William, Bert, and Tom were an infamous trio in the Hobbit book, and bringing them to life was a unique challenge.  Unlike Gollum,  they had never been seen before on film.  But that challenge became the biggest thrill of leading the animation on this sequence as we were the ones responsible for bringing these characters to life for the first time in a feature film.  And it was good practice for the thrilling challenge that was Smaug.

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" Animation Reel