Jed Diffenderfer

DIRECTOR | WRITER | STORYTELLER

A life of story & play with 20+ years experience in the story departments of feature animation as a range of creative and leadership roles developing original film franchises (Kung-Fu Panda, Wreck-it Ralph, Big Hero 6, Pets) and adapting existing IP (Super Mario, Minions) into award winning, box office hits all on top of moonlighting as a game designer. I love pioneering new stories with incredible people, learning new things, and fostering innovative ways to entertain.

 
 

You can see past work samples above, in the films I’ve worked on, indie games I’ve created, or in books like  “The Art of Kung Fu Panda”, “The Art of Wreck-It Ralph”,  “The making of Secret Life of Pets”, “The Visual Story by Bruce Block”, Eisner award nominated “Where is Dead Zero?”, and a number of upcoming projects yet to be announced and released. List of projects and experience below.

ROLES: Story Development, Directing, Writing, Pitching, Storyboarding, Game Design, Narrative Design, Production Pipelines, Voice Over & Recording, Coding, Teaching.

 

– Past Projects – 

– Additional Contributions –

– X P –

THE DORK ARTS
Writer, Director, Game Designer
2016-Present

  • Writing & Story Dev for new projects based on existing Film & TV IP.

  • Project Dev & Writing adaptation of gaming IP from AAA game studio.

  • Created and published a tabletop game “Elemasters: The Octomic Bond”.

  • Developed & coded original character controllers, mechanics, and systems in Unity.

  • Interactive storytelling & Narrative Design projects.



SONY PICTURES ANIMATION
Head of Story
2022-2023

  • Building, training, & leading a new story dept. for KPOP Demon Hunters.

  • Writing and Developing story & vision for project with core team.

  • Work closely with Directors in editorial, story pitches, script, and all aspects of creative direction, including music, scheduling, casting, and influencing partners.

  • Development of a new, unique choreography and action style for project.

  • Recurring V.O. work as a range of characters for story reels.



PIXAR ANIMATION STUDIOS
Story Lead, Story Artist
2021-2022

  • Assist leadership in development of a new feature film in story, & editorial.

  • Support & manage story team with feedback, team mtgs, and fostering inclusivity.

  • Invited to participate in Pixar's Leadership Program.

  • Provided feedback to shows in development, story interns, and tool dev teams.

  • Helped in early development on two unannounced films & Inside Out 2.



ILLUMINATION ENTERTAINMENT
Writer, Director, Story Artist
2013-2020

  • Created and directed an original Minions short film “Minions & Monsters” with Illumination Paris.

  • Work with Directors to develop films in story (Super Mario, Minions, Pets & more)

  • Contributed key ‘greenlight’ work (Mario pitch to Nintendo, First Pets scene in prod).



WALT DISNEY ANIMATION
Story Artist, Narrative Designer, Editor
2011-2013

  • Recruited to balance story & game worlds for Wreck-It Ralph as both story artist and defacto game & narrative designer of team. Spearheaded “Gamestorming” mtgs.

  • Invited to influence IP & story opportunities with Disney's Legal team.

  • Helped spearhead Marvel/Disney's Big Hero Six (Oscar Winner) as first story artist.

  • Coordinated art & story depts. to produce Where is Dead Zero (Eisner Award Nom).

  • Consulted in development on shows in development (Zootopia, Moana, and more).



LITTERBLOCKS
Game Designer, Programmer
2009-2010

  • Sabbatical from film to focus on another passion, game development.

    • Upskilling in programming, level design, game design, and Unreal Engine (UDK 3).

    • Designed, coded, and published my first game “Magnutz”, to Apple's App Store. *First round approval.



FREELANCE
Story Development & Consulting
2008-2010

  • SEGA-MARZA:  Studio consultant role led to an opportunity as development exec.

  • RED GIANT - Consulted leadership on various projects & guest speaker in Beijing.

  • DREAMWORKS - Contract work for “Puss in Boots”, and “The Last Guardian”.

  • CARTOON NETWORK: Developed original series “Baboombageddon”.



ANIMATION MENTOR
Short Film Mentor
2007-2010

  • Instructor: “Intro to Short Film” (Concept, Story, Script, Storyboard, 3D Layout).

  • Many students who completed my course received professional opportunities.

  • Tapped by founder in developing the next evolution of short film and story classes.

  • Featured Mentor in promotional material.



DREAMWORKS-PDI
Story Artist, Writer, Animator
2002-2008

  • Invited by studio to develop and direct an original ‘video game movie’.

  • Creator, Writer for “Legends of the Furious Five” project (DTV).

  • Original Story Artist on "Kung-Fu Panda",  inception to production.

    • Reader in records with Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman.

    • Writing contributions: Writing scenes (including 2D opening), Creation & development of Po persona, core development mtgs, franchise development (DTV, TV, Games), V.O. as Po (scratch). Spearhead advocate for authenticity & advisors.

    • Story Artist contributions: Created 2D opening as defining vision for film, looked to by Directors and Writers for vision of film full run of show, solving story issues with team, major setpieces including Bridge Fight sequence, advise in 3D theatrical dev.

    • Animation contributions: Sold studio on reopening a 2D division, created look Dev anim for 2D intro, developed our animal style kung-fu with Bridge Fight sequence, trained in DW in-house software to help animate in production after story.

  • Story Artist on Madagascar, Monsters vs Aliens, Shrek 3, PDI virtual, & others.



NUVOSTUDIOS
Pixel Artist
2000-2001

  • Creating Pixel Art and animation for an early mobile game studio.

  • Experience collaborating with game dev teams across dept’s.

  • Opportunities to pitch original game designs.



STUDIOPUNCH
Co-Founder, Story, Production Design
2000

  • Helped create the first 2D flash animation studio in San Francisco.

  • Pioneered a lot of Flash’s uses for narrative content.

  • Won a showtime award for our short film “Fowl Play”.

  • Show deal offer from Macromedia Entertainment.

 

– Education –

ACADEMY of ART: SAN FRANCISCO
Fine Arts | Illustration: Animated Film
BFA - 2001

  • Majored in Animation & Film under Illustration “Visual Storytelling” focus.

  • Studied with founding members of Pixar in story, film, & design.

  • Studio led projects offered me training in leading & directing teams of 3D artists over a 2 year period on top of regular classes.

  • Directed a 2D animated short in under a month with a small team.

POST GRAD
Writing | Filmmaking | Game Design
2001 - Present

  • Exclusive studio classes & lecture series with industry professionals and guest-professors in writing, directing, acting, cinematography, and more.

  • UCLA class on Animation Production and Distribution.

  • Personal mentorships & classes from Industry Professionals on Game Design, Narrative Design, Programming, Level Design, Game Engines (UDK, Unity, etc), and more.