In fact, Paul’s neighbour is even in the film. He features in a scene when the boys are on the way to Cool Club. “I got my neighbour from the apartment below shredding his guitar on it and it sounds sick!” says Paul. “I once had to knock on his door at 2am cause he thought it was a good idea to start band practice. It was pretty awkward.. but now we’re friends and he sounds mad on the animation.”It’s pulled together in Paul Rhodes’ signature style, meaning that grid-like background and isometric viewpoints are used to punctuate the action – who knew a wide shot could be so funny? Paul typically has a counterpoint to his work in the form of the artist and animator Haein Kim, his creative partner and “bbg”; past animations together include an MTV ident and the excellent Peepin. On Best Friend Style, Haein is on animation once again, but you can also hear snippets of the artist in the voice acting.It’s a good example of the spirit behind Best Friend Style, which Paul describes as himself through and through. It carries snippets of Paul’s young self, but also all the moments that go into getting a personal project like this off the ground. “I’ll often think about it when I’m bored and think about jokes that would be funny,” he says. “Then when it comes time to write I just write down the stuff I remember. Often I’ll look like a weirdo to my partner Haein K who often witnesses me laughing to myself. It’s embarrassing to have to explain it to her.”
