24 May 2023

The beautiful collaboration of All of Us Here.

by Jason Stone

Two good friends of DAVID REVIEWS, Barney Richard and Isabella Parish have joined forces to create 'All of Us Here', a new production company whose offer includes animation, mixed media and live action. A few weeks ago, we caught up with this dynamic duo to learn more about their exciting new project. As well as reading the resulting interview, you can take a look at the eleven directors on the founding roster.

According to Isabella Parish, theirs is a partnership around fifteen years in the making: "Barney called me out of the blue when he was at Jelly to ask what's going on at Partizan and, you know, how's sales going and what are you up to?"

This led to a coffee and the formation of a determination to work together... it's just taken a while to get the ducks in a row.

The opportunity finally arose with the closure of the London office of Friends Electric's, the production wing of Electric Theatre Collective, which Richard had helped launch a few years earlier: "I got on the phone to Isabella and said 'I think it's time. What are you doing?' And she's, like, 'well, I'm kind of free right now'."

It then took around eight months to get all the pieces together, something they both say has been a lot of fun, even if, as Richard puts it with a chuckle, they may end up killing each other by the end of the twenty-fourth month.

The closure of Friends Electric London meant that they had the core of a ready made roster. As Parish puts it: "We had a group of directors who were with Barney. So Barney could just come with his crew, and then I had some people that I wanted to work with who were not really represented here."

Richard chimes in: "It's given us the opportunity to curate a company that come from a mixed media background, live action, animation and anything in between. And for us, I think the passion lies very much in that sweet spot."

The first half of 2023 is an interesting moment to be launching a company. It's tough out there, so how did they feel about opening during such a challenging time?

Isabella Parish: "First of all, Experience is important. It really is. Whatever you want, whatever you are facing. Secondly, for me, production has always just been a set of challenges... I remember my first job, my very first job, we needed to get a cow on the tube!"

The three of us laugh at the absurdities faced by people in this business as Parish elaborates on this story, but the abiding message is clear... the difficulties of getting through a tough period are akin to the challenges faced every day when you work in production. To succeed, companies have to work out how they're going to get the metaphorical cow on the metaphorical tube every single day.

Barney Richard highlights the importance of recognising that TV is not the only game in town: "we are setting up with that in mind... mixed media and animation really lend themselves to socials and outdoor and even events or gig spaces... whatever it might be. So were not just chasing the TV commercials. All of our guys are really into the idea. They're all culturally relevant. They're all very on point."

They both believe there is a great benefit in maintaining a relatively small roster. They want to keep the numbers in check so they're in a position to manage the careers of the artists they represent. Barney Richard points out that it's very difficult to do that if there are thirty directors on the roster: "our ambition is to keep it small and, because of the skill sets within the roster, I feel we can play in a lot of different spaces. This isn't just about advertising – though that's a big part of our business of course and we really enjoy doing it – but let's also look at gaming... let's make a game. Isabella's got an idea for a game so were talking about how we get that made. It's exciting."

Their joint ownership of the company contributes to their nimbleness when it comes to decision-making, something they both relish. Isabella Parish contrasts it with running a US-owned operation where the upside is the support you offered, but the considerable downside is decision-making by committee, and the possibility that you will be overruled.

Barney Richard sums up the contrast: "having control over decision-making is quick and nimble. And we are connected. We are aligned. So that's much more efficient. And because we really enjoy the same kind of creativity, it makes it a really great combination. Isabella's experience in production is amazing... she can get a cow on the tube! A cow!"

1. Akama

Akama is a name adopted by French director Alexandre Ada who has a love of both science and digital art. He experimented with music videos, game trailers and shorts before focusing on directing TVCs.

2. CRCR

CRCR is a French collective whose members met at Gobelins, one the most famous animation schools in Paris. From their first films as a collective and as interns at WIZZ, CRCR have garnered international attention for their approach 2D animation and storytelling.

3. Emmanuelle Walker

Animation director and illustrator Emmanuelle Walker studied 2D animation at the CVM in Montreal, and specialises in 2D and 3D film direction. She has been working in 2D animation, motion design, visual development and direction since 2004.

4. Ewan Jones Morris

Ewan Jones Morris takes a multidisciplinary approach to filmmaking, often combing live action, collage, stop motion and CGI all within one project.

5. Greg Barth

Greg Barth is an award winning director and artist, passionate about creating surreal narratives and oddball comedy weaved together with bold visuals.

6. Pleix

Pleix is a virtual community of digital artists based in Paris.

Since forming in 2001,they have established themselves not only as video directors of the highest order, but also as world-class graphic artists.

7. Polynoid

Polynoid are revered globally as unique makers of visceral CG films. They stated their creative intentions with their groundbreaking short film ‘Loom’, which has since been hailed as a seminal moment in CG film making.

8. Scholar

Scholar is the brainchild of award-winning visionary directors/partners William Campbell and Will Johnson, and is a full-service studio with offices in Los Angeles and New York, fuelled by a diverse array of award-winning creators.

9. Sun Creature

Sun Creature is a project-driven international team of artists, directors & producers, dedicated to deliver high quality content from concept to final piece.

10. Victor Haegelin

Victor Haegelin discovered cinema, and animation in particular, during his studies at FAMU Prague cinema school. Inspired by Eastern European Masters of animation like Jan Svankmajer or Jiri Trnka, Victor decided to teach himself stop motion.

11. WIZZ

WIZZ is the animation studio of the multimedia production group, QUAD, based in Paris. They love 2D, 3D, stop motion, and mixed media, and developing new worlds and stories with our directors that might involve all of the above.

You can contact Barney Richard on 07557 092029 (barney@allofushere.tv) or Isabella Parish on 07740 866294 (isabella@allofushere.tv) to congratulate them on their new venture and to enquire about the availability of their directors.