Drench - Brains Dance

Brains, the bespectacled physicist of Gerry Anderson’s 1960s campy puppet TV show Thunderbirds makes an unexpected return to demonstrate the hydrating properties of Drench water. While one third of the shots were filmed in-camera with puppeteers handling the choreographed steps, the rest were left to the team at The Mill London lead by 3D super James Sindle and Flame artist Barnsley. The marionette version of Brains was scanned to provide the starting point for a 3D model while motion began with the choreography of a live action dancer recorded on a motion capture stage. Sindle admits the biggest burden rested on the animators: “The movements of a puppet and a human differ hugely. we needed to achieve the look and weight of a puppet while still keeping the humorous speed and snap of the choreographed dancer. The 3D Brains was scrutinized against the live-action references, and together Barnes and I pushed ourselves to match these as closely as possible. I believe this added the extra 15 percent, which helps the viewer believe that Brains is really there.”

• 2008-09-26T05:09:58+00:00
• Duration: 01:42

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Keywords

film animation video cartoon comics hobby entertainment 3D funny humor graceful comedy parody satire TV