Of all the projects I have completed as an animator, this is very close to being one of my favourites. It was my first time working on film titles. The film Incidental Characters was written and directed by Ben Verrall, an ex-colleague and good friend who owns and runs Toffee Hammer, an independent creative agency. It was their first feature-length film, and I was thrilled to be trusted to animate the titles.
Ben supplied me with the artwork for the characters and the main illustration. My brief was to animate the main scene, followed by the four main characters for five seconds each, and convey their personalities within that time.
The delightful artwork was originally a collage; unfortunately, it was supplied to me as a digital scan, which required a lot of work to prepare all the assets for animation. Studying the film and capturing the mannerisms and personalities of the characters in how they moved and behaved was great fun.
The highlight for me was going to the premiere at a cinema, not only to watch a funny and touching film but also to see my animation on a massive screen. It was lovely to be connected to a passion project of someone I have always enjoyed working with and seeing them shine.
For more information about the film and where you can watch it visit: https://www.incidentalcharactersfilm.com/
