Spotlight On... Christopher Jeffers and John Brannoch!

You’re designing the underwater game ‘Pearls of Fortune’ for our interactive short film Odds On. Can you describe your process of animating characters?

So it starts with digitally drawing a character by hand.  Then I break it up into its individual parts (arms, legs, eyes etc).  Then comes "rigging" which is like turning a drawing into a moveable puppet.  I decide which bits have "bones" and which are squishy and might react to gravity (hair etc) and add lots of handles to grab and manipulate movement. Then bit by bit I record the "performance" of each body part.  To add things like a lipsync I draw a mouth shape for all the vowel sounds and consonants and go through frame by frame, switching the mouths to match the dialogue.

Do you have a favourite?

My favourite in Odds On is actually the starfish who you only see very briefly.  They're very cute and do a quick boogie in one of the scenes!    

What’s the greatest hurdle you’ve come across when animating Odds On?

The biggest hurdle has been blending the animated world with the live action elements.  At times the real and animated characters physically touch and interact. It's a careful process to create the illusion that they are in the same space at the same time.  

You’re a professional dancer and choreographer, how did you make the switch to motion graphics? Is there any crossover in skills?

Weirdly I feel like I'm almost doing the same thing.  Creating the movement of the puppets feels like choreography and creating the 3D environments for them to move around in feels like putting them onstage.  When all the elements move together it feels like a kind of dance.  The whole process feels quite theatrical, I just don't have to break a sweat this time lol.

What was it like to join a theatre company making their interactive film debut, did it change your approach to filming?

It was an incredible experience collaborating with a theatre company, understanding their ideas and vision and finding ways to translate their story onto screen. They challenged me with many creative tasks and equations but it was an absolute delight solving the visual puzzle all the way from pre production to the final shoot day.

Do you have a favourite shot from the film? 

I’d have to say all the shots we filmed at the beach are my favourite. We managed to catch the sun at the perfect time, the water was so powerful and I think it's a visually stunning ending to the film.

What are your top tips for up and coming filmmakers?

Always push yourself and try something new, be creative and PLAY!