CUT IT OUT

Cut It Out is an absurd surrealist character piece that follows Tara, an EOD technician (bomb defuser) who is guided by an authoritative voice to locate and defuse a bomb in a school. The bomb is unfamiliar to her, and despite her reservations, her supervisor leads her into a strange situation from which she needs to escape.

Process

Keyshots - Tara defusing the bomb, early concept of surrealistic space, post-defusal.

by Inez Kristina Baldacchino and Mia Golubovic Svensson

Early concepts of classroom layout and vibe pre- and post- defusal.

It was very important for us to get a clear visual distinction between these two states, as the environment is also part of what we use to convey Tara's emotional state, as the stakes rise and the Walkie Talkie voice becomes increasingly more menacing. 

Bomb Turnaround and Textures - by Anka Reczyńska

We were very inspired by the visceral feelings of Cronenberg films, and wanted to create a very confusing looking bomb that looks disgusting and feels very tangible. It is clearly made out of some sort of flesh, however what sort of flesh it is, is undefined. 

Mocap test by Jesper Andkjær Poulsgærd

As part of our animation pipeline, we made use of Motion Capture. Softwares used for capturing and integrating the mocap data included Motive and Motion Builder. 

Expression sheet - facial rig by Jacob Aggerholm Jørgensen, posing by Inez Kristina Baldacchino

Cut It Out is, at its core, a story about personal realizations and growth in the face of conflict. For this reason, we wanted Tara to feel as human as we could possibly make her - so we took some creative liberties in enlarging the visor in her helmet in order to show more of her expressions. 

CREDITS

Director / Art Director / Editor / Writer  - Inez Kristina Baldacchino

Animator / Animation Production Manager - Isabelle Bernard Thulstrup

Animation Lead / Previz Artist - Jesper Andkjær Poulsgærd

Scriptwriter / PR & Pre-production Manager - Mia Golubovic Svensson

Art Director / CG Artist - Anka Reczyńska

CG & Pipeline Manager / CG Artist - Dagmara Kaczmarek

Compositing Lead / CG Artist - Jacob Aggerholm Jørgensen

Technical Director / Houdini & CG Artist - Silke Agnethe Kähler

Motion Graphics / Rigging - Leon Fechner

Story Consultant - Tomer Haim Calacuda

Tara Voice Actress - Anna Rueskov Schleicher

Walkie Talkie Guy Voice Actor - Dean Cavallaro

Music & Sound Designers - Telma Pil Jespersen & Martin Cederholm

Motion Capture Performer - Marieke Breyne



Thank you!