How did you develop your own style/vision as a director?

"Since my background is in animation I still more or less use that workflow. So, in my head and on paper I sketch most of the film, commercial, music video or whatever. What you shouldn't do for animation is to draw a few seconds extra which you might lose in the edit. That is a waste of time and effort. So you plot and time everything in advance. I like that process, also because I believe that I'm braver before the shooting starts than in the edit. So, I lower my options and make hard choices in advance."

How do you form your vision based on an idea/script?

"Mostly, I am involved early or I write along, so my take on it grows as the script does. I am not sure if there really is a vision though. I basically try to work intuitively, based on what I think works best for this specific project. You do work closely with your heads and see a lot of films that give you inspiration, different ones for each project, but it mainly just comes out of me. Subconsciously and heavenly influenced by every film, cartoon or comic book ever seen of course."

How do you communicate your vision with your heads and cast?

"Keep talking, watch stuff together and try to create an atmosphere where people feel free to speak up their mind. Film is a slow and stiff process so it is really important that creativity doesn't get overshadowed by all the production hassles. So for as long as it is possible you want to talk about catching lightning in a bottle instead of what is achievable moneywise or timewise. Early on that can be killing for a project."