DIRECTOR - MULLIGAN (NETFLIX)
My initial responsibility was to review the first pass animation (Take 1) in order to identify necessary revisions and provide guidance on their execution via notes or drawings. On this project, the scope of the role expanded to encompass pre-production and production phases from look development and art direction, to character performance, to pipeline restructuring, as large swaths of completed episodes were discarded and redone from scratch.
The videos below show side by side comparisons of these types of revisions.
LEFT SIDE: Take 1 - RIGHT SIDE: Revision
The layout and character blocking was re-composed for cleaner silhouettes. Color styling was adjusted and depth of field effects were applied for better foreground/background separation. Additional poses were added to accent emotional or dialogue beats. Traditional animation pass was done overtop the base 2d puppet animation to make it more visually appealing. (Toon Boom Harmony, Adobe Photoshop, TVPaint)
LEFT SIDE: Take 1 - RIGHT SIDE: Revision
Many of the same layout, color, and performance revisions described above were also applied to this clip. To add subtext, the intact rectangular buildings were placed behind Lucy to convey her authority and stability, while for contrast, the damaged wreckage and severe angles were placed behind Matty to convey the chaos of his world crumbling. Lucy’s design was being reconsidered at this time, so she has an alternate appearance in the retake. (Toon Boom Harmony, Adobe Photoshop, TVPaint)
LEFT SIDE: Take 1 - RIGHT SIDE: Revision
Sometimes the Take 1 animation fails to successfully execute the intended storyboard or timing direction, requiring revisions to several separate aspects of a shot to bring it up to the desired production quality. In this example, characters were placed and sized for better performance readability, to improve scale relative the environment and to minimize feet sliding on the run cycles. 3D background plate was re-rendered to slow the speed and correct the perspective relative to the characters. Timing and spacing was adjusted on existing drawings to improve tracking and motion. (Toon Boom Harmony, Autodesk 3dsMax, Adobe AfterEffects)
DIRECTOR - HOUSEBROKEN (FOX)
Housebroken’s production process utilizes a live-action dynamic of rewriting and replacing completed sequences right up until final delivery. This enables the creators to continually improve the storytelling as it progresses. Consequently, my team incorporates design and storyboard artists in addition to animators in order to accommodate the scope of rolling changes affecting each episode. My role is to work with the show runners to translate notes and rewrites into animation, and I supervise story, design, and animation teams in execution of their tasks. The schedule keeps up to six twenty-two minute episodes in production at a time, so I multitask teams across several projects simultaneously, within a very fast paced schedule.
The videos below show a sampling of the kinds of direction I provide.
A common redline is to plus the animation beyond what was in the Take 1. Here, it’s improving a head shake. (Toon Boom Harmony)
LEFT SIDE: Take 1 - RIGHT SIDE: Revision
Often times the recorded dialogue will be much more emotive than what was storyboarded and initially animated. I find opportunities to let the dialogue push the performance and express a character’s distinct personality. (Toon Boom Harmony)
LEFT SIDE: Take 1 - RIGHT SIDE: Revision
Sometimes the action will be soft or floaty, and can benefit from pacing up or made snappier to accent a dialogue or emotional beat. The energy level in this Take 1 needed a boost. I got more urgency in the action, revised the blocking for cleaner silhouettes, and trimmed frames from the shot to tighten it up. (Toon Boom Harmony)
LEFT SIDE: Take 1 - RIGHT SIDE: Revision
Sometimes continuity issues unresolved in storyboards are manifest in animation. In this case, the camera timing was slow, and the orange cat crossing in front of the camera (at 00:27) created a discontinuous cut affecting the size and position of the grey cat and the background. My solution was to create a single continuous shot by revising the character blocking. I mocked up a reference by manipulating the existing assets’ timing and spacing. Not requiring new drawings expedited the animator’s workload. With the speed and volume of work we undertake, I must always consider the most efficient way to achieve the best result within available time and resources. (Adobe AfterEffects, DaVinci Resolve)
ANIMATION AND STORY DIRECTION - VARIOUS PRODUCTIONS
The Fantastic Adventures of Ralph Philips - Warner Bros.
I directed this short for a development project. I created the animatic visuals, timed the dialogue and did the sound design.
I also contributed to the visual development (Adobe Flash/Animate, Photoshop)
wabbit “The Game Is A Foot” - Warner Bros
Episode Animatic. I co-wrote this episode with the show runners from an outline, and created the storyboard. This was timed to dialogue by editorial. (Toon BoomStoryboard Pro)
Sanjay and Craig “Fart Baby” - Nickelodeon
Episode Animatic. I co-wrote this episode with my director from an outline. This is one of my sequences. Timed to dialogue by editorial. (Toon BoomStoryboard Pro)
MAD “The Adventures of Tauntaun” - Warner Bros.
Animatic for a movie parody segment. I created the visuals, timed the dialogue and did the sound design. A TV Show or Movie parody was the tentpole of each episode. Story Directors were tasked with creating a three-minute color animatic in five days from a script and temp dialogue. All visuals had to be created from scratch and were to provide animation as well as design direction for production. (Adobe Flash/Animate)
MAD “X-Games First Class” - Warner Bros.
Animatic for a movie parody segment. I created the visuals, timed the dialogue and did the sound design. (Adobe Flash/Animate)
MAD “Everything’s Better With Ninjas” - Warner Bros.
MAD episodes were comprised of several stand-alone segments ranging from ten seconds to three minutes in length. Like the parody segments above, we would launch with a script and temp dialogue, but we were given free reign to develop our own art direction and animation for segments that had no specific identity attached. I created the visuals, timed the dialogue and did the sound design for this animatic. (Adobe Flash/Animate)
EPCOT Food Festival - Noble / Disney
This was part of a larger campaign promoting an annual event at Walt Disney World resort. I did the character animation in Adobe Animate based on Eric Goldberg’s storyboards and designs.
Ultraman Teaser - Warner Bros.
I re-created the classic oil-on-water effect of the Ultra-Q and Ultraman title sequence in AfterEffects for an animated series pitch. I cannot overstate how my life would have changed had this gone to series.
Digital Puppetry Tests - Blender 3D, Brekel Hands, TouchOSC
I’m experimenting with using motion capture and/or gamepad controls to manipulate 3d (or 2d) rigs in real-time.
Mobile Game Character Study - Maya 3D
From a personal project using Maya and Unity3d to develop a game where you are a DARPA lab tech.
Netflix Spec Ads - Good N Proper
For a decade or so before becoming a streaming service, Netflix would send physical DVDs through the mail using a subscription model. Not having to return videos to a store after a couple days was considered disruptive. These spec ads were commissioned by Good N Proper after seeing my student film, Crimenals. Done in AfterEffects with re-appropriated picture and sound.
Crimenals - MFA Student Film
This was my second-year film at USC. I essentially set out to do an animated version of postmodern artist Jess’ Tricky Cad paste-ups. The response to my mock-up animatic was so positive at the mid-year progress screenings that I added credits and called it done. It really struck a nerve that year, providing me speaking engagements at Sundance, Los Angeles Film Forum, and LACMA, and had a surprising festival run, receiving laurels at several festivals including Annecy, SXSW, and was awarded at Ottawa. It was also a Student Academy Award finalist that year.
Done in AfterEffects with re-appropriated Dick Tracy art and audio from Anthony Mann noir films.
Years later, I would show this to my students as an example of successful execution with limited production constraints.
One student described it a “an exquisite shitpost”, which I consider the highest praise it ever received.
Synchronous Auction Mockup - Jellyvision, Inc.
In the early aughts, Jellyvision Inc (who would later spin-off Jackbox Games) pitched a synchronous auction model to a large well-established internet auction website. I was tasked with mocking up how the UI might behave. This was done in Macromedia Flash and Actionscript 2.0.
STORY INSTRUCTION - SCAD
From 2014-2021, I took a hiatus from studio production and was a full-time professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I taught visual communication fundamentals, screen design and cinematic storytelling in a globally top-ranked animation program. I also advised on dozens of capstone films, I did not give explicit direction, but rather guided filmmakers to work within the best practices of the craft and prompted them with questions to help them develop their creative intent. Here is a brief survey of some of the many films I advised on. It is the same quick-look video found on my reels page, presented here for convenience.
