On the
scene festival
On the
scene festival
Wuthering Hearts
Laura Jayne Hodkin
Spotlight on...
Tell us where the idea for ‘Wuthering Hearts’ came from?
When I moved back up North from London, I started thinking a lot about my teenage years growing up in a small town. I was an emo, alternative teenager, spending weekends walking across fields just to see friends, underage drinking, listening to angsty music and navigating typical teenage dating life in a town that doesn’t offer much. That mix of feeling lonely while feeling everything too much, alongside being able to laugh at myself when looking back on it as an adult, became the spark for the film. Alongside personal memories, I was also drawn to the Victorian era and it’s often lonely, haunting atmosphere portrayed through books and film. Andrea Arnold’s 2011 adaptation of Wuthering Heights was the main source that rekindled this fascination, particularly because watching it coincided with me moving to Yorkshire. From there, the idea for Wuthering Hearts began to take shape. I never intended Wuthering Hearts to be a retelling of Wuthering Heights, but more of a nod to some of its similar themes like toxic relationships and young love. I mainly wanted o use the title as a bit of a joke or easter egg, as it matched both the location and time period.
Your comedic animation style is so unique. Can you tell us about your technical process for making this short?
Thank you! To be honest, the process for this short was a little different. I was commissioned to make two 40-second episodes for a TikTok channel called A Studio Digital and I didn’t have a lot of time to make them. I wrote a rough outline based on the idea that had been swirling around in my head since moving house, got the outline approved, wrote two very rough scripts, designed the characters and then went straight into making an animatic (essentially an animated storyboard.) The two episodes went great, so I asked if I could make two more, which was a little easier at that point because I had a better understanding of the characters and world. Afterwards, I really wanted to combine all the episodes into a short, so I created some additional scenes to connect everything together.
I use Photoshop to draw all of my animation, it’s a program I’ve been using for animating since 2014. I should probably move onto something else as it’s not super ideal for animation, but I’m just so used to it now. I think I also like the roughness it gives my work, it can be a little janky sometimes but I quite like that.
Can you tell us about how you initially found your style and how you navigated from making art to animating it?
Around 17 or 18, I was heavily inspired by comic artists such as Magda Boreysza, Charles Burns, Dame Darcy and Donya Todd. I was creating my own weird characters and stories and originally thought I wanted to study illustration at university, but became increasingly curious about bringing those characters to life through animation instead. Mostly, I liked the idea of challenging myself to learn a completely new skill, and studying animation felt like a great opportunity for me to do that.
During my BA in Animation I experimented with different techniques and focused on learning ‘how’ to animate through filmmaking. Although I made a lot of things I’m still proud of, I hadn’t yet found my own voice. It did, however, help me see animation as an art form rather than something purely technical. I realised I wasn’t interested in animation for the sake of a perfect walk cycle, but for the chance to bring my own stories, feelings, meanings and worlds to life as a filmmaker.
After graduating in 2017, I continued my studies with an MA in Animation at the Royal College of Art. It was at this time, particularly a lip sync workshop led by animation director Rory Waudby-Tolley, that something really clicked for me. I realised how much I loved giving my characters personality through dialogue and performance, which became a big part of developing my style.
"I never intended Wuthering Hearts to be a retelling of Wuthering Heights, but more of a nod to some of its similar themes like toxic relationships and young love."
(Director)
Natalie Durkin does such an amazing job voicing every character. Which is crazy in itself. How do you approach the creative collaboration with Natalie and directing the individual characterisation?
Natalie is incredible, and I’m so happy people picked up on how distinct the voices are because she did such an amazing job! I found her through a recommendation from another voice artist, and I was excited to work with her because she’s Northern. I’d become used to hearing Southern accents in British animation, so it felt quite refreshing. Having one voice actor also made sense practically, as my budget was quite limited and it made the recording process much quicker and easier to manage. We had a call beforehand and talked through how each character needed to feel different, even though they’re all being voiced by the same person. I gave each character a specific vocal quality or tone: Bernard was deep and very monotone, to fit his fully committed goth vibe. Helena was more nasal and whiney, with a very teenage quality. Her mum was more shrill, angry and high pitched. The dad’s one line was actually voiced by me!
We really love the artwork you created for Leeds Film Fest and your newly released short. Can you tell us a bit more about this and any other projects you’re working on?
Of course! I created the artwork for Leeds Film Fest through an open call for their 2026 artwork. After making it through the first round, I pitched a more developed idea which they loved and now it will be popping up around Leeds during the festival in autumn, which I’m very excited to see. And my new short Hot Peasant Summer is about two girlies who get trapped in the Middle Ages and throw a bachelorette party for a peasant girl. I made it in collaboration with Blink Industries for Dropout TV, a comedy streaming service. It’s out now on there if you’d like to check it out!
At the moment I have a mix of projects on the go. I’m continuing to work with TED-Ed on animated explainer videos, something I really enjoy. They’re rewarding projects and have become reliable work for me as an independent animator and director. I’m also developing a series with an animation studio and pitching another web series idea to a TV network... There’s lots in progress, but it’s a fickle industry, so I like to have a few things on the go at once to keep myself moving forward.
Outside of animation, I’ve recently started painting for myself which is super fun and gives me a chance to slow down! I’ve been experimenting with gouache which is completely new to me.
@laurajaneyh
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