Disney's Short Circuit is a project that started as a way to foster both collaboration and experimentation within the animation studios. Since 2016, a blind submission process has led to employees being given the chance to realize their vision for a short film. And since last year, the selected films have been made available on Disney+ for audiences to admire.
A new crop of shorts, each pushing the boundaries of animated experimentation in their own way, drops August 4 on the streaming service. Whether they use 2D animation or blend it with CG, they all explore the magic in the mundane, as well as play with concepts of sight and sound. Each director also receives not only guidance from specific advisors, but also access to a wide array of respected Disney filmmakers.
Jennifer Newfield, who has been with Short Circuit since its inception, is the project manager that helps bring all the directors and their teams together. She spoke to Screen Rant about the selection process as well as the teamwork required to pull off such a wonderful event.
Screen Rant: Can you tell me a little bit about the process of whittling down the ideas in order to choose which are the best candidates for Short Circuit?
Jennifer Newfield: It's a really unique process for our studios, and I'm so glad it exists. We have a time period where we have open submissions, and it can be anybody in Walt Disney Animation Studios. It doesn't matter what position you hold, every single department in the whole studio can submit an idea. And the idea behind it is that there's an open period of time in which I can actually work with people on their pitches because, at the end of that time period, they submit to a selection committee.
The selection committee has no idea - it's a completely blind selection. We get a whole slew of submissions, knowing that likely we'll pick two from that grouping. And the selection committee is comprised of current filmmakers: feature filmmakers, plus development, plus visual effects, supervisors, technical advisors, and people from all over the studio. They come together, read the submissions, look at some of the visuals that they bring to the table, and then they get to choose who gets to be the next Short Circuit directors.
I know experimentation is the name of the game, but I also found some really nice thematic similarities running throughout this particular group. Were there any themes that stood out to you when you were going through this collaboration process?
Jennifer Newfield: Yeah, that's a great question. It's so interesting because Short Circuit is a program [that] revolves around the time that the directors have outside their normal day jobs. Sometimes they can get selected and, within a few months, start and then just go go go until they're finished with their short and then go back. But sometimes, they take place over years at a time.
What's really fascinating about this grouping is you have people who got selected multiple years ago, and then people who made their shorts just last year. So, it's very coincidental in their thematics, because the selection committee itself was different each time that those shorts were selected.
What I think is fascinating is that first-time directors often have such personal themes which they infuse into their work. Not that every director doesn't, but first-time directors, in particular, want to show and tell what they know and what they've experienced in their lives. And I think that really shines through in Short Circuit in a really lovely way. That's probably a little bit of what we sense as similarities.
I love every single, short, but there are a couple that I felt could keep going. Like "Dinosaur Barbarian" is a perfect theme song intro to a show I want to watch. Are there ever pitches or even completed shorts that you want to expand on, or are filmmakers ever inspired by them?
Jennifer Newfield: I think you're not alone. "Dinosaur Barbarian" was such a tease almost, and I love how you're digging into the psyche of a Barbarian.
I think that these are looked at as individuals shorts that are really pushing envelopes in a lot of ways, which I think is excellent. I think they have a lot of influence [on] other people in the studio, for sure.
I'd say a really nice example of maybe what you're talking about as well is Natalie Nourigat in the first season made "Exchange Student," and then, later on, made a fiOn the collaborative & creative nature of shorts! lm called Far From The Tree which premiered this past year as well. They were influenced by each other in stylistic ways; she took those applications that she learned in her short and then brought them to a different project later. I could see that working in all kinds of ways with Short Circuit.
And I agree this particular season is painful in ways, because you're like, "Wait, there's more to this. There's more story here, there's more to tell. How do we get this made?" Anything can happen; anything can pop into development eventually, or be looked at as potential new talent as well. I can't promise anything, but I think that it is very much exposed to everyone at the studio, which is a really great thing.
I love how it seems that this program fosters collaboration between different departments, and between different artists too. How do you as the project manager help create that atmosphere and make sure that everyone is being serviced?
Jennifer Newfield: Excellent question, and so specific to my job. Thank you so much. Yes, it's my favorite piece of the puzzle. Sometimes people ask me what's my favorite part of the job - the selection process is also really excellent and very unique; I get to be super involved. But my favorite moment is usually in the studio, sitting around a conference table with all the experts in their field that I've tried really hard to find to support the directors in specifically their vision - whether it be storytelling wise or visual wise or otherwise.
I love bringing teams together that feel like they can accomplish the goal. And it's hard because each specialization within the studio is so specific to what they do that they have no idea that they have the potential to bring that to a broader audience. So, we often try to even pluck people and find people that maybe weren't in leadership before, but they really know their stuff and pair them up with a Short Circuit director. And then they have such mutual appreciation for each other. So, yes, collaboration is insanely important.
And I like to talk about, from this past season, Jacob [Frey]'s short. I knew it was complex; there's so much going on in there, and it was a huge undertaking. When it got selected, I was like, "How are we going to make this?" What we did is we cleared out this big space in the studio and put all of his team [there]. We temporarily relocated, or gave them a second desk, to one place. We were so lucky to have that resource, and I think that plays into the collaboration that you're talking about. They were just talking to each other constantly. And they're right outside my office, so I got to peek at them and really enjoy watching them go through their short together and come out with those bonds.
What lessons would you say you've learned from one season to the next?
Jennifer Newfield: A lot. I think a huge part of my job is mentorship for the new directors. Stepping into this role for the first time is a really big jump for them. Coming from wherever they were in the studio doing one thing specifically, and then being plopped into a whole slew of people that are working on their vision, is a huge leap. And I think I've learned so much from season to season, project to project, what helps them mentally get there.
I think the pre-production time that I was alluding to in the bigger group session is a huge part of that. And it was a big realization for [me], pushing on the studio to say we need to do a selection round because I wanted a runway up until when they start where I could get to know them better and walk them through pipeline processes and talk about what their vision is. So I can get them the right team to help them because I think my goal is for them to really be able to enjoy it.
There are stressful moments no matter what because it's your baby that you're doing. But I've learned a lot of tips and tricks along the way to help them and to mentor them as best as I can.
All 5 films from Short Circuit's second season will be available on August 4 on Disney+.
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Reviewed by Riyad
on
August 03, 2021
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