Eric Stough has been the animation director for the hit series South Park since the beginning.
When animation director and co-producer of听South Park听Eric Stough听(Film鈥�95) started work on the quirky adult sitcom show 16 years ago, he cut out the famous cartoon characters from construction paper.
Today, he and his team use digital software to produce a similar effect, lending, in the process, a certain creative genius that has helped the animated sitcom become one of Comedy Central鈥檚 highest-rated shows.
鈥淚 feel extremely blessed to be doing what I love,鈥� says Stough who has watched the show鈥檚 production team grow from just a few people to a team of 80 during his tenure.
The creators of the show,听Trey Parker听(A&S ex鈥�93) and听Matt Stone听(Art, Math鈥�93), spotted Stough鈥檚 talent for animation while they were attending CU-Boulder, and Parker convinced Stough to join them in the film department to broaden his animation abilities.
鈥淓ric鈥檚 long-standing relationship with Matt and Trey is beyond valuable on a day-to-day basis,鈥� says Frank Agnone,听South Park鈥檚 supervising producer. 鈥淗e is as much a part of听South Park听as Matt and Trey are.鈥�
Stone and Parker first developed the听South Park听concept and characters at CU in 1992 in a short animation called the听Spirit of Christmas. It was, in true听South Park听nature, as humorous as it was crude but was well-received in its student screening. Stough 鈥� who had worked on various animation and claymation movies at CU 鈥� helped the duo create a second rendition.
鈥淚 believed in Matt and Trey鈥檚 comedy,鈥� he says.
The second film was a hit on the Internet, becoming one of the first viral videos. Comedy Central awarded Parker and Stone their shot at a show in 1997, and Stough was the first person they hired. During the past 16 years the show has run 237 episodes and won four听Emmy Awards and a prestigious Peabody Award.
In the third season Parker wrote one character into the show loosely mirroring Stough. The character 鈥淏utters鈥� borrowed its name from the nickname given to Stough by Parker and Stone.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very unusual and very surreal,鈥� he says on having his own cartoon character. 鈥淚鈥檓 honored.鈥�
For each episode, Stough takes the script Parker writes and brainstorms animation ideas to bring it to life. He conveys his and Parker鈥檚 ideas to the animation crew through storyboards and carefully watches retakes to perfect the details in each scene. He then views retakes with Parker four times a day to make further adjustments.
South Park听will air 10 episodes per year for the next four years, meaning the show鈥檚 production staff only meets a few months a year to complete their work. Each episode is created in six long days to ensure the freshest jokes. Often the day before an episode airs, the crew works a grueling 24 hours to complete it. When the Wednesday evening show airs, Stough and his wife watch it together.
鈥淚 can tell if it鈥檚 a good episode if it gets two or three laughs from her,鈥� he says.
While he has considered creating his own show someday, for now Stough fully embraces the听South Park听experience.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so great to see something come to life from paper,鈥� Stough says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a thrill.鈥�
Photo by Patrick Campbell
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