Freefolk X Chuckles Studios

Meet The Team

Jason Watts - Creative Director

Jason started his career at The Mill becoming one of their key creative employees and winning coveted awards from D&AD and The British Arrows Craft Awards. At The Mill, he gained a wealth of knowledge and worked with directors such as Frank Budgen, Malcolm Venville, Daniel Barber and Ivan Bird on campaigns for BMW, Mercedes, Barnardos, AntiSmoking, Levis, Ford, and the banned BBC “Cliffhanger” ident and George Miller and Michael Cumming on Film and TV Series such as 'Babe' and Brass Eye.

In 2004 Jason opened his own VFX studio called Finish (now known as Freefolk), with the vision to create a smaller creative company that could maintain a presence in a project from start to finish. Within two years of opening, the studio was voted one of the Top Ten Post Houses (Campaign, 2005) and has been voted in the Top 10 UK Facilities for the last 20 years (Televisual).

Jason has also supervised a number of Longform projects for the studio and worked on shows including the BAFTA nominated 'Emerald City', Daniel Barber's 'The Keeping Room', Neil Marshall's Doomsday and the 2018 Netflix Series ' The Alienist' winning an Emmy for Best Visual Effects. More recently Freefolk have worked on Napoleon, Fast & Furious 10 and lead vender on WINX.

HARIN HIRANI - VFX SUPERVISOR

Harin Hirani is Freefolk’s award-winning Head of 3D and led the CG team for TNT/Paramount’s ‘The Alienist’, which won an Emmy for Outstanding Visual Effects (2018).

Recently he has delivered over 140 science fiction planet environment shots for Dr Who (S2 Ep 3) The Well, and a further 730 shots on 'Anansi Boys' (Amazon), 350 shots for ‘Fate: The Winx Saga’, 200 shots on Netflix’s Bafta-Nominated ‘Cursed’, and hero environments and FX shots for the critically acclaimed HBO series ‘The Third Day’ starring Jude Law. He has also overseen major advertising campaigns for Freefolk, working with a handpicked team of CG artists to build a strong department that offers a deep understanding across a broad skill set of key 3D and FX disciplines, including Houdini, animation and creature work.

Cheryl Payne - Head of Production

As Head of Production at Freefolk Cheryl works across the business with MD Fi Kilroe and the senior leadership team developing strong client relationships, growing the business and nurturing the team. Cheryl is a master at working closely with agency, production, to produce Freefolk’s creative output within budget and schedule. She also has oversight and responsibility for revenue, whilst working closely with the production team and scheduling to assess needs for projects.

With exceptional levels of organisation an approachable and good listener, Cheryl has been at Freefolk since the early days at their first location in Soho’s Poland Street, then to Wardour Street and now at their brand new impressive studio space in Spitalfields with many of the Freefolk original team as the company celebrated it’s 20th anniversary.

Cheryl has worked on numerous high end and award-winning commercials including the PG Tips with Calling and Steve McQueen @ Lammas Park. Multiple Warburtons campaigns with Declan Lowney @ Merman, Skoda Robots with Frederic Planchon and multiple Dyson campaigns to name but a few.

Laura Ricketts - Executive Producer

As Executive Producer at Freefolk, Laura works across the business with the senior leadership team to help drive the commercials division, develop strategic client partnerships, and elevate the studio’s creative profile. Recently promoted to this role in autumn 2025, Laura is adept at bridging the gap between a director’s vision and technical execution, ensuring Freefolk’s output is delivered with both creative flair and precision. She also has oversight of the commercials pipeline, working closely with the production and CGI teams to assess project needs and win high-caliber work.

With boundless energy and a deep "inside-out" knowledge of the studio, Laura has been an integral part of the Freefolk team for over seven years. She has been a key figure in the company’s evolution, from their longtime home in Soho to their brand-new studio space in Spitalfields, playing a vital role in maintaining the boutique, independent spirit the company prides itself on.

Laura has produced high-end VFX on some of Freefolk’s most technically demanding campaigns, including AIB Ireland "For The Life You’re After," as well as complex projects for McDonald’s, Now TV, and Lego, Virgin Media and Sky campaigns, working alongside acclaimed directors like Chris Balmond, Nono Ayuso, Henry Mason, and Bethan Seller to name but a few.