The idea of exaggeration was also used when designing the main two characters of Paddy and Jack. We sketched caricatures of the actors which we then used as templates for building our 3D head models. And the final characters look quite a bit like the actual actors. Authenticity comes through facially, and also in the transposing of the actors performances onto the digital heads. I am very excited by the final blend of realism and stylisation.

Most CGI films don't have a shoot at all. And this was your first experience working with actors?

Working with actors was a big challeng,e but great fun. My producer Paul was almost a co-director through a lot of this. We worked well together as a team through rehearsal, working ideas with the actors, testing the script, finding new nuggets to dig out and develop. I remember during rehearsals, watching these great actors using a golf club and an umbrella as rifles. Matthew Sunderland won Best Actor in New Zealand's Film Awards and here he was, pretending he was in a muddy ditch / down the back of a sofa / on the western front of WWI. The cast were completely convincing and I was blown away! And relieved. I suddenly realised that I could hang the entire film on their performances. The shoot itself just went incredibly smoothly. The actor driven process was lots of fun, and for me, that was where the film was made quite different from just me all by myself in front of a bank of computers.