Roles: WRITER, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, EDITOR, PRACTICAL EFFECTS DESIGNER

2022, 30 second TV station ID

The EDEN piece was a commission for Knowledge Network, to create a 30-second branded spot that would air before nature documentary programming, which was grouped under a branded programming “strand” called “EDEN”.

The creative brief specified the piece should include not only the beauty of nature, but a sense of predator/prey dynamic, to add excitement. I knew most wildlife programming begins with stunning montages of animals in the wild, and I wanted to avoid trying to compete with that expensive footage, so I pitched a concept where the animals are hidden, as a contrast. This concept was inspired by some of the night footage I had been captivated by in nature docs, and a desire to evoke a first-person, visceral perspective of being in a wild place. It was also inspired by my own garden, which has frogs in it!

The EDEN storyboard images I painted for the pitch:

I wanted the piece to feel real, so the dreamscape night jungle of EDEN was built as a physical set in a studio. It was also an excuse to design as many practical effects into it as I could, so the experience could be more collaborative in real life. Many hours of prop-building and set building went into it, and we also integrated projections, 3D animation and compositing to achieve the final effect. I was thrilled and fortunate to work with a stellar team of talented artists on this, and owe deep gratitude in particular to key collaborators Dan Brittain (Visual Effects Supervisor and VFX Artist) and Keith Arbuthnot (Special Effects Supervisor and Propmaker).

Here is a behind-the-scenes timelapse of the EDEN studio build and shoot, over several days.