Playdate
Live Action Short with Integrated Animation in Storytelling.
Directed by Chesi Ho
Animated / Fabricated by Fu Yang
Preproduction
Character/Puppet Design
The stopmotion segments serve as a creative extension of the poster featured at the beginning of the story, so the puppet primarily maintains a paper texture. It is crafted using armature wire, crepe paper, balsa wood, and masking tape.
Early Layout Development
Based on the director's brief, there are moments in the story that need to show a grotesque and sketchy feel of a virtual space that the main character interacts with.
We found that a mimic of a playground not only ties to the theme but also shows a contrasting feel of the childlike environment invaded by hostile chain reactions.
I explored visual styles and materials that aligned with the mood and purpose, and designed various playground equipment that was practically functional to serve the story.
Scale and Mockup
I made a physical mockup of the playground equipment to test the staging and flow in front of the shot. From that "rehearsal" and exploration, I made a rough camera plan and finalized the layout for the virtual space.
Map and Story Beats
I sketched a map for planning and checking the continuity of shots, story moments, and communicated with the director through storyboarding.
Fabrication
Similar to the character/puppet design, the set used different levels of ivory tones of paper, cardboard, armature wire, balsa wood, and masking tape to reflect the construction of the virtual world is emerged from a poster at the beginning of the story.
The playground equipment begins with monochromatic color with hand painted stokes on the surface to give this environment a childish but also cold vibe.
Shooting
Animating Note
