by Hayk Manukyan
AN INTERVIEW WITH HAYK MANUKYAN
Neenja, an animated series about discovering hidden powers, is perhaps a bit autobiographical. 
But Hayk Manukyan uncovered his hidden talents at a very young age, unlike the hero of Neenja, Harut, a balding cab driver. In real life, the co-star of Neenja, Sah, is an actual animator who helped bring the project to life. The two worked together at the Hollywood-based studio Six Point Harness, where Neenja was set into motion as an original production.
Let’s find out how Hayk brought his vision to life, and what he has in store for his own personal episodic arc.
AARON SIMPSON: How does an episode of Neenja come together?
HAYK MANUKYAN: I start by visualizing the story as a whole, then I find a cut-off point in the story which can stand on it’s own. For example in part 1, I end it after Sah tells Harut he is the chosen one. Before the episode ends, we see a hint of Harut’s power which hopefully leaves viewers wanting to see what happens next. After I know my cut off point, I move onto storyboarding, which I do in Flash. My storyboards are usually posed out to the point of almost looking like rough animation. Once I start animating I take the poses in the storyboards and work with them to get the final result.
AARON: How did Six Point Harness get involved in the project?
HAYK: I was working at Six Point and overheard they were interested in new, original properties. But I was pretty burned out from the Neenja part 1 production. I had been juggling my full-time job and late night animating. So I asked Brendan Burch, CEO of Six Point, if they’d be interested in helping finish Neenja. Brendan was excited about the whole idea and so I brought Neenja to Six Point.
The follwing 3 months were probably the greatest 3 months I’ve experienced in the animation industry. I got paid full time to work on my own project, plus I had Angelo Vilar (an amazing artist at Six Point) doing the backgrounds and storyboarding.
AARON: Is the lead character Harut based on someone you know?
HAYK: Harut is actually a combination of people in my family, people I’ve gone to school with, and mostly me.
AARON: Tell us which Los Angeles-based Flash animator co-stars in your series?
HAYK: I always like basing my characters on real people and at the time when I was designing Harut’s trainer, I decided to base it on Saharat Tantivaranyoo, a friend of mine at Six Point. Everything from the way he looks, talks, and acts made it into that character, also called Sah.
AARON: What type of recognition has the series received so far?
HAYK: Part 1 of Neenja won a first place award on Newgrounds and it was also featured here on Coldhardflash.com. The feedback I got from people was also pretty good.
AARON: Neenja is about a man discovering his talents and harnessing them. How did you learn to harness your animation skills?
HAYK: My uncle in Armenia was an animator, and I guess it passed down to me. My parents realized I was into drawing at a very young age so they pushed me into it even more. By the time I discovered animation in America at age 11, I already had years of drawing experience. I also had a little thing called ignorance which played a big part. I felt, at age 14, I was ready for Disney, and I mailed them photos of my artwork expecting to get in. Six months later Disney sent me a packet of sample portfolios and examples of what they are looking for. It made me realize how much more I had to learn in order to reach the level of Disney animators. Luckily they included a list of recommended schools, and so I started taking a lot of classes on life drawing, reading books on animation, online interviews of great animators and so on. After high school I was hired at Cornerstone Animation Inc and the rest I learned on the job.
AARON: There are 2 episodes yet to go in the Neenja series, right?
HAYK: Both episodes 5 and 6 are written and ready to be completed. Part 5 is halfway there, but because I don’t have the schedule I had back when I was at Six Point, the process is taking much longer.
AARON: You’re also planning a feature film, correct?
HAYK: It’s a long term goal I’d like to reach, but it’s nothing to expect anytime soon. I still have a lot to learn before I tackle that one full on. Plus I still need to finnish Neenja.
Tags: Flash Animation 10 Best Animated, Interview, Neenja, Six Point Harness
