The all-new Biblical series that debuts October 17 on Prime Video, from the group that created ‘The Chosen,’ blends Claymation, 3DCG, and wood carvings, animated on 2s, to produce a unique depth of field that embraces the characters as they move through the scenes.
When Dallas Jenkins began the journey to produce his crowd-funded Biblical series project, about Jesus Christ and his famous 12 disciples, he had no idea that, over the course of eight years, his show would be featured on the cover of TV Guide, have theatrical releases across the country, and fuel an animated series: .
“If I think too hard about it, my brain will explode because so much of it doesn't make sense,” he shares.“I've been so much inside all this from the beginning that sometimes you just come up for air in the midst of filming and you go, ‘Oh my goodness, there are people watching it.’ And ‘Oh my goodness, there are people watching it in every country.’ But at the same time, we never are so content and comfortable that we can just relax and is a good example of that.”
, streaming Friday, October 17, on Prime Video, follows nine-year-old Abby and her best friend Joshua as they navigate life in the ancient city of Capernaum.
The children encounter a wise craftsman and teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, who changes the way they see the world.And did we mention that Abby has a talking sheep? The 14-episode animated series is co-produced by Amazon MGM Studios and 5&2 Studios, and features the voice talents of Emmy winner Paul Walter Hauser (), Emmy nominee Yvonne Orji () and two-time Grammy-nominated artist Jordin Sparks, as well cast members from , including Jonathan Roumie, Paras Patel, Elizabeth Tabish, Noah James, Joey Vahedi, Yasmine Al-Bustami, Brandon Potter and George H.Xanthis.
Check out the trailer: “We're starting the story over again with this new show and, in so many ways, it reminds me of where we started with ,” notes Jenkins.“We always do something that's a little new.So sometimes, it might sound like a good idea, but for some parents and families, they might be thinking, ‘Well, I don't know about this.
Is this going to be good?’ In many ways, it feels like it did six years ago.We’ve got to find an audience.And we’ve got to make sure that the audience trusts us.” That meant pulling out all the stops when it came to the animation.
Lit in Katana and Composited in Nuke, the 3DCG series pulled inspiration from and , both of which went back and forth between animating on twos and two-and-a-halfs to enhance the animation's tactile and textured feel. “It feels like a comic book because it’s very well framed and very composition-heavy,” says Ryan Swanson, writer, executive producer, and showrunner of .“Our team was also influenced by a lot of the Claymation we grew up watching as kids.There was a lot of collaboration between our production designer Sam Michlap and director Keith Alcorn to come up with the look.” For the Reel FX Montreal team, executing it meant going through composition and lighting with a fine-toothed comb. “Sam was practically embedded with the Reel FX team,” notes Swanson.
“And that's not something that happens every time between vendor and client.But we were able to work with Joanna Ferugson, SVP Feature Production at Reel FX and those teams were eager to see what Sam's vision was.That vision was something that we landed on through trial and error.
It felt like we were sometimes painting lines on the road as we were driving.” first look: The character designs in mix Claymation, 3DCG animation and, dare we say, wood carvings, notable especially when viewers are looking at the grooves in the characters’ hair and details on the village homes.It’s very fitting for a story about a messiah who began as a carpenter. But while the sets and characters look hand-crafted and molded, foliage in the show – trees, bushes, fields, and the like – appear like watercolor paintings that have been animated.It gives the sequences in the series an interesting depth of field and, as these characters walk through forests and pathways, it’s like the scenery hugs them. “I'm going to steal that from you,” says Jenkins to AWN.
“That's a really great way to describe it.And I think I think you're right.” Swanson adds, “You’ve got good eyes.We wanted our characters to feel like models you could touch, moving against these backgrounds that are very painterly.
Sam was working with an artist from Switzerland named Sami Azaiez, who was our senior visual development artist.This guy paints amazing stuff and a lot of our assets started out as prints that were then turned into digital assets and then we manipulated lighting and camera angles to simulate motion.” Adding to the “hug” effect was the use of what Swanson and his team called “the God lens,” which was used sparingly but effectively. “There are moments where Abby is walking with her teacher Jesus and has these realizations like, ‘I’m never alone,’” explains Swanson.“The frame of the world opens up, and we have the characters walking through these painted backgrounds that are moving on ones.
Working through the pipeline for all this and stitching different programs together was a bear, man.Our motion graphics guy Ramsey Ruelas helped us out a lot.” The goal wasn’t to simplify the world of for animation.It was actually the opposite. “It's a heightened reality, but it does feel like a world that you could just step into,” says Jenkins.
“There's texture and there's depth that doesn't feel like it’s just on the surface.It feels rich.You can even see the dust.
And that was intentional.The way we play with shadows, the way we play with light, sometimes it's funny, sometimes it feels comedic, and then other times it feels real and authentic and serious.And that's the thing about this show that I think people will really appreciate.
It's not just in one box.” Swanson said the ultimate goal was to have such strong visuals that viewers could watch the show on mute and still experience the same depth and range of emotions. “We wanted this show at every turn to be artistically innovative and skillfully done with integrity, so that if you just had it on mute, it still has that effect,” explains Swanson.“You said it feels like a hug.That’s because love was put into every background, every character, and every asset that we made.” Victoria Davis is a full-time, freelance journalist and part-time Otaku with an affinity for all things anime.
She's reported on numerous stories from activist news to entertainment.Find more about her work at victoriadavisdepiction.com.
Prime Video Orders ‘The Chosen Adventures’ to Series
