Category: Q&A

Film director

Griffin Hansen is an award-winning director of animated films from New Hampshire who recently released the animated short film Within the Crystal Hills, an imaginative fable about the origins of the famed Old Man of the Mountain. His work can be viewed on YouTube, Instagram and Twitter under the handle @GruppetStudios.

Explain your job and what it entails.

I am an animated film director, which more than anything means I am not an animator … I own and operate my own studio called Gruppet Studios…. I work with very talented artists, not just from New Hampshire but from all over the world to put together some films.

How long have you had this job?

I literally have directed animated films for the better part of three years now, but in terms of making films, working in films and directing … it started in my bedroom in Goffstown when I was 12 years old…

What kind of education or training did you need?

First of all, proud graduate of Goffstown High School, go Grizzlies! As for my job I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts in animation with a concentration in story and concept development, that’s from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and I graduated a year ago last Monday…. You just need the passion to want to work in film. …

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

It’s usually going to be my Pitchfork Records T-shirt from Concord, my Alley Cat hat from right down the street from you folks in Manchester or maybe even my Mount Washington Ice Fest hat … and a nice pair of khakis….

What is the most challenging thing about your work, and how do you deal with it?

I would feel that a lot of filmmakers would agree [it’s] making yourself feel like what you’re making is worth making…. To be able to have that passion that I and hopefully many others have for filmmaking, and to keep it lit every day is not as easy as just throwing another log on the fire.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

I think that there is a prevailing notion, which is slowly dissipating, about animation being … a genre…. Animation is a medium. It can tell all sorts of stories….

What was your first job?

A camp counselor at Camp Mi-Te-Na in Alton, New Hampshire. I worked there when I was 17 and by that point I’d gone to camp there for 11 years.

What is the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

Everybody has 10 bad films in them, and the sooner you get them out the better. I’m not saying that it’s literally 10, you don’t make your 10th film and now you’re like, ‘Oh great, now I’m perfect.’ But the idea, of course, is everybody has that gunk in their system … the sooner you get out there and get them out, the sooner you can start making stuff you’re really going to be proud of. —Zachary Lewis

Five favorites
Favorite book: Watchmen by David Gibbons and Alan Moore
Favorite movie: Might just be Moonrise Kingdom by Wes Anderson
Favorite music: I’m a huge fan of the Pixies.
Favorite food: Anything from Bova’s Bakery in Boston
Favorite thing about NH: New Hampshire gives you everything you need to grow as a person. It is the perfect soil.

Featured photo: Griffin Hansen. Courtesy Photo.

Inspiring future engineers with Zach Umperovitch

Zach Umperovitch is the national contest director at the Rube Goldberg Institute for Innovation & Creativity. A New Hampshire native, Zach is a three-time Guinness World Record holder, a national Rube Goldberg contest champion and an on-screen expert, judge and engineering producer for Contraption Masters on the Discovery Channel. He is also well-known for his work for Domino Masters, Google, Red Bull, Disney, ESPN and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. From Saturday, June 22, through Friday, June 28, you can find him at the fourth annual “Kickoff to Summer” with Zach’s Contraptions at the SEE Science Center in Manchester. Visit @ZachsContraptions on YouTube, @zachscontraptions on Instagram and rubegoldbergmachineexpert.com.

What is a Rube Goldberg machine?

A Rube Goldberg machine is a contraption or invention that takes a very simple task such as watering a plant or zipping a zipper and makes it incredibly complicated in a funny way using everyday objects.

How did you get interested in them?

I got involved with Rube Goldberg machines when I was 3 years old, before I even knew what they were. I was playing around with different parts around my house and my parents have a lovely photo of me building one up a staircase….

What was one of the first Rube Goldberg machines you ever invented?

One of the first ones I remember was, I wanted to knock something down the stairs, it was actually feeding a cat. It was a marble that went through my hamster’s tubing, which, fun fact, that hamster’s still missing. Then the marble slid out into a box, slid down the stairs, knocked over some dominoes and it knocked over a bowl of cat food and it just spilled all the cat food all over the place. But it effectively did feed our cat at the time.

Why do you think Rube Goldberg machines are so fascinating?

I think they’re really fascinating because there’s this child-like wonder and it’s bringing your imagination to life. I think all of us as kids, we played around with toys and sort of built these contraptions on our own. But seeing them in a bigger media space, and when I do them with things like shipping containers and yoga balls and giant fans and bicycles and seeing these crazy contraptions that we all built as kids in a larger setting, there’s such a sense of wonder and it brings us back. I’ve been to art galleries with very posh people and they look at these machines and they go, ‘Wow, this is amazing!’ And I built these machines for fishermen for the Seattle Boat Show and you’re thinking, big hearty fisherman guys, what are they going to think of a Rube Goldberg machine?, and they have the same response as some of the third-graders I teach. It really is just something that appeals to everyone’s childlike nature.

What will you be doing at the SEE Science Center?

I’m going to be building a life-size Rube Goldberg machine, roughly around 30 feet by 20 feet, so a really good size where I’m going to take exhibits, I’m going to take different items that are lying around the museum, I’m going to build a giant Rube Goldberg machine designed to help kick off summer. They always have their, it’s called the ‘Kickoff to Summer’ event, and quite literally, we’re going to kick off Summer with this machine. What does that mean? You actually have to go there to find out…. It’s going to be a liveexhibit, meaning that it’s going to be in one of the spaces that people can just visit through. Because they are anticipating larger crowds to come and see this, and only a select number of people can show up at a time to the museum … reservations aren’t necessary but recommended…. I’m going to have one of my smaller, portable Rube Goldberg machines … that’s going to be demonstrated. People will be able to play my Rube Golberg video game, Rube Works, there’s activities…. There may be TV monitors around that might be showing my show Contraption Masters or stuff from my YouTube Channel, Zach’s Contraptions.

With the television show and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, what was it like foraying into that realm?

It was a pretty incredible transition going from building these machines for collegiate events to actually going to the production scale. Sonic the Hedgehog was really nice because that was a 3D digital contraption, so a lot less mess, but really really cool in that millions of people have now seen that. My production company Zyyn Labs is the one behind OK Go [“This Too Shall Pass” music video] and we still get all the accolades from that. Working with Discovery and for my show Contraption Masters, it’s just such an incredible experience. I had the idea for 10 years and for it to be brought to life, the whole cast and crew just being so supportive and so behind the idea of it…. It’s so wonderful to have such passionate people and it’s only continued even from the competitions through the production side of things, people just really put their heart and soul into these things.

Can you talk about your book coming out on Nov. 12, 2024, with Rube Goldberg’s granddaughter called ‘Rube Goldberg’s Big Book of Building: Make 25 Machines That Really Work!’?

This book is going to be the guide to students building their own Rube Goldberg machines. It’s a wonderful manual that includes the basics behind Rube Goldberg but also how students, parents, home-school students, whoever, they’re able to take everyday objects that are already lying around and be able to build these contraptions using nothing more than scissors, string and duct tape. There’s 25 contraptions that I’ve personally built and we give step-by-step instructions, very much in a Lego style with these beautifully illustrated pictures. It’s such a wonderful book that we’re trying to get into every STEM classroom because it really is going to be such a helpful manual for students to begin thinking outside the box and begin their journey building Rube Goldberg machines.

What would you say to someone who’s interested in Rube Goldberg machines or building in general?

For anyone interested in building, inventing, possibly even the world of Rube Goldberg, it’s all about learning how to fail and learning from those failures. I might sound successful but in reality if 10 to 15 percent of what I make actually works, I’m thrilled, truly…. It’s understanding that there’s a lot of trial and error and you have to have the patience to persevere. If you do have that patience, the doors just open for you. It’s an incredible field to be in, but understanding how to fail and how to learn from failure is critical to success.

Kickoff to Summer with Zach’s Contraptions
Where: SEE Science Center, 200 Bedford St., Manchester
When: Saturday, June 22, through Friday, June 28
Info: see-sciencecenter.org, 669-0400

—Zachary Lewis

Featured image: Zach Umperovitch. Courtesy photo.

Program & Marketing Director

Graham Gifford is the Program & Marketing Director of the New Hampshire Telephone Museum in Warner (nhtelephonemuseum.org).

Explain your job and what it entails.

Oh my goodness, I’ll try to keep it under three days. As a museum employee, there’s a ton that we have to do. Primarily I am, of course, the director of programming. I’m also the marketing director, so the day is quite filled with those things. We take in a variety of artifacts. We are a registered nonprofit, a 501(c)3. We do a tremendous amount of collaboration, so we’re doing off-site exhibits as well as new exhibits in-house. We actually do a lot of programming. We have both free and for-charge programming, depending on if people are members of the Telephone Museum or not…. We’re not just about telephones, we’re about telecommunications and communications. We’re doing a code talker presentation … and in years past, one of the huge successes is our animal programming, whether it’s with falconry or canine. There’s always tours that have to get done and there’s walls that need to be patched and painted. I could go on for days.

How long have you had this job?

I’ve been here for 12 years.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

It was very serendipitous. I was hired to improve the marketing for the museum and it’s so fun I never left.

What kind of education or training did you need?

At the time I simply needed to know marketing. Since the I’ve had to undergo a variety of education, but I do have my master’s, so that served me well in learning.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Something incredibly casual which includes sneakers because I am either giving a tour or I am patching a wall.

What is the most challenging thing about your work, and how do you deal with it?

Trying to juggle so many varied tasks at once can be incredibly difficult. It’s the nature of the work so you just have to keep a smile on your face and be positive. I know that sounds like such a kitschy answer but that’s the truth.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

That it is non-stop, continuous, 24 hours a day.

What is the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

Work well with your teammates. They’ll make all the difference.

—Zachary Lewis

Five favorites
Favorite book: anything by Ryan Holiday\
Favorite movie: Lord of the Rings
Favorite music: Hozier
Favorite food: sushi
Favorite thing about NH: There’s so much to do.

Featured photo: Graham Gifford. Courtesy Photo.