There were a few challenges we had to face for this project. Unlike our last 3D work (previous term) where all we had to do was having a camera fly through various rooms, this time around things got pretty interesting indeed: not only we had to create a proper animation, but we also had to tell a story… and a funny one too.
At the beginning of this term we were introduced to slapstick comedy, we were shown examples of it and we were also explained what’s slapstick and what’s not. The basic gist of it is this: No room for subtlety. No verbal witty jokes, just physicality!
But that’s not all… in my humble opinion a good gag can only work if the subject (or victim) really fits in with the storytelling. Considering that I’m aiming to be a concept artist, this was a very important aspect to me. Is it funny to see a nerd slipping on a banana skin? Sure, why not… But I believe is even funnier when is a well suited gent that gets a facefull of dirt. That’s where I started, by the character. I called him Von Kakkienberg…
He’s an engineer, an inventor but also a bit of a fop and a bit of a warmonger. I wanted the environment where he creates his machines to look serious and grand. I thought that a steampunk inspired factory/lab would’ve been the perfect place to set the gag. I wanted the environment to look like the setting for a serious/dramatic animation, not a slapstick comedy. I believe the best way to achieve that was to add a few details like an elaborate floor tiling, a golden plaque on a wall, a couple of banners with his family insignia hanging from a balcony finely decorated with gold and wood, marble columns at the sides of the massive entrance door, expensive looking wooden desk where he sketches his ideas… The Devil’s in the details, right?
But I also realised that I had to compromise something. My initial sketches of the steam engine walker he’s piloting in the gag looked a little too serious. A little too ‘cool’ even. I wanted to create something that, although mounted with cannons and very dangerous, would’ve make people smile as soon as they saw it. So I ditched the spider-like crawlers of my initial sketches and chose something a little less dramatic… like a chicken! That was perfect in my opinion. Even before the gag reaches its conclusion, the guy’s already a laughing stock to the viewers. Like a guitar amp sporting dial knobs that go all the way up to eleven, only the person who’s dumb enough to come out with such an idea can see its usefulness… no one else can, no one else should!
Overall, I’m pretty satisfied with the final result. Given more time I wished I could’ve shown more of Von Kakkienberg than just the head sticking from the machine. Maybe having him climb up the walker before revving up the engine or maybe jump down onto it from the balcony!
