Into The
Flame
The Story
Life begins to unravel for Floyd — an overworked, unfulfilled businessman — in his wife’s sudden absence. So many questions. So many seemingly strange answers leading him forward. Moths are appearing all around him and no matter what he tries, he can’t halt the visions. In a panic, he flees, running wildly for days. Exhausted, there seems to be no escape for Floyd … but in the end, there may be no end at all.
Please view Hue&Cry’s feature on Motionographer for more.
Process
I was responsible for compositing the 3D animated moth into this 2D animated shot and explored several different color options before landing on the final: a yellow moth with a blue gradient texture overlay. I chose this color combination as it provided the most contrast between the background and foreground elements while also not detracting from the additional elements in the scene.
I was also responsible for compositing the 3D animated moth into this 2D animated shot and explored several different color options for both the moth shadows and the tie/suit shadows before landing on the final: violet shadows to ensure contrast between the moths and Floyd’s shirt.
For this shot, I animated the vultures in Photoshop, using footage as reference for my frame-by-frame animation.
For both of these shots, I added in and masked out Floyd’s shadow to follow his path as he walks out the door and down the stairs.
I animated Floyd’s shadow for several of the running shots, including the two above.
I also composited the 3D animated moths into several 2D animated shots throughout the short film, including the two above.
Poster Designs
Merchandise Mock-ups
Credits
Written & Directed by
Sean McClintock
Character Design
Timo Prousalis
Diego Abad
Sean McClintock
Designers
Sean McClintock
Timo Prousalis
Diego Abad
Angie Yeun Son
Matt Deans
Lead Animator
Timo Prousalis
2D Animators
Diego Abad
David John Reyes
Travis Schmidt
Sean McClintock
Ryan Musselman
Reza Iman
Kavan Magsoodi
Lauren Cash
Cleanup Assistance
Symbiosys
Final Mix
Overcoast
3D Animators
Travis Schmidt
Ryan Musselman
Sean McClintock
Paul Wei
Anthony Palermo
Technical Direction
Ryan Musselman
Travis Schmidt
Storyboard Artists
Diego Abad
Timo Prousalis
Matt Deans
Sean McClintock
Concept & Story Assistance
Sean McClintock
Timo Prousalis
Matt Deans
Diego Abad
Ryan Musselman
Travis Schmidt
Magnus Hierta
David John Reyes
Angie Yeun Son
Mariah Hourihan
Jeff Bybee
Whitney Green
Cloie Leger
Giao Roever
Executive Producers
Magnus Hierta
Whitney Green
Sean McClintock
Senior Producer
Jeff Bybee
Junior Producer
Cloie Leger
Editors
Sean McClintock
Danny Reidy
Compositors
Angie Yeun Son
Ryan Musselman
David John Reyes
Travis Schmidt
Diego Abad
Richelle Son
Carly Johnson
Morgan Allison
Sean McClintock
Timo Prousalis
Drums
Niccoló Chotkowski
Sound Design
Niccoló Chotkowski
Guido Montalcini