CRUNCH
CRUNCH was my Motion Design Senior Thesis at Ringling College of Art and Design.
Process
The story (and storyboard) came a long way.
Animatic Evolution
The Planet/Marshmallow
Getting the planet to feel right, while not giving away too much was a balancing act. I needed clarity and but purposely had to obscure aspects of the story until it was time to reveal.
Stages of a S'more
A marshmallow goes through very specific changes when it transforms into a perfect s'more.
I did NOT want to simply make a 1-for-1 attribute transformation on a planetary scale. I planned to pick and choose which parts of the transformation would be emphasized before the live-action reveal.
The Planet's Surface
Disrupting the Surface
The Star/Fire
Getting the heat down was very important! I experimented with many visual styles to best represent this universe's sensibilities.
Different Directions
Early on, I wanted to hint that the burning of the planet was intentional. I planned on having the Star start off as a dormant celestial body before being ignited on a gargantuan scale, hoping this would plant the seed of starting a fire parallel. As the project progressed, this proved to be too confusing, as it pulled attention away from the planet changing. Having the Star be a constant source of heat and light helped ground the other changing elements of the s'more-y story.
Environmental Storytelling
The elements of space could still be used for ambient narration. The stars in the background are moving ever so slightly like slow motion embers. It also adds to the kinetic flux of the piece. I chose to keep the asteroids, as they subconsciously hint at chocolate throughout the first act.
The Spaceships/Crackers
These went through a lot of concepts and redesigns.
The Stove Design
Early iterations of the spaceships borrowed more from Star Wars-esque designs. Later on it got simpler and more like 2001: A Space Odyssey
Gooey Resolve
The twist is what made this story worth telling.
Simulations
Roughly half of the animated shots have elements of Houdini or Cinema 4D simulations.
There were even more sims for unused shots, as the project went in many different directions during its production.
Post Production Breakdowns
+ Unused Simulations
Sound Design
Almost everything you hear in this piece was recorded by me
Process
At the beginning of this project, I had barely touched After Effect's 2.5D features, had never done Houdini water simulations, and wasn't very confident in my animatic-making capabilities. None of that applies to me after taking this project from concept to completion. I am extremely proud of my Thesis. I think it captures my creativity, appreciation for both the tangible and the abstract, and my sense of humor so well. I hope you enjoyed this piece as much as I do rewatching it.
