Dream Teams: Mastery and Magic Motivate Camp Lucky’s Sai Selvarajan and Seth Olson

Camp Lucky’s editor Sai Selvarajan and lead designer Seth Olson met at the inception of the creative studio over a decade ago, and knew that it was the start of something special.

“Sai wasn’t afraid to share his opinions and had an artistic vision,” says Seth. “I was impressed and he reminded me of other renaissance individuals in my life. I said, ‘Let me know what you need and you got it!’.” Conversely, Sai was initially very impressed with Seth’s reel, especially his print work. “It told me that he was confident as a designer. Print is very unforgiving. My first impressions were that he was very easygoing, very talented and very knowledgeable in his field of expertise.”

Before leading Camp Lucky’s animation and design team, Seth had gained this expertise through his love for video games, digital painting, photography, and eventually - a catalyst in his creative development - Photoshop. After a relatively sheltered upbringing in Colorado, his openness to new styles and techniques blossomed post-college, and he grew to love travelling and appreciate new perspectives, cultures and art forms. 

“When I found out Seth and his wife honeymooned in India, I knew we’d be fast friends,” says Sai, who had his own horizons expanded at a young age when he moved from Nigeria to Dallas, Texas aged nine. “It heavily influenced how I see the world and how I approach my work. It also opened my eyes to other cultures and made me more open minded.”

The pair’s catalogue features commercial projects for the likes of RAM, YETI, Frito-Lay and more, as well as short films - including ‘The Unlikely Fan’ and ‘Coup d’etat Math’, which were written and directed by Sai, the latter of which earned a Special Jury recognition at SXSW.

Above: Camp Lucky's montage reel

“We work on projects daily to weekly,” says Seth, explaining that the scale of these jobs has only increased since they started working together. “Our largest project in development is a several-minute animation spanning two years of development. Sai has never tried to keep things rigid, so our workflow has always felt organic and respectful.”

“It’s been a great experience,” adds Sai. “After several years, we have a shorthand that’s really helped with quick turnarounds and remote work. I have a great deal of respect for Seth, his skill sets are not similar to mine. So everything he does always has a bit of magic in it. He’s so easy to talk to and work with, we’re always pulling in the same direction. You can’t ask for a better cohort.” This “magic” is what Sai still finds most appealing about Seth’s work to this day; “He always finds a way to wow me.” 

He continues, “There’s an art to creating motion and having it feel good. There’s a push and pull of frame rates and keyframes and Seth can always find that sweet spot. If something needs to bounce or flow, or feel step-y, he knows what’s right for each piece. Those are things you can’t really put into words. You just have to trust the animator to find that rhythm and flow. Seth is a master of that.”

Needless to say, Seth also reveres his creative partner as a virtuoso in his own right. “Sai knows how to cut like a master woodcarver. His edits are always fantastic and inspiring. He shoots for the best edits and is always willing to push boundaries to take the footage to the next level.” 

While helming different disciplines for Camp Lucky, the pair have managed to find a flexibility in their dynamic also, improving their workflow and letting both bring ideas to the table for different projects. Sai has taken the lead as a director on a number of short films, such as ‘The Unlikely Fan’, which went on to premiere at SXSW, but Seth has always been there to step in and apply his motion mastery to help achieve the final result. 

When Sai hit the wall with the animation for his short film ‘Coup d’etat Math’, Seth was on hand to help save the day. And when Sai began making the animated film ‘Love is a Revolutionary Act’ with fellow filmmaker Ya’Ke, there was only one choice for who would turn these flowing love stories and visuals into movement.

Above: 'Coup d’etat Math'

“Sai was great at conceptualising the best way to tell the story,” says Seth, discussing the process. “I took Sai’s direction and brought several styles of illustration to help move the story forward. This project gave me an opportunity to design, paint and animate all on one project.” Sai adds, “Working with Seth on my personal films is always a pleasure. We get to do things that are a little off the beaten path. He’s currently working on some motion pieces for my next film ‘We Clap for Airballs’ - they look amazing!”

Hoping to generate some buzz about the film and take it to festivals later this year, Sai says his goals for 2024 involve keeping an optimistic outlook and continuing to improve as an editor, designer and filmmaker. Meanwhile, Seth says that his professional and personal goals for 2024 are very much aligned, deciding to take 2024 for all it’s worth. “Covid clobbered the world and there is no going back,” he says. “With that, I realised I don’t want to go back, because I can make today better.”  

Trying to say ‘yes’ to new and interesting challenges, Seth painted every single day of January - a hobby that’s acted as a bridge between the pair in the past, as Seth has illustrated portraits of Sai. “Let it be known that Sai has drawn a portrait of me too,” he laughs, sharing a digital drawing from Sai’s birthday in 2017 [pictured below]. “I am also learning new software, I am reaching out to new and old friends, and this is just the start… Today is mine, and I will share it with you!”

 The most significant thing, however, that’s been shared between the self-admitted introverts - besides the expected memes, jokes and work they find online - is a mutual inspiration to “keep creating, fighting, evolving, winning and living”. Sai says, “We’ve been at it now for over 10 years and that means something. We’ve been through the ups and downs of this industry, we’ve been through a global pandemic, and we’ve been through the ever-evolving nature of creativity and we’re still here thriving. That means we’ve got some really talented but also amazing human beings in our company [too].”

“Sai has taught me that the creative process is just that,” says Seth. “It is something to work through; don’t beat yourself up when things don’t go as initially planned. Professional or personal relationships require respect and patience. They are necessary ingredients to create a healthy working environment that does inspire creativity from everyone - and by everyone, I mean, producers, assistants, art directors, creative directors, sound designers, myself… everybody!”

“Sai is seemingly never afraid,” he adds. “He inspires me to be wrong early rather than later. He inspires me to try harder, and taught me to keep going and not grow stale. I am always inspired by Sai’s motivation and regular participation in a variety of projects. He never stops!”

Sai is equally motivated by Seth and his work - not to mention humbled, a key to keeping his own ego in check. “Like I said before, everything that Seth does, I can’t do. So, I have an immense respect for that,” he says. “But it goes beyond that. While Seth is a world class designer, animator and VFX artist, he’s probably a better human.”