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IA: Have you developed specials scripts / tools for "Lighthouse"?

JN : Yes, Blender is great in that we could do our own system tweaks to help ourselves and others. On many occasions we rebuilt the entire software from source code to tweak a shader or optimise a process or add to a feature we needed. For example, we created a new ocean simulator to create the ocean surface, which was then released back to the community. We created a new refractive chromatic dispersion shader for glass and have released it as well. All this would not have been possible if we had been locked into a proprietary software.

IA: What was the initial reaction of the client and the directors when seeing the result?

JN : There were 3 guys from Exopolis involved in production, the two directors, Charlie and Ming, and the producer Mike. They flew out to Sydney early in the project for 2 weeks, and also in the final phase of rendering/compositing for 3 weeks. They could not have been better clients, all of them fantastic guys and clear as crystal about what they wanted. All the art direction provided was superb so we really were able to concentrate on creation, rather than interpretation.

IA: Have there been many changes since the first "animatic / Layout" to the final short? 

JN : Not really. We were able to make animation suggestions and camera tweaks and we reedited it a bit to suit our thoughts on animation timing since the team from Exopolis hadn't work in 3D before. They actually encouraged us to do it, as long as it didn't break from the meaning and message of the film.

IA: Were you influenced by any other shorts / works / movies while creating "Lighthouse"?

JN : We took a lot of cues in animation from King Kong, who was also a non-speaking character living through many dilemmas. We also filmed lot of reference footage of various moves to make sure the animators had something with integrity to work from.

IA: Where do you think we can see the Promotion Studios touch in “Lighthouse?”

JN : “Lighthouse,” in base terms, was created by a collection of guys with a common passion. Yes, I can see who animated what scene, but only because I am closely involved in production. As far as the ProMotion stamp of recognition, no, I don't sense that this piece has that because I don't really think our studio has a style as such. In art, we were guided by the art director and I think we nailed the look that he wanted. In animation we paved our own way, but always remembering it was a short film with a story, not an animation for animation sake.

IA: Can you tell us what you learned from such an experience?

JN : We learned that it is entirely possible, and very desirable, to work on a film that has integrity and with a team of people who are passionate, on a completely reasonable deadline and budget. I was producer and could see our guys fire up with energy because they were passionate about the piece. I can honestly say that our experience on this project was fantastic in every regard.

IA: "Lighthouse” is very close to being a short movie. Would you like to work on a short movie version?

JN : Love to. The director/writer Charlie has always envisioned a longer format, and we hope he'll be able to convince someone to fund it.

IA: What projects are you currently working on?

At the moment we're creating more illustration work for Kraft using our favorite commercial character, the Cheeseasaurus, a very popular character in the US. And we're producing some TV spots for local TV stations. In the ups and downs of workflow, we've also managed to get a lot of work done on our own project we're looking at getting off the ground soon. Keep your eye on www.kajimba.com for news on that front..

IA: In your opinion, what's the future of Promotion Studios and how do you see the evolution of the VFX/Animation market?

JN : Promotion Studios recently joined a collaborative venture called RedCartel. This was started in response to the success of various intellectual properties in Australia and we decided that we needed to team up with like minded studios to do the same.  We're still in the early days, but are working hard to make that into a success as well.  

Promotion Studios : www.promotionstudios.com