Interview with ibcf, One of the Best Animation Reels Editors

ibcf's profile photo in X

In recent years with an emerge of faster and cheaper internet, appearance of many cult animated films online, a new video edit genre had emerged in its final form - animation reels. 

For those who don't know, animation reel (or sometimes called Sakuga MAD) is a type of video, which contains a compilation of scenes done by concrete animator (either by western or eastern one). It is a generally good start to introduce yourself into the world of animation IDs and different animators' style. 

YouTube knows many talented editors and animation enthusiasts like magnil (AKA lovcrimson), tinycrow, WHYx3, Toadette_IAD, Hobbes Sakuga and many more. My today's guest is probably one of the first serious creators to see potential in this format - ibcf. His most popular videos include Cartoon Suicide Reel (over 5 million views) and animation reels of Milt Kahl, Frank Thomas or Yoshinori Kanada. 

In this interview I was aiming to get deeper into ibcf's editing career, his methods of producing his videos and feelings about animation reels in general. Hope you'll enjoy it!

- My first question is how did you get interested in animation? Which were the first cartoons you ever saw?

ibcf: I’m not sure what the first cartoon I ever saw is. As a kid I watched a bunch of cartoons copied on VHS tapes from the library…Disney movies, Pixar shorts, Michael Sporn films, other assorted odd stuff. I liked cartoons and cartoony comics and illustrations as long as I can remember. Eventually I got the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVDs, and to me those were the best cartoons of all. I started noticing the names in the credits…Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Bob Clampett and the like, and how their cartoons had particular drawing styles. I learned a lot more about the artists and their history on animation forums and blogs, like the GAC forum and Michael Barrier’s website. I didn’t care much for anime until I got older.

Photo of the VHS cassettes, our hero was watching during childhood years

- What inspired you to make your first animation reel?

ibcf: I'd known of Thad Komorowski's "classic animator reels" on his blog for years, though they were not exactly like the sakuga MADs that are popular now, they were just compilations of clips. Sometime when I was new to the anime scene I saw this Hideki Tamura MAD which inspired me a lot.

My first reel wasn't a sakuga MAD...it was a silly compilation of Daffy Duck doing his trademark whooping laugh. The first one I did about an actual animator was for a guy named Tatsuo Yanagino who worked on the Lupin the Third anime in the 80s, who I learned about from Ben Ettinger and Aaron Long's blog posts. It blew my mind that a tv animator from Japan I'd never heard of could draw in such a loose and freewheeling way, seemingly against all the established truths I'd ever heard about television animation.

https://t.co/o8vjzTlTbR

https://t.co/zDYJKF9R9M

After that, I saw someone on the Anipages forum had once asked if there were any western animator sakuga-style MADs, and I was frustrated too that there weren't any, so I started making them and that was that. 

https://t.co/ELWtb8M8qS

- So, what does "ibcf" mean? Is it some kind abbreviation?

ibcf: It's an old username I've used since I was a kid. Its origins are too embarrassing to recount.

- In your opinion, which are the best and the worst reels you have ever made?

ibcf: My favorite is the latest one I made...my least favorite is the videos with mistakes! (which i've deleted)

- Like your Manny Gould reel?

ibcf: Yep

- It was later remade by tinycrow, right? Was it too different from crow's version?

ibcf: Tinycrow's reels are original, as far as I know. We've corresponded a bit but we don't collaborate in the actual video editing

- What are your relationship with other reel makers (magnil, Toadette and others)?

ibcf: We've chatted from time to time and helped each other find clips or ID scenes. It's been a while since we've been in contact though.

- Have you ever wanted to try other types of content, besides animation reels? Like letsplays or anything else?

ibcf: It would probably be on a different channel!

- Why there were no reels for so long? (excluding your relatively fresh Woody Woodpecker Sakuga) Is it kind of idea crisis or simple tiredness of existing formula?

ibcf: I only like making them when it's fun for me, and I can do something that (I think) is fresh and satisfying

It's a bit of a crowded field now, which doesn't exactly help my motivation

- Which program do you use for montage?

ibcf: I used to use iMovie, later I got Final Cut Pro

- Do you have any plans for future?

ibcf: We'll see haha. I've had a few ideas on the backburner but I'm not sure when I'll have the time or will to work on them. Never say never though!

-Ok. Blitz. Looney Tunes or Disney?

ibcf: Looney Tunes, always!

- Western animation or anime?

ibcf: Love both. Couldn’t choose.

- Shibayama or Kobayashi?

ibcf: Love Shibayama’s stuff. Kobayashi is kind of elusive to me.