Loud Cloud is the midwest’s premier full-service stop-motion studio, but it’s often marketing departments, brand managers or agencies that are entrusted with telling their client’s story in a way that’s authentic and on brand. That’s why the best projects are born from the best partnerships.
For TSET’s “The Apartment,” - a broadcast commercial portraying the dangers of second-hand smoke, VI Marketing & Branding wanted to tell a story in a visually interesting and unique way that hadn’t been done before. That desire led to a fruitful collaboration between VI and Loud Cloud which resulted in Oklahoma’s biggest stop-motion production ever.
THE APARTMENT
RESIDENTS
“VI new what they wanted when they came to me” writes Mason Drumm, Creative Director of Loud Cloud Animation Studio, “There was already a storyboard for general direction but the logistical and creative execution was largely something our two teams would collaboratively iterate on over the course of about 6 weeks. The turn-around was very quick and the fact we were able to go from concept, to locking all the necessary creative designs, to a full-fledged animation featuring nine puppets and seven sets - all within three months time -it’s incredible and speaks to how effective (and fun) a partnership can be.”
It took a crew of creatives to bring this commercial to life. Tennessee Reid Norton (Nightmare before Christmas, Marcel the Shell) was brought on as the Lead Puppet fabricator ensuring that every aspect of the puppets met the needs of the project. From concept art, digital sculpting, 3D printing, armature building, speciality clothes and hair, there was a lot that needed to be done in a short amount of time.
Puppet Fabrication Team
Supervisor and Lead Fabricator - Tennessee Reid Norton
Gregory Sesma (Bratz, Waffles+ Mochi)- Character Designer
Jennifer Hogan (SuperMansion & Buddy Thunderstruck)- Wigs
Nikki Rice - (Robot Chicken, Titan Maximum) - Digital Sculpting and 3D Printing
Lauren Barnett (SpongeBob Halloween Special, Alien Xmas) - Costumes
THE PUPPETS
BUILDING THE SETS
For the sets, a crew of local creatives spent three weeks making each room as detailed as possible. Everything you see on screen was hand-crafted. Whether through sculpting miniature props or repurposing existing assets, all of it was painstakingly pieced together bit by bit. A motion-control system was used for the camera moves which posed some challenges spatially… “Each room was at least 30 inches wide and extended in the background much further…” Mason writes, “They had to accommodate 12 inch puppets so they were large sets, and we had to build a special table long enough to hold three at once so we could get that ‘Wes Anderson’ trucking shot that the client wanted.”
Two animators were brought in to work on this project. Sarah De Gaudemar (Coraline, Celebrity Death Match) was the lead animator for the :30 second anchor video. She spent almost 50 hours working on :25 seconds of animation. Lindsay Berkebile (Robot Chicken, Windell & Wild) was the lead for the :15 second piece and both animators elevated the project to new heights. The performances each animator pulled from the puppets were incredible and truly honored the artistry and hard work that went into building the character. The smoke effects were done using cotton through an old-school multi-plane animation style.
ANIMATION
