Animation & VFX
No two projects are ever the same in the world of Animation and VFX. Whether shooting in a green (or grey, or blue) screen studio, or creating an entirely animated film from scratch, the complexities of CGI require methodical processes to be followed, collaboration within the team, and a keen eye for detail.
Below you will find a selection of films I have produced, across a number of industries, within this world.
Alexa Chung for Madewell
Director: Lewis Bolton
VFX: Neal Coghlan, Studio Aszyk, Knock Knock Productions
Taking images and videos from a previous campaign we had filmed, we worked directly with Madewell to develop this voyage into the Madewell x Alexa Chung deck of cards. We did 1 shoot day with a hand model (who also had to be a card magician, you can imagine how fun that was) and the rest was all Cinema 4D at the hands of lead animator extraordinaire Neal Coghlan.
Turkish Airlines: Everyone’s a Critic
Director: Daniel Bruce
VFX: 3Deers, Dead Pixel, PriestmanGoode
Agency: Popcorn Brain
4 shoot days, 3 units and a lot of tracking markers! The main challenge of this production was recreating (to the millimetre) the new business class section of a Turkish Airlines plane using a grey VFX set. Tracking markers everywhere, a motion control rig, a large art department and a lot of paint made this originally quite daunting production possible.
Apollo Tyres: 10 Performance
Director: David Lieb
Creative Director: Eavan Ryan
Animator: Laura McHugh
Production Company: Fortemus Films
One of my first projects with this client, I was really excited by this brief, and the challenge of identifying the animation style for their brand.
While we were in prep and production with the Manchester United players, the post team gathered and edited the archival footage that would be the backbone of this film (Big. Football. Moments) while the animator started on the style boards. After a few rounds of feedback, Laura was ready to get stuck in to the animation! With the various media types all interacting their each other, our approach to this had to be methodical and working closely with the client.
glo Hyper Pro+
Director: Lewis Bolton
VFX Supervisor: Knock Knock Productions, GAMMA VFX
Agency: Landor / WPP
My second experience working with a magician hand model was a lot of fun - though the compositors that had to comp in the device screen to every single shot may describe this job differently…
Tasked with creating 2 films in 6 weeks about a device that at the time of filming did not function, combined with the clients requested ability to change the background colour according to different markets, this was always destined to be a hybrid live action and VFX production.
Using a motion control arm within a green cove, we shot 80% of the film in Tank Studios across 3 days including a pre-light. We then did the remaining shots that didn’t feature hands entirely in CGI.
Video available privately on request.
Burberry Weather Forecast
Director: Lewis Bolton
Production Company: Knock Knock Productions
Filmed during the main campaign shoot of “It’s Always Burberry Weather: Postcards from London” with Olivia Colman, our unit’s task was to create fun social pieces with the talent in and around their other filming, in a green screen studio near the main location.
Due to time restrictions, for the shoot we created basic animations that the talent could see to base their script and actions off. We then took the footage and adjusted these animations as necessary until we had the perfect Burberry weather report.
Catawiki: The Yuki Trilogy
Creative Director: Eavan Ryan
Production Company: Fortemus Films
Completed in less than a week, this multi-media film is a great demonstration of how a considered workflow can produce great results on even the smallest of budgets.
The first step was travelling to Bologna in Italy to interview Yuki. The transcripts were then shared with artist Inko Ai Takita, who then created 3 bespoke comics from Yuki’s stories. Our post team then took the digital files and timelapses of the comics created by Inko, and subtly animated them alongside Yuki’s interview and VO, to become the short ad that would promote them for their auction on Catawiki’s platform, in partnership with Alpha Tauri.
Apollo Tyres: United We Play
Creative Director: Eavan Ryan
Production Company: Fortemus Films
In 2023, Fortemus Films were invited to Old Trafford to capture Apollo Tyres’ 10 Junior Football competition winners training at the Manchester United grounds with the head coaches.What followed was an incredible weekend where we had 2 social cam ops (running) following the team around and capturing this once in a lifetime experience.
In post, we then added layers of illustrations and animations in the style requested by the client. This took the video to the next level, and played a key role in the social edit's engagement levels.
Burberry: Explained
Creative Director: Lewis Bolton
Animators: Esther Zanon and Chris Varaies
Production Company: Knock Knock
This 2D animation was commissioned by the Burberry internal comms team to help explain its recent structural and management changes to its worldwide internal staff. With no visual reference or guide, Esther and Lewis were fantastic at designing an animation style that was stylish, engaging and inclusive, and could be used into future internal films to help communicate with the growing workforce.
Video available privately on request.
Need a producer for an upcoming VFX or animation production? Feel free to reach out with any questions on my experience and hopefully we can work together!