J Walt's Spontaneous Fantasia

By Deardra Shuler

Performer and animator John Walter Adamczyk (whose stage name and moniker is J Walt) took time out of his busy schedule to talk with journalist Deardra Shuler about the inventive and fascinating show he presents in surround sound theatres dubbed "Spontaneous Fantasia."

Born and raised in Evanston, Illinois, Mr. Walt initially wanted to become a comic strip writer like Walt Kelly (Pogo comic strip), Walter Lantz (Woodie Woodpecker animator), and Charles Schultz (Charlie Brown cartoon strip). Walt Disney was also Walt's hero as a child because Disney had a great effect on animation and fantasy as an entertainment form and literally influenced the theme park culture.

Eventually John even used his fine arts experience to influence his craft, which he called Fine Arts animation. Via his Fine Arts animation, Mr. Walt used classical music and jazz to add music as an expression of his own personal vision and artistic creativity to his animation. His studies at USC and later CalArts in the 1980s, taught him film graphics, special effects, visual design and graphic arts which he eventually expanded into real time animation. As he looked more intently into the craft of virtual reality in an effort to add more fluidity to his work, Walt stepped beyond what other animators have done, thus becoming an originator within the art form.

Mr. Walt uses advanced software and designs such as his Rain Dance techniques which showcase animated 3-D drawings and figures that dance and come to life as he draws them from scratch in front of his audiences. Walt has created exciting 3D worlds, other worldly vistas and fractals which to date have catapulted his art form into uncharted territories.

J Walt is touring a show called the "Infinite Frontier" which supports the idea of infinity and something that never ends. "My show is always changing and evolving. The possibilities of this art form is endless. I am constantly creating and trying something new and different as I develop my show. I use new techniques and continue to experiment as I grow within this art form of virtual worlds" remarked the graphic artist and animation genius.

"The idea of animation is bringing things to life," explained Walt. "I am putting the animus into an object and making it appear to come to life. What I have done is take my art outside of movies, bringing it onto stage and performing it live in real time. It's spontaneous. Its a visual adventure wherein I bring the audience into a visual musical odyssey which unfolds right before the live audience," claimed Walt. "I have done this work in planetariums as well which is within a 180 degree half sphere which fills your peripheral vision. Therefore, the audience may feel they are transported into a digital realm, moving through these emerging patterns and forms as I fly through the worlds that I create."

Walt uses a gaming PC utilizing a gaming technology he created himself. His background is in animation and graphic arts but he uses computers to do real time animation which he uses for movies, video games, TV titles and theme park work. He also created digital puppets which he brings to life by making them walk through landscapes with the stroke of his pen.

"What I call "Spontaneous Fantasia" is essentially technology I create on a video screen. I get up on stage and draw using technology I have assembled and invented using my computer tablet. My drawings become 3-D sculptors, dancing figures, improvised landscapes, and animated figures which are all done with music so I bring the audience on a visual musical odyssey. People may see particles orbing around a glowing sphere, depending on how I animate it. For example, it could look like an atom, solar system or galaxy. It's my hope that audiences can come to a deeper understanding of the world by looking at the world around us and observing how its formed. Also, I want to impart to my audience that we have the power to change our world and change those things around us. We have the technology and know the mathematics to decide what kind of world we want" explained the animation wizard about his craft.

A Technical Academy Award winner, J Walt's groundbreaking, spectacular, live virtual reality show called "Spontaneous Fantasia," transforms flat video space into virtual reality via 3-D animated musical worlds Walt draws in front of a viewer screen. John does this by way of computer technology, using 3-D stereo, 2-D screens and multiple projections in a curved surround theater. As Walt says: "These visual worlds dazzle the eyes, inspire the spirit and touch the soul."

"I am having a blast exploring this art form and these virtual worlds. It's just been a whole lot of fun. I hope audiences will come out and see the show and take part in the virtual experience," said Walt.

Interested parties can listen to his show on "Topically Yours" on Blakeradio.com, Rainbow Soul, and watch J Walt's videos via visiting http://www.spontaneousfantasia.com/