Animation
Within a working team of animators, individual members will always shine through with their relentless hard work and evident dedication to their role. Sutton Hull, one of the many animators on the Jacknjellify YouTube channel, checks all the boxes and excels in his role, single-handedly saving production on an episode of âBFDI: The Power of Two'
Through this exclusive interview with Sutton Hull; we get a glimpse of what it really takes to animate an episode of Battle for Dream Island and the show's following success across the world, especially in India!
Interviewer: Can you describe the entire process of animating a typical episode of BFDI from beginning to end?
Sutton Hull: As animators on BFDI, we are given the opportunity to claim our own scenes using a Google Sheets task list, using the comment feature. Based on our own schedules, the animators would claim 1-3 scenes, each scene usually 30 seconds to one minute long. After claiming our scenes we want to animate on the designated episode task sheet, we would set up our own scenes in Adobe Animate and download the scene's audio (consists of the character's dialogue as well as sound effects) and visuals (designated props and backgrounds) from a provided Google Drive. We are entirely responsible for the composition and character expressions in the scenes we animate and are encouraged to make our scenes as eye-catching and expressive as possible!
After we finished animating our scenes, Sam Thornbury would either approve the animation; upload our original animation file to a corresponding Google Drive folder or ask for revision notes; change a background, put in a missing prop or change a character's facial expression.
Interviewer: The episodes you have worked on combined, have garnered over 188 million views globally and more than 1.5 million views in India alone. What do you believe is driving this surge in popularity?
Sutton Hull: A cartoon's visual style is the first and most important hook to garner new viewers. Regardless of language or nationality, if the show is not visually appealing, no one would bother watching. The characters featured in BFDI are simple understandable shapes and solid colours, with a basic anatomy of dotted eyes, a mouth and stick limbs. Some characters possess unique appearances and powers, adding to the show's diverse visual flare. Some characters like âPuffball' can fly, grow, shrink and change colours with sparkles when she is talking!
The show's premise revolves around a competition show, so every episode, you can expect characters to always fight in super well animated action-based visuals! Characters are always exploring new locations while competing; the set design is never dull! For example in the episode âBFDIA 12', the contestants play a game of dodgeball with poisonous bugs while exploring a bug hive, a fashion store and a musical theatre with a performance!
Another big factor to BFDI's international appeal is its fictional world, âGoiky'. The objects themselves and premise of game shows are universally recognized. No influence on any specific country or nationality are present, some of the characters include; Bubble, Rocky, Flower and a Blocky. Regardless where the viewer is from, the premise of BFDI is simple to understand and can be enjoyed by anyone watching!
Interviewer: What is it like to collaborate with the team of animators currently working on BFDI? Additionally, what do you think sets you apart as an animator on the team?
Sutton Hull: Working with the other animators on BFDI is always an amazing experience! The people who work alongside me have been friends and acquaintances I've met online over the last 8 years, each bringing their own skills and style to the team! It's important to have a team full of diverse skill sets and perspectives. Each episode, we help each other learn and develop our own creative capabilities with encouraging motivation and constructive feedback!
What sets me apart from other animators on BFDI is my efficiency, specifically on the 5th season, The Power of Two. Most of the animators on the team take 1-2 scenes per episode to animate, I usually take 3-4 scenes to animate myself. I've built a reputation for doing the most animation out of any animator every episode.
My efficiency has personally saved production on episodes of BFDI. During episode production of âTPOT 7', an animator lost progress on their work due to a technical issue with their computer. I decided to step in and help finish up their scene, making it my 6th scene I animated for the episode! To this day, this is the most animation I have ever completed for a single episode of BFDI! I completed 5 minutes 18 seconds of animation within 15 days for a 30 minute episode, which comes out to â  of the episode's animation was done all by myself!
Over the last 4 years being part of the BFDI team, my skills have been refined while working on under tight deadlines during the production of the second half of season 4, Battle for BFB. I've discovered shortcuts for my animation that optimized my work flow for maximum efficiency without sacrificing any quality!
Interviewer: How do you stay inspired and maintain your creativity, especially when dealing with tight deadlines or creative blocks?
Sutton Hull: I've developed the mentality of going straight into animating the moment I have the chance without any second thought. This mentality has developed throughout the last 4 years of working on BFDI, and I take my pride in keeping my efficiency consistent. Some days I'm not in a mood to animate, however, I have to worry less the more I complete early.
Every episode has something different happening, one episode it's a zombie apocalypse, another episode, the characters going into their friend's dreams. The episodes are always visually diverse and offer additional motivation and inspiration for animating; two scenes I've worked on never feel the same. Some animation in the episodes of BFDI require a certain style. One episode involved an old folk tale story book visual, another had to look like a previous season of BFDI and I was personally assigned to animate those specialized scenes by the showrunner, Sam Thornbury.
Conclusion:
With our final question answered, witnessing what it takes to create the animated episodes on Jacknjellify's channel is nothing short of inspirational, capturing the eyes of millions all around the world. Sutton Hull's passion for his role as an animator is evident through his work ethic and overall efficiency. It is truly inspiring to see the capabilities of just one person on a team of dozens brimming with talent and skill.
