Story Development & Production
This year, I had the opportunity to head up the Story and Production division of LIGHTFOLD, a new animation studio out of Atlanta. Our major production this year was Godspeed, a sci-fi animated series by director Ben Bjelajac, creator Olan Rogers, and executive producer Rosa Tran. The trio’s best-known collaboration is Final Space, produced by Conan O’Brien’s CONACO and New Form. Final Space had a three-year run on Adult Swim. Godspeed is Final Space’s successor.
We premiered Godspeed’s trailer and series pilot in mid-December 2023.
Credits, top to bottom: Background Design by Louis Sandoval; Still from Godspeed pilot
Godspeed Official Trailer. Editor: Olan Rogers. Assistant Editor: Brett Driver. Bowie character design by Rémi Borowczyk.
Producing on a pilot
To produce this pilot, we had to build an animation studio from the ground up. I helmed the creative operations of a 32-person animation team, making sure everyone had the tools and support they needed to collaborate and produce strong work. I saw Godspeed go from writers’ room to character design, rigging to background design, animating to post, and finally, sound design. It took a full year.
Producing on Godspeed gave me exposure to some of the business aspects of producing, including production and E&O insurance, film tax credit incentives, investment financing, and contracts involving intellectual property (IP). On the last point, I took pains to ensure contracts were equitable for our mostly freelance animation team. Having freelanced on IP-related material, I knew how disadvantaged the terms could be. I made sure usage rights were clearly spelled out, so contributors would retain usage of their and others’ show contributions. We wanted LIGHTFOLD to be “creator first.”
While serving as Line Producer and Production Accountant, I tracked the front- and back-end costs of mounting a pilot. Last not least, I picked up some best practices in setting up remote, collaborative workflows.
One thing learned: securing an entertainment lawyer early in the process is non-negotiable. Our counsel was Peter G. Stathopoulos. He was beyond great.
IP Development
The animation studio has other projects in its slate. Among them is Boson & Belle, an imaginative adventure / fantasy saga set in North America’s distant future. Forrester Kane is the story creator.
As head of story development, I designed and art-directed this deck. The concept, story world, and featured comp art are not my own. Please request a password if you’d like to browse the deck.