jamie beard king kong

Although his training was as traditional 2D animator, Jamie Beard entered the Visual Effects and CG Animation world thanks to his drawing skills.

In spite of his young age, Jamie already has been involved in projects as important as 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets', 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' or 'I, Robot'. 'King Kong' has been his last movie, where he took part as Lead Animator.

We have spoken with Jamie on his experience in previous projects and, of course, his work in 'King Kong' in some of the most spectacular shots of this amazing movie.

El Portal del 3D y la Animacion - You have worked in films like 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’, 'The Return of the King', 'I, Robot' and 'King Kong'. Which was your training and how you arrived at the world of the Animation and the Visual Effects?

Jamie Beard - I originally studied to be a traditional 2D animator. Despite not being able to get work, it wasn’t in vain, as my drawing skills got me my first job in CG. My boss preferred my life drawings to my animation!

3DA - What could you explain to us on your work in 'Harry Potter 2', 'The Return of the King' and 'I, Robot'? In which shots you worked and what can you tell to us on them?

Jamie - I animated the Basilisk and Pixie sequences in HP2, The Mumakils and Fellbeast on ROTK, and a variety of robots in I-Robot. I liked the shot where the Fellbeast gets hit by a falling volcanic rock at the end of ROTK.

3DA - Your last film has been 'King Kong', in which you have been involved as Lead Animator. What creatures and shots have you animated? Which would you emphasize?

Jamie - My favourite shot has to be Kong’s entrance, where he swings on a tree branch so as to kick the T-Rex. It was a crazy idea but one that still stands out in the film.

3DA - How much freedom you had at the time of facing a shot? Which was the complete process until the shot was finished?

Jamie - The core team of animators had created highly detailed pre-vis which PJ then used to edit with. The ensuing cuts would be a reference for every department to use. In dailies, PJ and our animation supervisors would
constantly refer to it as explanation of what was
wanted. Animators had to make the previs come to life,
but not deviate from the story it was telling.

3DA - For the King Kong animation, besides the interpretation of Andy Serkis, you used references of gorillas, among them the white gorilla from Barcelona, Copito de Nieve. What could you tell to us on those references? How they helped at the time of animating King Kong?

Jamie - Copito is unique, but his face was far too human and his movements too expressive. It definitely wasn’t Kong’s character who is a wild animal. We used Silverback footage because of the fact that their faces have less emotional range than Copito. Andy Serkis suggested that the animators allow the audience to work out what Kong is thinking: Less is more.

3DA - What can you explain to us on the rig and setup of King Kong’s body? What specific controls and characteristics it had?

Jamie - We could bend Kong’s arms beyond their locking point as animals can often hyperextend their limbs. It was also important to use the shoulder controls a lot, as this defined Kong’s mood very well.

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