The creation of Finn

Would you mind telling us about Adam Walker Film?

Sure! I set up Adam Walker film way back in 1999. Coming out of a Bachelor of Architecture, I realised that film design was what I was really enthused by. I started working in production design, then original animations, first of all in Sydney and then back here in Tassie. Over the last 25 years the team has grown, and we’ve evolved from a few small, celluloid projects up to anything and everything digital.

What did you think when you were asked to animate a pesky elephant seal?

We were excited — we love creating animals and creatures, but often they’re cartoonish. It was an exciting challenge to work on a creature much closer to reality. As animators, we can bring personality and character to something that isn’t achievable with a traditional performance, so that was a lot of fun.

It must have been complicated. How did you do it?

We started from the inside out, by using a 3D scan of a real elephant seal skeleton to create our seal’s framework. From there we added musculature, and then a fair whack of blubber, which is fun to animate. Then we refined the balance between realism and a stylised character — we wanted to love the seal as much as we believe him to be real. To make him move, we literally just move the skeleton. The bones drive the muscles, which manipulate the layer of blubber, which wobbles the skin. It’s how real seals operate, after all. So we followed that.

Was it all done in your studio? Or did you get involved on set?

We brought a life-sized, 3D printed version of the seal’s head to set, so the actors had a physical representation of the character to interact with. The most important part of was the eyes. Having real eyelines between the actors and the seal was vital, so when we animated the seal later on the interactions and performances felt genuine. It was also really important to get the size right. Elephant seals are huge creatures, and we needed everyone to have a sense of just how big he was (and how much damage he can cause!

What do you hope Tasmanians feel when they meet the seal?

I hope it reminds them of the amazing environment we live in, and the incredible creatures we share it with. Also, I hope it helps people realise that you can do this sort of work in Tasmania. Digital work travels the same wherever you are, but we get the cultural benefit of living in this place. So many high-end, remote-working artists and technical experts call Tasmania home, and what we’re able to do from down here is pretty exceptional.