Story Reels

13 Sept

Most of the film is now up in story reels in various stages. Scratch dialogue track, provided by members of Knaresborough Players, along with a few temporary spot effects are combined with rough story sketches and concept art to provide an audio-visual experience of the film in its early stages.

The process is equivalent to the theatre rehearsal process, exploring the dramatic potential of scenes, the blocking of characters, and the use of lighting and sound to heighten emotion. Unlike live-action films, edited after filming, the editing in animation happens at this stage, so it is an important time to make editorial decisions before costly production work commences. It’s an opportunity to play with ideas quickly before the reels are locked and the time-consuming process of layout and animation begins. The pace of the film often feels different on screen than on paper,

ZOOM scratch recording with The Knaresborough Players. From left to right: Mike Atkinson, David and Jemma Bunting, Kathryn Leigh and Emilie Knight — ZOOM scratch recording with The Knaresborough Players. **From left to right:** Mike Atkinson, David and Jemma Bunting, Kathryn Leigh and Emilie Knight

In time, the voices of the Knaresborough Players and the story sketches by James and I will be replaced by the cast and the final animation art. But the contribution of both will live large on the screen.

David Bunting

I’ve been making animations since I was nine years old, filming on a Super 8 camera! Since then, I’ve worked across television, film and independent projects, collaborating with studios and broadcasters including Disney, BBC, Channel 4 and Netflix.

I studied Animation at Senior College Ballyfermot in Dublin before training in Visual Effects at Walt Disney Feature Animation in France. That led to work as a classical drawn effects animator on films including Disney’s The Tigger Movie and the title sequence for Thunderbirds.

A love of storytelling drew me into storyboarding and filmmaking. After training at Aardman Animations, I worked with studios including Aardman and Blink Industries on series such as Shaun the Sheep, Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed and Alley Cats, collaborating with talented teams across the UK animation industry.

Alongside commercial television work, I develop and direct independent films - most recently the award-winning animated documentary No One is an Island(2024) - that allow me to push my artistry and tell more personal stories. Through comedy, drama, or quieter moments of reflection, I’m fascinated by animation’s ability to bring people of all ages together — communicating stories through character, rhythm and visual language.

At heart, I’m still driven by the same thing that started it all: the simple magic of drawings coming to life.

https://www.buntinganimation.com/

Story Reels

More Layouts

Opening & Closing shot (Multi-plane camera)