Behind the Scenes of Simon and Vinson Chan's CUFF Animation
Did you watch the sweet horror hot dog animation for CUFF 2024? Take a look at how they used Blender and our Animator CUBE studio to mix practical and digital effects to pull off their short!
If you checked out Calgary Underground Film Festival this year you would have seen Vinson and Simon Chan’s haunting, ketchup horror, animation that played in front of every film at the 21st edition of the festival!
Simon and Vinson have been QAS members for a few years now, even going back to their incredible custom 3D-printed-lego-stopmotion Storyhive production, The Legend of the Bunny Phantom, that was created in 2017. But what made their CUFF animation so special in our eyes is that the filmmaking duo made the short while utilizing our ANIMATOR CUBE studio!
You can see here that they dove into the 3D software Blender and modelled the room so that they could not only mock up camera movements, but also have that data fully sync with the practical stopmotion equipment that is the CUBE.
Next in their process, they exported the data and uploaded it to the Dragonframe Stop Motion project to execute the well-timed camera easing.
Their artistry was evident as they beautify crafted a real modular set for the camera to soar through moody lights and doorways - all contributing to a harrowing environment!
Once the practical set was captured, they could then animate the 2D hot dog in the 3D space as the Blender files and real set matched.
...and finally, it all got composited together in After Effects for what you see in the final film!
If you want to learn more about this process, or get access to the ANIMATOR CUBE for your own projects, we offer Animator Cube Training (in-person) every year! These certification training workshops are led by the amazing Sohfi Janz and focuses on how to use the gear, demystifying it’s sometimes intimidating presence, but also inspiring new projects and endless capabilities. For more information on our classes feel free to reach out to our Education Coordinator over at education@quickdrawanimation.ca.
For more frankly delectable ween content, follow @heckinweens on Instagram or visit www.heckinweens.com!
Animation: Vinson Chan
Edit, Music & Sound: Simon Chan
Voice of Ween: Jason Geiger
Created with the support of Quickdraw Animation Society, specifically with access and support to the stop motion Animator Cube motion controlled animation studio.
