Persistent Peril calls on the hand of God

Brighton-based studio Persistent Peril has brought the latest music video for British folk-pop band The Leisure Society to life with a spirited animation featuring the giant hand of a fickle god.

‘Fight For Everyone’ charts the creation of the universe, tracking the progress of a “god-like” hand as it populates planet Earth’s landscapes, before losing its temper and destroying its creations – to humorous effect.

Both the band and independent record label Full Time Hobby were open to the studio pitching ideas. “We pitched a concept based on a god-like hand,” explains co-director Ginny Jones. “As the idea evolved we wanted the interactions from the hand to resemble a touchscreen game or app, with the hand pinching and tapping on things to interact.”

The studio had in fact pitched a similar idea, in a completely different style, to the UK Film Council some years ago. “It wasn't commissioned,” says Jones, “but we loved some of the ideas and once we decided on going down the 'hand of god' route, we looked to this pitch for some of the gags.”

While most of the animation was drawn frame-by-frame in Flash, After Effects was used for some of the more complex shots, such as the tiny fish in the sea scenes.

“Keeping characters readable and super tiny was a great challenge, but allowed for some really fun animation,” Jones adds. “We’re really proud of the fast-cut 'gags' in the end – they really make the film. A massive thanks to Mark Billington and Emma Wakley for helping out on those.”

Full credits:
Client: Full Time Hobby & The Leisure Society
Taken from 'Alone Aboard the Ark’
Direction: Persistent Peril
Producer: Sam Bourner
Animation: Garth Jones, Ginny Jones, Mark Billington & Emma Wakely