Kickstarter Promo Below:
Puppet fabrication:
OG design
Polished desighn: Sketched by Kate Polischeck
Proto Layout
Final Build
Rig Point
Rig Point
Body Wraper
Prot wraper
Lighting test
Eye test:
Eye and mouth pieces
Emotions chart
Live Action Set:
Layout Sketch
Layout Sketch
Layout Sketch
Top of desk set:
For this section of the film, Smudge was standing on top of a desk with a back wall facing towards the camera. Since I couldn't create a wall large enough to cover the shot, I took several stills of the wall in different locations, then composited them together in the end. Since the wall needed to be lifted, I had to use a level on both the top and front of the wall to make sure it wasn't tilting forward. If it was slightly off, the wall didn't blend well with the original image. In addition, I had to make sure that the placement of the wall wasn't too far forward or back between takes. To keep the placement of the wall consistent, I used a piece of tape on the floor and a glued piece of wood to guide the wall and to make sure it didn't stray far from its path
Before Comp. 1
After Comp. 1
Before Comp. 2
After Comp 2.
Top of desk 2:
For the second time Smudge is on top of the desk; the camera is facing the side wall of the classroom. To make the space feel authentic, I clamped several painted walls together to create the illusion of a larger space. Additionally, I reused the posters from the live-action section to add continuity to the room.
Floor of the classroom set :
In this section, Smudge visits the classroom floor. To build on that feeling of shrinking down, I lowered the camera to the carpet and used the chair's legs to fill the sides of the frame. I used the same carpet and chair from the live-action portion of the film. I reused the same wall from the desk shots, with a rubber trim glued along the edge, matching the real room's detail.
Book stage set:
In this section, Smudge tells the blue student's story to the classroom creatures. I used thrifted books, notebooks, and wood to create the set.
Unedited Time lapses and promo material: