The whole visual look and the animation technique used to achieve it were conceived around this purpose- inspired by a handful of black and white films like Night of the Hunter and M, which use a lot of silhouettes, negative space, and high contrast imagery, the film uses night time photography from around Inwood Hill Park as a starting point and tries to apply the feel of those dark old films to my NYC neighborhood.
There was a point where I completed a full cut of the animation but realized most of the second half wasn't engaging. Painful as it was, I completely reanimated the last third or so of the film with a handful of key changes, including a big change of location which in turn suggested a handful of key shots that ended up being among the film's most visually interesting, and also giving a lot more moral agency and action in the final moments to the dog!
