Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1500204
D E PA R T M E N T 17 KEYFRAME Logistically, as they figured out the storyline, Post-it Notes and index cards covered the wall. From there they built in the interactive components, beginning to decide where choice points would land. Narrative design consultants who had worked on video games helped. "Something they brought to the table that was super important was that every single choice you make needs to be paid off in some way—even if it's minute," Garbutt says. They wanted viewers to have "aha" moments, realizing that what's happening now is because of an earlier choice they made, Asbjoern adds. In working with choice points, Asbjoern and Garbutt had to contend with technical parameters, especially in regard to frequency. Choice points could be no less than 30 seconds apart and no more than four minutes apart. Less than 30 seconds means there's not enough time while the viewer's choice is buffering. More than four minutes poses the risk of the viewer losing interest and putting down the remote. The trick was to balance this technical scaffolding with keeping the story flowing. Each time the story buffers, the narrative needs to keep moving. Asbjoern says this is a little bit easier when working with two characters—they can talk and debate during the time it takes the viewer's choice to kick in. While technology necessarily encroached on the creative side, Garbutt notes: "That's animation anyway. You're always dealing with technical versus creative. You find different ways to make it work." In this case, the biggest challenge was figuring out the pipeline because the interactive format hasn't been approached on this scale before in animation. While they found this exciting, they emphasize that story will always be of utmost importance. "Thematically, it's about a family," Garbutt says. "Sibling rivalry." Ham is brought into the happy home of Pud and the human, and Ham and Pud have to figure out their place in their family structure, " to find themselves and how they work with one another," Asbjoern says. They have to disagree and make choices together, and in this respect, Asbjoern and Garbutt hope their show mirrors the experience the audience has while watching it. They want families to watch together and have them be not only interactive with the content, but also interactive with each other. Garbutt notes that modern viewing habits can be quite solitary, and Asbjoern adds, "I think people need to have some fun together. We hope this could help bring that back a bit." We Lost Our Human images courtesy of Netflix SUMMER 2023 17 S T O R Y & V I S I O N