The Mill’s artists worked on all ten episodes of this first season, constructing increasingly fantastical elements to reflect the lead character’s oscillating grip on reality. One scene in episode four, that proved pivotal to the narrative, involved creating a boy and his dog riding a barrel over a waterfall. Various elements were then required to interact with the water; including a parachute and a barrel. Artists created multiple versions of each effect and refined the final version in a way that felt as seamlessly real as the practical effects.

Other undertakings included environmental continuity, matte paintings, duplicating twin actors,  car crash scenes, weed smoking, face replacement, talking birds, stadium crowds and a seasons-worth of CG elements including a swarm of bees.

Head of 2D at The Mill Los Angeles, Glyn Tebbutt, comments, “With a production like Kidding, we were lucky to be collaborating with a team who are already iconic within the industry and had come together to create a real passion project. It was fantastic for us to sit in with production at the early stages, to be on set for a large percentage of the shoot days and get a highly detailed understanding of the team’s vision. This allowed us to contribute to the process at each stage and take every opportunity to push the effects, problem solve and assist production, on what’s been a massive achievement and a career highlight for many of us.”