‘TMNT: Mutant Mayhem’ Production Designer Yashar Kassai on the Future of Animation

2023-11-03

Yashar Kassai is the production designer of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. The team behind the film pushes the boundaries of animation by adding depth, complexity, and messiness to both the visuals and emotional tone of the film. Yashar describes the design of the film as bad. He says, “it’s like good-bad. It’s like dumb-good.” In today’s episode, No Film School’s GG Hawkins speaks with production designer Yashar Kassai to discuss: What it means to be a production designer in animation Defining the parameters of the world his team built

Yashar Kassai is the production designer of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. The team behind the film pushes the boundaries of animation by adding depth, complexity, and messiness to both the visuals and emotional tone of the film. Yashar describes the design of the film as bad. He says, “it’s like good-bad. It’s like dumb-good.”

In today’s episode, No Film School’s GG Hawkins speaks with production designer Yashar Kassai to discuss:

What it means to be a production designer in animation
Defining the parameters of the world his team built
How being a lame hero is refreshing in a world of ultra serious heroes
Why they intentionally designed the whole film to be “imperfect”
The value in destroying the film over and over again
The power of shaping light to tell your story
What Yashar hopes to see in the future of Western animation
Feeling both terrified and impressed by the capabilities of A.I.
How animation has room for more complexity

Memorable Quotes

“How do you tie together all the brilliant work that’s being put in front of you and make it into one cohesive thing on screen.” [8:40]
“You can do anything you want to, no matter how crazy it is.” [09:09]
“It’s really endearing to be lame as a teenager and not know who you are.” [14:09]
“We thought we had it. We thought we really went for it, but we didn’t.” [18:24]

Resources:

Yashar's Instagram

Yashar's website

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

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