Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Elyse Kelly. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Elyse, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Back in early 2017 I co-directed a short film with a dear friend, Dan Fipphen. The film did really well and it led to a connection with the ACLU. The organization was in an interesting moment where they were starting to explore how storytelling could be used to support the work their legal teams were doing. If you recall back to the U.S. in 2017, a lot was happening (it still is) and the ACLU was at the frontlines of a lot of issues. They wanted to refocus their work on a human level because at the end of the day the issues they were advocating for centered around people not statistics.

One of the projects that they brought me on to direct was a three-part animated docuseries for their Campaign for Smart Justice. The goal of the campaign is to reduce the U.S. jail and prison population by 50% and to challenge systemic racism in the criminal legal system. I’d directed films before that point, but this was my first time leading a big documentary project, getting to go out into the field, meet people, and interview them about their experiences being incarcerated. As you could imagine, I was incredibly nervous, but luckily I had an amazing producing partner traveling with me, Kelly Ramundo. We’d also spent a lot of time early on in the project searching for the right people, and it really paid off in Lavette, Jason and Johnny. Not only did they have important stories to share, they were incredibly generous and open with their time and lives. We spent an entire day with each person, sharing meals (BBQ in Texas! Deep dish in Chicago!!), and talking about their hopes for the future. It’s an experience that will stay with me for a long time. After the interviews we spent a number of months editing them down and bringing them to life with animation. We designed the films to capture each person’s individuality and unique experience, so all three look, feel and sound completely different from the others. There’s a lot of responsibility that comes along with telling someone’s story, and my creative team and I spent a lot of time and care to get it right.

I can ramble… so long story a bit less long, we had an incredible opportunity to premiere the films at a special Sundance event. Lavette, Jason and Johnny were there with friends and family to share the moment with us and have a Q&A afterwards. What I didn’t know until that moment was that none of them had seen the final films yet! Once again I found myself incredibly nervous. After the screening, they all got up on the stage, and Johnny said something that I’ll never forget–his story has been told countless times, he never could have imagined that a “cartoon” would be what captured his experience most authentically, but it had. In our industry you can get caught up with accolades and prestige, but what Johnny gave to me in that moment was far more precious. When I do any work, but particularly documentary, I always think about the person whose story is being told–they are my audience and end game. If I can ensure that my work connects with and respects those people, anything else is just icing.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a director, producer, and animator. My passion lies in giving a platform and voice to the untold, unexpected, and sometimes taboo stories.

I fell in love with animation after seeing the 1990 re-release of The Jungle Book in theaters. From that point on I found every opportunity to make things move, from filming claymations with our family camcorder to designing walking buildings in my architecture undergraduate program to working in the motion capture lab at Carnegie Mellon University (not a bad first job for a teenager). My drive to work in the field ultimately led me to the University of Southern California (USC) where I earned my Masters in Animation & Digital Arts from the School of Cinematic Arts (SCA).

Not one for the traditional path, a year after graduating I left LA, and the industry, to live and work in Washington DC. While I stand by the statement that the most delightful job I’ve held was as a cheesemonger (Talk to customers all day and eat cheese? Yes, please!), my most formative job was working as the production manager at a documentary production company. It was there that I discovered my love of nonfiction content, and honed my unique storytelling approach that combines all the best elements of animation, production and documentary-style filmmaking.

In 2017, I returned to animation full time with the film FIRED UP, which I directed with filmmaker Dan Fipphen. The success of FIRED UP garnered the interest of a number of clients and launched my career as a director. I’ve had the privilege to direct content for organizations such as The Atlantic, United Nations Foundation, Netflix, Meow Wolf, Sesame Workshop, and Sony Music on stories about everything from social justice and nuclear meltdowns to otherworldly portals and kids with superpowers.

In 2022, I founded Neon Zoo with the goal of continuing this work, but on a broader scale that transcends my abilities as an individual. Neon Zoo is a full-service animation studio that specializes in creating both impact-driven and artistically-minded content for film, television and the web. We champion story first and foremost–taking the time to fully understand our clients’ content opens the doors for us to express it in the most beautiful and effective way possible. Additionally, animation is a medium, not a genre. Our studio embraces that mindset by creating a place where both conventional and unconventional ideas can thrive and grow into incredible things for our clients.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Over the years I’ve found that the most meaningful moments in my career were when friends and mentors helped lift me up. It’s something I strive to do now that I have my own studio. At its best, filmmaking is a collaborative endeavor, and one of the reasons I love it, so building a strong community and creating space for others to thrive is important to me. It might sound cheesy, but life is too short and this industry is too small. If through the work I’ve done, and continue to do, I can help open the doors for other artists to walk through with me, that’s what excites me most. There are so many stories to tell, and why wouldn’t we want to support all of them, both in front of and behind the camera.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

That time is now! After working on a number of high profile, and oftentimes rewarding projects, I find myself at a crossroads with the studio. We’re still navigating what the next chapter in our journey looks like, but as I mentioned before, a lot of it will be around supporting other filmmakers in telling their stories. We have a number of projects in development that range from very personal short docs to surreal narrative series to interdisciplinary productions that combine animation and other art forms.

We’re also interested in re-invigorating our direct-to-client work, particularly with organizations that are out there fighting for our rights, the climate, etc. If we can use our skills to help uplift communities and important messages, that’s where we’re interested in spending most of our time. We love when animation is created as “entertainment for entertainment’s sake” and will continue to create projects in that space, but there’s something extra special when you do cause-based work that always takes our creativity to the next level.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://neonzoo.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weareneonzoo/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elysekelly/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/weareneonzoo
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@weareneonzoo