Project · Direction, Design, Storyboard, Modeling, Animation, Compositing · Documentary · 3D, Hybrid · Maya, Houdini, Marvelous Designer, After Effects

In Waves and War

Animated sequences for In Waves and War, a Netflix documentary about three veterans seeking relief from the psychological effects of war.

Seen from above, DJ Shipley lies on a recliner in a dim blue room.
DJ Shipley stands in a blue room of floating photographs as light gathers at his hands.

In Waves and War is a feature documentary by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk for Actual Films, released worldwide on Netflix in November 2025. It follows three former Navy SEALs, Marcus Capone, DJ Shipley and Matty Roberts, who seek psychedelic treatment for the psychological effects of war. Studio AKA created four animated sequences representing their memories and experiences under treatment, including The Labyrinth.

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The Labyrinth

The Labyrinth visualizes DJ’s ibogaine session through rooms built from his memories. I explored claustrophobic interiors that blend personal footage with animation, intercut with his interview.

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Shifting color and fractured spaces express changes in DJ’s state of mind.

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The closing images combine weightless movement with drifting photographs and papers.

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The Film

Studio AKA's four sequences each have their own director and technique. The Opening and the Abyss, directed by Philip Hunt, follows Marcus Capone through 3D volumetric scenes with 2D illustrative elements. The Tall Grass and Red Wings, directed by Marcus Armitage, recalls combat in hand-rendered charcoal, after the directors pointed the team to Robert Capa's photographs of the D-Day landings. Mirrors, directed by Steve Small, shows Matty Roberts' ego dissolution in 3D volumetric animation.

Marcus Capone floats on his back through a teal void among falling family photographs.
The Opening and the Abyss, directed by Philip Hunt.
Soldiers in night-vision green walk toward a helicopter landing in a haze of dust.
The Tall Grass and Red Wings, directed by Marcus Armitage.
Two men stand face to face in silhouette against a blazing orange haze.
Mirrors, directed by Steve Small.

The film takes its title from the line of the Odyssey it opens with, "I have endured so much in waves and war", which also gave the production its working title, Odyssey. The official trailer is from Actual Films.

In Waves and War: Official Trailer
Open media directly

Making Of

I designed and directed The Labyrinth, working closely with the team and taking on a substantial part of its technical 3D work. On Philip Hunt's The Opening and the Abyss, I was technical supervisor, helping with modeling, rigging and the sequence's technical requirements. I also contributed as a technical 3D artist to Steve Small's Mirrors.

The 3D characters started from photogrammetry scans and human models, keeping the veterans recognizable without making the images photographic. The team animated them with a mix of motion capture and hand keyframes in Maya and Houdini, combining the renders with painted backgrounds and textures. Each frame is a collage of photographs, illustration and semi-realistic figures. On The Labyrinth, I also storyboarded, animated and composited shots. I used Houdini and Maya for the 3D work, Marvelous Designer for character preparation, and After Effects for compositing. I helped rig the characters for my sequence and Philip's, with a smaller rigging contribution to Steve's.

DJ’s photogrammetry scan became a clothed, rigged and painted character, animated with hand keyframes and homemade motion capture, with cloth simulation on every shot. The memory panels were made from footage the team distorted through Fresnel lenses and set back into the scenes, and the final composites are built from a few simple layers.

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Character preparation, animation and compositing for The Labyrinth. Behind-the-scenes film edited by Gergely Wootsch. Music: Portico Quartet, City of Glass.

The Veterans

Marcus Capone and his wife Amber founded Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS) in 2019 to help veterans reach psychedelic treatment. In January 2024 Stanford Medicine published a study of ibogaine treatment in 30 special operations veterans with traumatic brain injury. DJ Shipley tells his side of the treatment in his own account for VETS.

Recognition

The animation won Outstanding Graphic Design: Documentary at the 47th News and Documentary Emmy Awards on 28 May 2026. The award credits me alongside Marcus Armitage, Philip Hunt and Steve Small as Creative Directors, and Nikki Kefford as VFX Producer. Nikki Kefford and Jon Shenk accepted the award in New York. Jon Shenk, Marcus Armitage and I were also nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Visual Design at the 19th Cinema Eye Honors.

In The Washington Post, Ann Hornaday placed the film seventh in her ten best films of 2025, praising "gorgeous animations to recreate visions and psychic breakthroughs". In IndieWire, Christian Blauvelt wrote that "the images are as hazy as memory, and a very effective way of getting inside the heads of these vets".

Winner 2026
47th News and Documentary Emmy Awards ↗Outstanding Graphic Design: Documentary • Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York • May 28
Nominee 2026
19th Cinema Eye Honors ↗Outstanding Achievement in Visual Design • New York • January 8
Official selection 2024
Telluride Film FestivalTelluride, Colorado • August 31
Screening 2025
SFFILM FestivalSan Francisco • April 27
Screening 2025
DC/DOX ↗Washington, DC
Official selection 2025
BendFilm Festival ↗Bend, Oregon • October 8–12

More on Studio AKA's website and the film's own site.

DJ sits on a small sofa before a wide wall of glowing family pictures.

Credits

Production
Participant • Actual Films • Chicago Media Project
Directors
Jon Shenk • Bonni Cohen
Producer
Jessica Anthony
Animation Sequences Produced by
Studio AKA
Animation Sequence Producer
Nikki Kefford
Sequence Designer & Director, The Labyrinth
Gergely Wootsch
Sequence Director, The Tall Grass and Red Wings
Marcus Armitage
Sequence Director, Mirrors
Steve Small
Sequence Director, The Opening and the Abyss
Philip Hunt
Editor
Nic Gill
Production Co-ordinator
Greta Pylypczak
Junior Producer
Lara Salam
Production Assistants
Sarah McDonald • Ren Pesci
Accounting
James Howarth
Storyboard Artists
Marcus Armitage • Margherita Premuroso • Josh Ryba • Steve Small • Ben Vince • Gergely Wootsch
Concept Artist, The Opening and the Abyss
Margherita Premuroso
2D Co-ordinator
Justine Waldie
2D Animators
Marcus Armitage • Matthew Armitage • Aaron Lampert • Janina Putzker • Steve Small
2D Artworkers
Marcus Armitage • Matthew Armitage • Aaron Lampert • Sharon Liu • Janina Putzker • Justine Waldie
2D Compositing
Marcus Armitage • Matthew Armitage • Ignatz Johnson-Higham • Aaron Lampert • Janina Putzker
Technical Supervisor, The Opening and the Abyss
Gergely Wootsch
Technical 3D Artist, The Labyrinth and Mirrors
Gergely Wootsch
3D Layout Artists
Sara Diaz • Jerome Ferra • Anna Kubik • Derick Wicks
3D Animators
Gary Cureton • Guillaume Glachant • Noemie Lafrontiere • Gergely Wootsch
Texture Artist
Minh Dieu Thanh Pham
3D Compositing
Will Eagar • Daniel Garnerone • Vincent Husset • Minh Dieu Thanh Pham • Gergely Wootsch
3D Artists
Adam O'Sullivan Avery • Rob Chapman • Josh Crew • Will Eagar • Jerome Ferra • James Gaillard • Vincent Husset • Minh Dieu Thanh Pham • Gergely Wootsch
Pipeline
Fabrice Altman • Jeroen Hooghoudt