active member of the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences, Kirkland served as the Animation Peer Group Governor from 2012–2013.

As an independent filmmaker, Kirkland has written, directed, and produced award-winning short films which have been shown at film festivals around the world and screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. During a 5-year period, Kirkland participated in 25 festivals screening his films: "A Letter from Home," "The Moving Picture Co. 1914," "The Audition," and "Bud's Odyssey." Kirkland is an accomplished still photographer whose images have been published in the US and People magazines. He created photo essays on the behind-the-scenes making of The Simpsons, and A Visit with Ollie about legendary Disney animator Ollie Johnston.

The Simpsons episodes

Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6
Season 7
Season 8
Season 9
Season 10
Season 11
Season 12
Season 13
Season 14
Season 15
Season 16
Season 17
Season 18
Season 19
Season 20
Season 21
Season 22
Season 23
Season 24
Season 25
Season 26
Season 27
Season 28
Season 29
Season 30
Season 31

Interviews

MediaEpisodeDate
Man vs. Art ManVsArt.comEpisode #54: Interview with 3 Time Emmy Award Winning Director of The Simpsons Mark Kirkland2011-07-19
Actors Reporter (wiki) ActorsReporter.comExclusive Interview at home with Mark Kirkland, a director of The Simpsons 2011-07-07
Toon In! ToonInAnimation.netShow #25: Mark Kirkland2008-05-26

Notes

  1. "Mark Kirkland". IMDb.
  2. "Show #25: Mark Kirkland". ToonAnimation.net. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2011-08-02.
  3. Nott, Robert (2003-09-26). "A Glimpse Of 'The Simpsons'". Santa Fe New Mexican. p. P-44.
  4. Microsoft Word - winners-by_year.doc Archived 2006-02-07 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Gill, Harbant (2006-08-30). "Mmm, art show". Herald Sun. p. 075.
  6. Strachan, Alex (2011-07-27). "Behind-the-scenes: The Simpsons". National Post. Archived from the original on 2013-01-29. Retrieved 2011-08-02.
  7. The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror" Scary Names Collection Archived 2009-07-10 at the Portuguese Web Archive
  8. According to the Season 10 DVD commentary, Kirkland was going through a divorce and hired Nastuk to direct most of the episode.
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