The Showdown
THE BRIEF
We love working with products that can serve as a canvas for our creativity and technical discovery. In this project, our main aim was to test out new techniques and utilise available technology to elevate our handmade craft.
We wanted to design and pre-visualise the set in 3D to determine which elements would be 3D printed for the practical set and which would be digital set extensions used for on-set virtual production. Discovering a seamless blend of the digital and practical was a key project objective, informing our productions moving forward.
OUR PROCESS
The entire set was modelled in 3D using Blender, allowing us to control the set layouts, experiment with camera angles and lighting tests, and pre-visualise various creative options. Digital set pieces were then 3D printed to provide physical assets for the practical set foregrounds, whilst the digital backgrounds were extended and displayed on a TV screen located behind the set, allowing us to see physical and digital elements working together seamlessly in-camera.
Our on-set virtual production techniques provides much greater flexibility to make changes and discover the best creative options, whilst reducing post-production overheads.
THE RESULTS
The short was an excellent way to extend our work with toy product animation and experiment with a new production approach. Virtual production for stop motion animation offers more options and insight during production, increasing efficiency and helping to realise complex creative concepts that might not have been feasible with traditional techniques.
CREDITS
Director: Aiden Whittam
