This is the animation workshop of andyvanoverberghe.
Press play on the video below to see a reel of animated projects.
This section is under construction.
It will be built out and expanded over time sharing each project in detail.
The Human Abstract Project
In 2009, I was connected to a music video director in a tight 2 week deadline. The band footage was already produced and the director had a vision to splice the footage with roughly 3 mins of an animated narrative created using stop-motion animation. I joined the project as a compositor. While visiting the set I quickly learned there were no animators, puppet fabricators, or set designers. Only a very ambitious director without animation experience and a broken leg, which is not an ideal situation for a stop-motion animation production. 2 puppets had been sculpted but not completed. At the time, in desperate search of work and living in my car, I offered to help in other areas as well during which I stayed fed and given a couch to sleep on.
I began by painting the 2 existing puppets then moved on to design and create the remaining puppets needed including the Monster Worm, the Scout Worms, and the Executioner. I created the new characters and set props using a mixed pile of old antique clock parts, sculpey clay, and random bits of disassembled electronics. The host of the studio created 1 extra puppet in addition. With such a limited deadline there was no time for conceptualization or redesigns. It was more of a freeform build and go.
While working on the puppets, conversations developed around not having an animator to which I again stepped in and did 100% of the animation. We began shooting sequences and building the narrative. The unexpected always happens and the main puppet, which was constructed using only a single copper wire skeleton, broke twice in the middle of long sequences and had to be reconstructed on the spot. A few minor setbacks but we were able to complete the shoot and proceed onto editing.
With 2 days remaining everything was to be edited, color toned, blue-screen composited, and assembled. The lighting was not ideal for color keying which created a lot of color bleed and inevitably far too much manual masking frame by frame. The compositing was quite taxing. But pushing through the end result was fine, way under my standard, but it got the job completed given the circumstances, 10 18h hour days capped by a 30 hour non stop editing session. I gained a lot of experience. I didn’t find work on future productions and left Los Angeles in search of other opportunities.
The music video was for “Counting Down the Days” by the Human Abstract. I later came to learn that among the band's fanbase this album, and particularly this song, it's considered to be among the worst of their catalog. The negative feedback seemed primarily focused around the lead singer. Regardless, I’ve always been hesitant to share this project and later took the time to reedit the footage to different music for a cleaner look and feel for display in my portfolio. My re-edit is for my portfolio only.
The official music video from Hopeless Records can be viewed here:
Dr. Enuclea
- Animation Puppet -
This was an experimental puppet build in 2011. Only a few test shots were done without the mechanical arms. Unfortunately lessons were learned as its skeleton quickly lost tension and it began to collapse. No sequences were ever completed and this puppet was retired. It can no longer hold itself upright so it stays mounted and framed on a wall.
The mechanical arms were constructed and added as a way to attach the puppet to the board for display. The arms are permanently fixed to the frame but the puppet itself can be removed.
