PRODUCER
SONDER
SOBA Productions
For years, Finn and Natalie walked the same path, but when their time together comes to an end, Finn finds himself lost in a mysterious land. Paralyzed by the fear of moving on, he is at risk of losing himself. Through self-discovery, Finn must gather the strength to forge a new path.
SONDER (2018) is an award-winning independent short film from director, Neth Nom and producer, Sara K. Sampson. By the time production wrapped, the crew totaled in 150 remote artists working across 9 timezones. Sonder is one of the first narrative shorts to utilize the real-time game engine, Unity.
![Sonder Poster](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/6020f5_d31a2b9922d3410ea9f6db6dc20db8a4~mv2_d_1369_1819_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_195,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/6020f5_d31a2b9922d3410ea9f6db6dc20db8a4~mv2_d_1369_1819_s_2.jpg)
![CAIFF Award](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/6020f5_670d11374e254ac1bff193b2880d27d3~mv2_d_1512_2016_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_196,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/6020f5_670d11374e254ac1bff193b2880d27d3~mv2_d_1512_2016_s_2.jpg)
![Incredible Maya Projects Showcase](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/6020f5_a08840c974544d7185add4a5f1f96ed1~mv2_d_1311_1771_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_199,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/6020f5_a08840c974544d7185add4a5f1f96ed1~mv2_d_1311_1771_s_2.jpg)
![Sonder Poster](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/6020f5_d31a2b9922d3410ea9f6db6dc20db8a4~mv2_d_1369_1819_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_195,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/6020f5_d31a2b9922d3410ea9f6db6dc20db8a4~mv2_d_1369_1819_s_2.jpg)
AWARDS + SELECTED SCREENINGS
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Los Angeles Independent Film Festival 2018 // BEST PICTURE
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Sioux City International Film Festival 2018 // AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD
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California Independent Film Festival 2018 // BEST ANIMATION
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California International Shorts Festival 2018 // BEST ANIMATED SHORT
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Spark Animation Film Festival 2018 // OFFICIAL SELECTION
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SIGGRAPH Asia 2018 // OFFICIAL SELECTION
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Bucheon International Animation Festival 2018 // OFFICIAL SELECTION
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Cartoon Brew // SHORT PICK OF THE DAY
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Vimeo // STAFF PICK
PRESS + EVENTS
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Annecy International Film Festival 2018 // MODERN ANIMATION PIPELINES
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Made With Unity SPOTLIGHT
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Oscar Qualified Short FILMS
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GDC 2017 PANEL
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Unite Berlin 2018 // PANEL + SCREENING
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Unite LA 2017 + 2018 Panels, featured in FORBES
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CTNX 2016 - 2018 PRESENTATIONS
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Interview with TONKO HOUSE
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Interview with N3rdabl3
BEHIND THE SCENES
![IMG_8548.JPG](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/6020f5_c585ed91993d48978e6a528111db26e9~mv2_d_2048_1365_s_2.jpg/v1/crop/x_0,y_82,w_2048,h_1140/fill/w_138,h_77,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/IMG_8548_JPG.jpg)
Sonder Crew: Wrap Party May 2018 - 150 Crew Members Worldwide
![IMG_1665.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/6020f5_2b07c8df4eee435b838496ffe25faef0~mv2_d_2500_1875_s_2.jpg/v1/crop/x_0,y_728,w_2500,h_1147/fill/w_138,h_64,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/IMG_1665.jpg)
Sara K. Sampson + Neth Nom: Annecy International Film Festival
![IMG_5618.JPG](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/6020f5_4a4e8f56e851484bb40dd595f1f8752d~mv2.jpg/v1/crop/x_0,y_39,w_1498,h_805/fill/w_138,h_74,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/IMG_5618_JPG.jpg)
Sara K. Sampson + Neth Nom: Annecy International Film Festival
![IMG_4593.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/6020f5_1458b6cdd50d4044a1940152516275f0~mv2_d_2500_1426_s_2.jpg/v1/crop/x_0,y_194,w_2484,h_1232/fill/w_139,h_69,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/IMG_4593.jpg)
Sara K. Sampson - CTNX 2017 Presentation: "FIRST LOOK: Sonder"
SONDER: STAND-ALONE TEASER 2016
SONDER: MAKING OF
UTILIZING REAL-TIME:
When SONDER started production in 2015, the team, working on a micro budget, built an animation pipeline from scratch while maintaining high-level cinematic quality.
The pipeline was built around Unity, leveraging real-time rendering capabilities to achieve desired graphical quality in half the time, and at half the cost, without needing a render farm.
A proof of concept was released in November 2016.
KEY COLLABORATORS
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Creators // Neth Nom + Sara K. Sampson
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Director // Neth Nom
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Producer // Sara K. Sampson
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Technical Director // Andrea Goh
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Creative Manager // Yee Sum Hoi
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CG Supervisor // Farhez Rayani
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Director of Photography - Camera // Adam Habib
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Animation Supervisor // Stefan Schumacher
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Character Technical Supervisor // Foam Laohachaiaroon
![UniteBerlin-(61-of-126).jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/6020f5_2e45345dd0cd4867b41c4ad46db64196~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_129,h_47,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/UniteBerlin-(61-of-126).jpg)
Sara K. Sampson - Unite Berlin 2018 Presentation: "Sonder: Making Of"
![44944461_704007706638124_766648453565933](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/6020f5_9d37f0afcc8c471da11bd07ead6e9ae2~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_129,h_86,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/44944461_704007706638124_766648453565933.jpg)
Walt Disney Animation Studios Screening of SONDER
![Skywalker Sound](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/6020f5_147abb464df54706ab8139ccd2ec9891~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_87,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/6020f5_147abb464df54706ab8139ccd2ec9891~mv2.jpg)
![Skywalker Sound](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/6020f5_84bd513434f846cbab636bdcf1a74c0e~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_84,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/6020f5_84bd513434f846cbab636bdcf1a74c0e~mv2.jpg)
![Skywalker Sound](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/6020f5_a154b19ffc704c9eb07a778438241d76~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_107,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/6020f5_a154b19ffc704c9eb07a778438241d76~mv2.jpg)
![Skywalker Sound](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/6020f5_147abb464df54706ab8139ccd2ec9891~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_87,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/6020f5_147abb464df54706ab8139ccd2ec9891~mv2.jpg)