Bobby Pontillas:
The character came first actually! Way before short-film class started, I made a sketch of a little zombie boy and entered him in a drawing competition for a blog site called Fist-a-Cuffs. My silly idea was that he was a zombie-fied version of Hansel from the Hansel and Gretel stories.

Some time after, I came across the films of Louis Clichy, a French animator/ filmmaker. His short film A Quoi Ca Sert L'amour is so brilliant and lovingly told. I was so inspired and that eventually made me want to tell a love story.

So when it finally came time to brainstorm for short film ideas, I thought that those two elements, if paired together, could make a funny contrast. I dug up that old drawing of the little zombie boy, and began to think of ideas for a zombie love story.

Bobby Pontillas:
I learned that every element of the film-making process is there to help tell the story. Every shot, every composition in my layouts, every animation choice, musical score, etc. Nothing is arbitrary or random, and I had to have a clear reason for every decision I made, which to me is important to know even at an animation school like Animation Mentor. It's important to recognize animation's place in the film-making process.

Bobby Pontillas:
From both my mentors and peers, the best advice I received was to allow time to let things read. If a sequence just flies by and I've presented all of this information very quickly, the viewer can easily miss things, and I've lost them.

Same goes for animating! If a character just goes through the motions and hits his beats one after the other, it feels rehearsed, and feels like bad acting. If something terrible happens to Remington, he needs to realize it, process it, and then react accordingly. I learned to take time and allow that to happen.

Bobby Pontillas:
First, I wrote down in bulleted form what exactly I wanted to happen, from beginning to end, just outlining the major story points.

I then did little, rough thumbnails in a row that mapped out those points visually. Working small really helped me see how the whole film would play out.

Once I got to a place where I felt like it was flowing well, I just drew those thumbnails bigger in Flash and fleshed out the timing and pacing.

Oops, I should say that none of this was ever straightforward like I just said. There was tons of re-boarding, false starts, and trying out different things. My initial pitch was gigantic! My mentor and a few of my peers helped me shape a simpler story with the same characters.

Bobby Pontillas:

This is the very first sketch of Remington I made for a drawing competition.

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These are a few concepts playing with the character designs and ideas.

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Turnaround character model sheets for Remington and Penelope.

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When I had to go 3D, a good friend of mine modified the Bishop rig to resemble Remington. Thanks D!

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This was an idea I had for a little bonus bit after the credits!

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Bobby Pontillas:
Yes, funny you ask!

In the beginning I was going to make the film in traditional animation. I boarded the film in Adobe Flash during my short film pre-production class, then took a leave of absence from Animation Mentor to begin animating during my time off.

I re-joined Animation Mentor one term later, and continued animation production proper. What I then found out was that Animation Mentor had focused its curriculum on 3D animation solely, with the intent of getting students jobs in the current climate of the industry. They couldn't let me graduate the program without a 3D film. Up to this point, I had all my blocking done on the film in 2D, and couldn't possibly see how I could turn it around in 3D before graduation.

So after much deliberation, the compromise was for me to at least complete one-third of the film in 3D animation. A friend graciously offered to help modify Bishop so that he looked like my Zombie boy. Working as fast as I could, I took the middle chunk of the film, layed it out, and began to animate it in 3D.

As difficult as this whole ordeal was, it actually ended up working in my favor. That middle chunk of 3D animation in my film is what actually got me hired at my most recent job!

Bobby Pontillas:
Animation Mentor hooked me up with Mark Pudleiner and Keith Sintay to mentor me through this film, both of whom are both great animators and supportive people. They gave tons of great advice on my work, and personal encouragement when I felt like poop.

Also, the way the campus is set up where anyone can leave their thoughts and feedback on anyone's work. I must say that some of the best ideas in my film are the direct result of interfacing with my AM peers. Most of whom, I'm happy to say, have since become good friends.

Bobby Pontillas:
Wrap a simple story around an interesting character, and you've got people's attention!

Bobby Pontillas:
I've had the good fortune of being hired on as an animator at Blue Sky Studios, working on their next production, Rio.

Showing this film to them at the interview was an experience I'll always remember. Just imagine like, all of the animation leads in the studio, crowded around a small laptop watching your film in front of you!