MOTOROLA MA-1

In late 2023 I was approached by Glance Productions to help them create a refresher spot for Motorola’s MA-1 car accessory. The MA-1 works in conjunction with your phone to provide features in a car which would otherwise be unavailable, such as SatNav, messaging and playing music.

Working closely with directors Luke Flanagan and Johnnie Ford, I took their original idea and provided concept artwork to present to the client, before working on the animatic and then moving onto animation and compositing, all created in TV Paint. It was fun solving technical challenges of scrolling landscapes, the lightspeed transitions and incorporating uninterrupted camera moves which required an opening bitmap canvas of nearly 23,000 pixels wide to allow us to zoom in close enough to the Motorola logo without losing image quality.

I single-handedly produced two spots for the campaign - the first transitioning between three different landscapes with each one demonstrating a different use of the MA-1; Connect, Play and Explore. The second spot incorporated people and focussed on the wireless connectivity of the MA-1 with a mobile phone and the myriad of options available.

This was a brilliant campaign to be involved in and great to collaborate with the team at Glance.

To view showreels, concept artwork and more for both spots, click here.

THAT '90s SHOW - DOUG CARTOON

In early 2024 I had a really fun time when HU_SH asked me to contribute to an animated sequence for Part 3 of Netflix’s That ‘90s Show where the main character Leia Forman fantasises about making out with the 1990’s cartoon character Doug.

Directed by Dave Anderson and produced by Ru Warner I animated the opening title section; my ruff linetest shown below.

KINOMERA STUDIOS LOGO

In Autumn 2023 I was approached by director Miroslav Stefanov to help produce an animated logo for his independent film studio, Kinomera Studios.

Working from a design provided by Miro of the mythical Chimera, I refined it to make it suitable for animation before pitching an idea of what the beast could do as it stood on a plinth mounted with a film projector.

Miro’s design incorporated a Lion with Goat’s antlers and a Snake for a tail. After my ruff block I went into clean up, continually refining the animation before moving onto colour. One particular fun challenge was creating the light beams and dust coming from the projector - all animated by hand.

It was really satisfying working with Miro on the movement of the Lion and Snake’s tail, developing and pushing the concept with different ideas before settling on the final performance.

The intricacy and detail of the design along with animating and choreographing a creature with two characters was a fun challenge and a labour of love.

To view a progression showreel of my ruff linetests to the completed titles, click here.

XXXLUTZ - X-MAS

In the run up to Christmas 2021 I worked on a delightful commercial for Austrian furniture chain XXXLutz. Made at HU_SH and directed by Will Barras with Ru Warner producing, I was lucky enough to animate the whole 45” commercial and supervise the assist team.

Based around the famous (and Guinness World Record holder) XXXLutz large red chairs situated in Austria, a boy is disheartened when his house is the only one in the neighbourhood not to have any Christmas lights. A family decorating the large chair with lights spot the boy’s distress and decide to take action.

This was a really great job and always fun to work on a festive commercial in the build up to Christmas.

To view a showreel of my ruff linestests and the completed job, click here.

XXXLutz chair located in Austria. Image © dunce-hatt.

LOOK BOTH WAYS

In early 2022 I had the pleasure to animate a small sequence for the Netflix film Look Both Ways starring Lili Reinhart, which has just been released.

Made at HU_SH and produced by Ru Warner, below are my ruff linetests which were then passed over for artworking. Working to a tight schedule I made detailed drawings with colour separation and brush mark guides to aid the artworking process.

Some of my WIP linetests can be seen in the film as Reinhart’s character Natalie makes her own animated short.

CAPRI SUN: 'BREAK FREE TV' ADVERTS

I spent a fun couple of weeks in Spring 2022 designing and animating some cute woodland animals for the Terrified Terry spot which was part of the Capri Sun: Break Free TV campaign.

Directed by Blinkink’s James Papper and produced by Jack Bristow, I also worked on The Laugh Designer and Stupid Butts adverts.

This was a really great job with a brilliant team of artists.

To see the campaign click here.

STRANGER THINGS - SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS

2022 kicked off with a bang as I animated some shots on teasers for Netflix’s Season 4 of Stranger Things which has just been released. Produced by Ru Warner and Lydia Russell at HU_SH, being a fan of the show this was a treat to work on.

Presented as a Saturday morning cartoon, each teaser was designed to serve as a recap for key moments throughout the previous three seasons. I worked on shots from the ‘Arcade’ and ‘Closing the Gate' cartoons from Season 2.

Working to a tight turnaround I took animation through the complete process of ruff to final colour. It was brilliant being able to work in this world and with these characters.

Below are some linetests on a few of the shots I produced.

THE RANGE: ‘URETHANE’ MUSIC VIDEO

In Summer of 2021 I spent a really fun few weeks animating some shots for Blinkink’s Stevie Gee and Essy May on the Urethane music video for American musician The Range which has just been released.

Produced by Eve Somerville, you always have a great time working with Stevie and Essy whose enthusiasm is infectious. Stevie’s brilliant designs coupled with Essy’s gorgeous and otherworldly backgrounds combine to create a unique and singular vision.

To view the full music video click here.

AMAZON ALEXA - 'GOOD MORNING' ADVERT

Here comes the sun doo da doo doo…

During the Summer of 2021 I had the pleasure of working on a fantastic advert for Amazon’s Alexa device at Passion Pictures. Directed by McBess and produced by Sarah Butterworth, this was an incredibly fun job to be involved with.

McBess’ designs and characters were a joy to bring to life. Combining animation with live action, I animated four characters/elements: the Blinds, the TV, the Roomba and (my personal favourite) the Sun bouncing through the kitchen window to brighten our protagonist’s day.

To view a showreel of my ruff linestests and the completed job, click here.

'A BOY CALLED CHRISTMAS' VFX SKETCHVIS

Way back in the Autumn of 2019, I was extremely pleased to be asked to contribute some VFX SketchVis animation for Gil Kenan’s A Boy Called Christmas feature film which was has just been released in UK cinemas.

I animated numerous characters including Miika the mouse, Blitzen the reindeer and the Truth Pixie.

SketchVis is post visualisation 2D animation where the animator works on top of the live action plates and provides a pass on characters and elements which will eventually become CGI. These are helpful for the editor and also useful for early preview screenings - instead of a blank space the audience is able to see a representation and performance of characters who would otherwise not be there.

This was a really fun film to be involved with and it’s great to see it finally released!

‘LEE KUM KEE: SAUCE STORIES’ SPOTS

I spent a very pleasant couple of months in the Autumn of 2021 animating four 15” spots for Lee Kum Kee’s range of sauces with the fantastic team at Picnic Studio.

Directed by Liam O’Connor and produced by Mina Song I had a great time animating all of the main characters. It was a brilliant and very tasty campaign to be involved with!

Here’s a selection of rough linetests I animated.

'IRON MAIDEN: THE WRITING ON THE WALL' MUSIC VIDEO

We’re all invited to Belshazzar’s Feast!

In late 2020 I was contacted by Blinkink Producer Alex Halley to work on a top secret music video for a high profile heavy metal band directed by Nicos Livesey.

This band turned out to be the legendary Iron Maiden who were releasing their first new song in six years: The Writing on the Wall. Upon watching the animatic I could immediately tell that this was going to be something special with a unique vision and brilliant music track. I leapt at the chance to be part of the team.

Working through the winter into 2021, our remit was to pull out every trick in the book to realise this ambitious video. It was a fantastic job with a great group of artists, everyone fully invested in pulling out all the stops to realise Nicos’ vision. I animated a minute’s worth of the finished video and had a blast every step of the way.

To see my Ruff Animation Showreel and Animation Frames from the job click here, and to view the final music video click here.

JOHN LEWIS ‘GIVE A LITTLE LOVE’- D&AD WOOD PENCIL ANIMATION AWARD 2021

John Lewis’ Christmas Advert for 2020 Give a Little Love recently won a D&AD Wood Pencil Award for Animation at the D&AD Awards Ceremony held on 26-27th May 2021.

I was fortunate to work on this advert leading the animation team on the Sylvain Chomet directed segment produced by HU_SH.

It was brilliant to be involved with such an eagerly anticipated commercial - congratulations to the whole team and everyone involved in the campaign!

To see a showreel of my ruff linetests click here.

'BBC EURO 2020: OUR WAIT IS OVER' TRAILER

I recently had the pleasure of animating for Blinkink on the trailer for BBC’s upcoming coverage of the delayed Euro 2020 Football Tournament. Appropriately titled ‘Our Wait is Over’, here’s a selection of rough linetests of some of the shots I animated.

Directed and produced respectively by dynamite duo Nicos Livesey and Alex Halley and working with the great team of artists at Blinkink, it was fantastic fun animating famous footballers I’ve watched play over the years. I’ve always wondered what they must think when they see themselves depicted in animation.

To see the full trailer click here.

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