The film’s inception developed during the early days of the motion capture module. I had wanted to direct so to be able to secure a small budget for a set in one of the older stages in the NFTS wings - it was a dream come true. The film remained unfinished for a decade until, during the pandemic I decided to dust off the old hard drive and jump in.

I handled all the VFX, from match moving to final comp, it was a great learning experience and something that kept me occupied during the lockdown. I tried to keep the visual style as close as I could to the original shoot, it was incredibly cathartic to pick up the film again.

Making a film is a great breeding ground for improving skills, I wrote a series of python scripts to help automate certain things, I made a simple auto rigger, mocap transfer tools and cloth based tools.

One of the great additions to my skill set was to bring Unreal Engine into my toolkit. Having the ability to render out impressive visuals fast and efficiently was maybe the main reason I was able to achieve my original vision, lighting and rendering in Unreal is hugely enjoyable.

Table Top was my directorial debut and a wonderful standout moment in my time at the National Film and Television school. Completing the film was the final puzzle piece and something that was always in the back of my mind, I was very happy to draw a line in the sand and finish it. I was lucky to have shared my MA with a wonderful class and such talented people.

Please fee free to check out the full page regarding the making of this decade-long film journey Table Top Making Of