It is a completely true story

When and how did you decide to become a filmmaker?

I had always been interested in making art through drawing and painting, and during my fine art degree I discovered that digital video and animation provided an even more exciting way of creating.

You attended film school when creating this film - was it a student film with special conditions or requirements? 



I was on the animation course and there were no real requirements beyond: make a film and be sure to finish it on time. The fact it was a film school meant animation students were welcome to use any facilities the school had. In my year the course produced a roto-scoped animation, a film mixing live action and painting and even a short made by filming puppets.

Where did the original idea for this film come from and how has it maybe changed over time? I sure hope it wasn't based on personal experience...?

It is a completely true story... no not really. In fact my parents couldn’t wait to get rid of me. I struggled for a long time to come up with an idea and in the end I decided to think about important moments in life, such as leaving home, and imagine a scenario in which it could be played out in an exaggerated and funny way. I worked closely with the editor Robbie Morrison and together we turned my original idea into a story. We were very lucky to get Russell Brand and Victoria Wood to voice the characters, who added so much to them.

Animation is traditionally infamous for its long production time. How long did it take to realise this film and who was there to help you?

Yeah, tell me about it. It took a year to complete the film. I had a great producer in Laura Rees, who organised a team of assistants to help, so I wasn’t battling with it alone.

Please tell us something about the style decisions for the film, why you chose this kind of animation and mood and how you experimented.

The production designer James Lees and I spent a long time trying to create a fairy tale inspired mood, which would evolve into something slightly more unusual. Computer animation allows for such a variety of styles it seemed like the obvious choice to tell this story.

The sound design struck me as very interesting, too. Can you tell us about who was involved there, how long post-production took and where the sounds originated?

The sound design was something I was very particular about as it was crucial to the story. The mother used sound as part of the deception so this had to be balanced with the way the son was perceiving his surroundings. The sound designer Steen Boondrop recorded most of the sounds himself and used a foley artist to get the sounds for character interactions.


Please tell us something about the reception of this film, especially on where it has been shown and what reactions it provoked.


The film has played a number of festivals including the Micheal Moore founded Traverse City Film Festival, Michigan and won the MPSE Golden Reels Awards, Verna Fields Award for Best Sound Editing.

What happened to you since “Mummy's Boy” and what plans do you have for future films?



I have directed a number of commercials and music videos since Mummy’s Boy and worked as VFX Artist/Compositor on film and television projects.

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