A Symphony Of TINY LIGHTS

Encompass Films, a production company from Los Angeles, reached out to me with an exciting opportunity: to collaborate on their latest documentary about the extraordinary John Francis, the man who walked across America in silence. This captivating film delves into the remarkable journey of John Francis, who, after witnessing the devastation of his hometown by an oil spill, made a profound vow to never use motorized vehicles again. The documentary chronicles the life and times of this inspiring environmentalist, offering a deep and moving exploration of his commitment to sustainability and silent protest.

Client
Encompass Films

Contribution (animated scenes)
Animation Direction
Art direction
Illustration
Motion graphics
Animation

Produced by
Nadia Gill
Michael Fearon

Cinematography by
Dominic Gill

Film editing by
Niq Lewis

Animation Department
Remy Ndow

Have you ever studied someone's walk?

Well, I have. 🙋🏽‍♂️ John Francis has a walk that’s so distinct, we knew it had to be just right. To capture it, I spent hours studying footage of him walking from different angles, sketching each step, and even mimicking his stride myself. Every subtle movement mattered in bringing his personality to life.

Visualising the internal excperience of John Francis.

The style of this animation was based on work by William Kentridge. I created the style starting from his charcoal animations, and blending them with my own and other contemporary illustrations and paintings. Throughout the documentary we add more color to this style ending in something new entirely.

How was the visual style developed?

Everything is hand drawn digitally. Using Photoshop brushes that mimic charcoal.

Some preliminary designs I made to develope the visual language.

Character design

Planetwalker has been officially selected by numerous international festivals such as the American Conservation Film Festival, Mountainfilm Festival and BlackStar Film Festival.

The film has received several awards, including the Artistic Vision Award at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, the Audience Award at Mountainfilm, and the Audience Award for Best Short Documentary at BlackStar.

Notably, Planetwalker was also shortlisted for the Best Documentary Short at the Academy Awards.