Living To Jump With Anthony Falleroni

Ready to meet your new favourite videogame character? OK, using pixellated imagery and charming characters to tell an uplifting story may not be a totally fresh concept, but few films can claim to move an audience as much as the playful yet poignant 'JUMPY' from freelance filmmaker Anthony Falleroni.

Guided by an anonymous player, the film sees the titular character go through the trials and tribulations of 'living to jump', only to find a seemingly impossible leap. Authentic imagery and glorious character-creation aside, the animation's real triumph is the overwhelming sense of emotion that builds throughout, as we watch the perseverance of Jumpy rewarded with a unique conclusion.

To aid his vision, LA-based filmmaker and self-taught animator Anthony Falleroni utilised his experience of working on nearly every genre and format for a wide range of clients such as Disney, Microsoft, Nike, and ScreenJunkies. His films have played in festivals, won awards, and are connecting with new audiences online.

We were touched by his flair for nostalgic charm, so decided to have a chat with Anthony about 'JUMPY's production and the interesting creative process that went into making it.

What was your inspiration for this short film? What made you want to tell this story?

The main inspiration for 'JUMPY' was the idea of feeling as though you are meant to do something, but don't seem to be getting anywhere with it.  Having a purpose that's very clear to you and yet not finding success at that purpose is a very universal concept.  I thought an interesting way to convey that idea and story would be by setting it in a video game.  Anyone that has played older, more punishing games knows the frustration of not beating a level no matter how hard you try - but I thought, from the POV of the character in the game, they would feel that exact crisis of identity that I described above.  It just seemed like a natural fit.

Talk us through the production of the animation? How long was the process?

Production on any of my animated shorts is pretty simple since I do all the visuals myself.  Once I get the idea, it stews in my brain for a while until I clarify exactly what I'm trying to accomplish with the story.  Then the design and animation process is pretty quick because I've already thought it out thoroughly in my head and I don't need to communicate that to anyone else - I just sit down and do it.  So once I started creating the assets, it was about a month or two before all the visuals were complete.

The film makes clever use of rhythmic pacing and repetition, much like an actual video game playthrough. With most platform games it's all about hitting those sweet spots, did you have to make many adjustments to the film when editing to find that balance and emotional pay off?

Finding that balance between feeling authentic to a video game but also being emotionally moving was definitely the biggest challenge of the whole project for me.  There's always tweaks here and there to make that balance as clean as possible.  That said, on 'JUMPY' for the most part, I didn't make any huge changes.  Maybe a few frames here or there, but I had each sequence or beat mapped out rather specifically before I started animating.

The soundtrack is exceptional and really adds to the emotional finale of the film. Did you have the piece of music in mind when creating the film?

The soundtrack is amazing, I agree.  It's an original piece, scored specifically for 'JUMPY' by an artist called Luminist.  I'm so blown away by his talent and what he was able to do with that score.  He had a bunch of awesome Metroid music synth remakes I just stumbled onto online - so I reached out to him about creating an original score for the short.  We talked about it once and then two days later the music was done.  The music was created after the visuals were all locked and completed, so I had no idea what the music would eventually be when I was animating.  That said, I knew I wanted the score to have that electronic quality while still being evocative - and Luminist nailed that.

There is a nice contrast between the gamer and the game. Was this always part of the film, or did the anonymous gamer become included to give the audience a way to connect more with the story?

The contrast between the game player and the in-game character of Jumpy was always meant to be there because it was important to Jumpy's big moment of decision.  I needed to be clear that the human player wanted to take the bridge, but Jumpy didn't want to do that and so rebelled against the player.  I wanted to show Jumpy breaking free from the gamer.

What was the biggest challenge you faced making this film?

As mentioned above, it all comes down to creating a world and character that felt authentic as a video game, but also was emotionally engaging.  That was the overarching challenge.  Animated projects are always a technical challenge for me because I’m completely self-taught as an animator.  Furthermore, I had never created a video game-type animation from scratch prior to 'JUMPY', which is obviously an obstacle to both creating a believable game world and conveying complex emotions.  But in the end, you just have to sit down and do it - and that sort of challenge forces you to be more creative.

What has the reception to the film been like online? Has it been resonating with the gaming community?

The reception has been incredible - it's really amazing and humbling.  I've received so many comments and messages from people about what 'JUMPY' has meant to them.  I love when people find meaning that I didn't even intend or consider - and that has been happening left and right.  It also earned a Staff Pick on Vimeo and the video now has over 100K views.  It's been shared on so many sites and blogs, many of which like Gizmodo are outlets for the gaming community, and the response there has been just as positive.  To have it reach people and mean something significant to them - there's nothing better.

You followed up 'JUMPY' with a fascinating 'Behind the Scenes' video filled with juicy details on the filmmaking process. Do you think viewers without videogame knowledge can come away feeling the same about 'JUMPY' as a gamer?

I tried to pack as many juicy details into that BTS as possible.  It was a fun little side thing - almost like a Bluray special feature - and I'm glad people are enjoying that video as well.  But as for the question of whether non-gamers can appreciate 'JUMPY' in the same way as a gamer, I've spoken to many different people who enjoyed 'JUMPY', gamers and non-gamers alike, and their positivity is the same.  Of course gamers can relate to the more literal plot elements of a frustrating game in a way that non-gamer probably will not, but the themes and emotions are universal.  I've seen numerous posts and comments saying "We are all Jumpy."  That says it better than I could.

What is next? Any more adventures from Jumpy?

I said what I wanted to say with the character and, baring some lightening bolt of inspiration or an offer of an unholy amount of money to make a follow-up, it's unlikely we'll ever see 'SUPER JUMPY' or 'JUMPY 64'.  Again, I never say never, but in my mind Jumpy's story is complete.  As for what's next, one of my big goals is to make an animated feature film.  I've written a script set in a fantastical, medieval world involving magical beings.  The accepted belief of society in the story is that those born with magical powers are inherently evil, which is a false belief.  It's a story of discrimination and intolerance, which is unfortunately still a topic that needs explored.  I'm not sure if it's the next thing on my plate because that is such a gigantic undertaking, but I'm going to start by animating a trailer based off of my script and go from there - one jump at a time.