SHREK WALKING

It was October 2002, and we were deep into a high-intensity location shoot in Glendale, California for Hewlett-Packard. At the time, HP’s latest computers were being used by DreamWorks for their cutting-edge animation work, and we were there to capture that story for B to B ads foe H.P.

The schedule was packed. With a long list of shots and limited time, I was managing two full crews, constantly on the move—setting up lights, tearing down gear, racing against the clock to get everything just right.

Around midday, we were set up in DreamWorks’ sprawling computer animation room. I was doing my usual lap between the crews, pointing out lighting positions, giving teardown directions—moving quickly and with purpose. That’s when I heard it.

“Like that! There!” someone shouted from across the room.

I turned to see an animation director pointing—at me.

“Can you walk back and forth like that again?” he asked.

Somewhat confused, I obliged, repeating the same walk: arms swinging, long strides, all business.

He turned to a group of animators and said, “See? His arms sway like this, and his legs take these longer steps.”

Now I was really curious.

So I walked over to him for a quick chat. That’s when he explained: they were working on animation references for the next Shrek film. And apparently, my walk was exactly what they were looking for—specifically for the scene where Shrek turns into a human prince.

Seriously. That’s what he told me.

Of course, after the movie came out, I watched it and scanned every scene with Prince Shrek. I didn’t exactly see my walk in there… but who knows? Maybe you will.

Either way, it was one of the strangest—and funniest—moments I’ve ever had on set. One minute I’m directing a crew under tight deadlines, and the next I’m an unintentional model for an animated ogre-turned-prince.

Just another day in production.