Bound
A story-driven CG short film built through procedural craft.
Bound is a CG animated short film about Turnip,
a forgotten imaginary friend who longs for someone to stay.
When Oliver, a runaway child, stumbles into his world, their friendship fills Knot Woods with laughter and adventure. But the woods have their own magic, and the longer Oliver stays, the more he begins to change.
Producer
Performance Director
Technical Artist
ROLES
Schedule & Milestone Planning, Cross-Disciplinary Leadership, Scope Management, Budget & Resource Allocation, Procedural Worldbuilding, Pipeline Troubleshooting
SKILLS
Shotgrid, Notion AI, Houdini, Figma,
DaVinci Resolve, Google Suite
TOOLS
ROLE BREAKDOWN
I led Bound as primary producer, overseeing budget, scheduling, scope,
and interdisciplinary collaboration.
I worked directly within the CG pipeline as a Generalist, co-wrote the project, and served as the main point of coordination between artists, performers, advisors, and sound. My technical responsibilities included cinematography and motion editing. I also handled marketing and promotional opportunities. A large part of my role involved helping the team stay creatively aligned while moving through a complex CG pipeline. I developed the production infrastructure that supported our work across pre-production, production, and post, and created the pitch materials and core documentation used to communicate the project with advisors, collaborators, and external stakeholders. I ran regular dailies with our supervisor and helped the team push creatively while remaining within scope. I also worked closely with our sound collaborators to communicate the project’s vision and define deliverables so the audio design evolved alongside the visual work. Motion capture coordination was another part of my role, including casting performers, organizing studio sessions, and guiding performances during recording days so acting translated clearly into animation.
MY PROCESS
When I came onto Bound, the project existed primarily as a concept. Given the short production timeline, my priority was to maximize quality while remaining
realistic about scope.
We began visual development in parallel with story development, allowing the team to explore the tactile craft of the world while the narrative continued to evolve. Through this iterative process we ultimately leaned into a simple story structure and focused on elevating the film through texture, playfulness, and material detail. Because the team was small, I approached production by leading from the front rather than pushing from the back. My goal was to model the level of dedication and craft I hoped to see across the team while creating an environment where people felt supported and energized. I made an effort to keep the process light and collaborative, celebrating progress, encouraging experimentation, and adapting quickly when challenges appeared. Early in development I also established a set of creative “north stars” that helped guide decision making and ensured we stayed aligned as the project moved from concept into production.
VISUAL STYLE & CRAFT
Bound adopts a handmade, stop-motion-inspired aesthetic while remaining fully CG.
The entire film was built using a fully procedural workflow. A defining technical choice was the use of procedural character materials that shift every five frames to create thumbprint surface variation. This approach gives the characters an imperfect, tactile quality. The environment of Knot Woods was designed to feel warm, playful, and completely hand-crafted.
MOTION CAPTURE & PERFORMANCE
Bound features motion capture performances by Cassidy Kemp-Woffenden and Molly MacAlister, captured at the Miramar Creative Centre.
I directed all motion capture sessions, guiding performers through story beats and emotional intent while encouraging a playful, childlike physicality to match the film’s tone. V Cam technology enabled real-time shot discovery and camera blocking.
TECHNICAL COLLABORATORS
MASON GARNER
Creative Director & Character Designer
JOEL COOPER
Composer
LUCY ALLEN
Surfacing & Lighting Artist
CALEB O’HALLORAN
Sound Designer
RAY XIE
FX Artist & Compositor
EUNIE HWANG
Motion Graphics & Story Artist
“Nadia is quite easily the best producer I have ever worked with. I was consistently blown away by her dedication, her love of the people she works with, and her organisational skills. Any chance that I have to work with Nadia is incredible, and I know that everyone who works with her appreciates her as much as I do.”
Joel Cooper, Composer for Bound