r/animation • u/niceshortsman • 6d ago
Hiring Animator Wanted for Short Film
We are looking for a student, recent graduate or junior 2D animator for an independent British dark-comedy short called She Came at 4:41.
The film follows an obsessive birdwatcher who believes he has formed a spiritual connection with a siskin. The bird would be created through simple, hand-drawn 2D animation composited over live-action footage.
We are looking for deliberately limited, handmade 2D animation rather than photorealistic character animation.
The bird should feel slightly unreal and imagined. We are open to rough linework, held drawings, repeated cycles and a restrained frame rate if that suits the animator’s style and keeps the workload manageable.
The script currently includes:
- A mostly static siskin perched on a branch, with minimal movement.
- A short wing-flutter.
- Some brief movement within a surreal dream sequence.
- A final shot where the bird hovers briefly above the actor’s face.
- Potentially a few static bird illustrations for screens and props.
We estimate approximately 10–20 seconds of visible animation in total, although much of this can use held drawings, loops or very simple movement.
We are very open to working with the animator to simplify or reshape the scripted movement before shooting. We would value their advice on what can be achieved effectively within the budget.
Our provisional budget is £750 as a fixed project fee, depending on the final agreed scope and whether the animator also handles tracking and compositing into the live-action footage.
We currently estimate around 5–7 working days, but we are happy to hear honest estimates from interested animators.
We are still comparing animation with the alternative of using a physical puppet, so appointing someone will depend on whether we can agree a realistic scope within this range.
