The Process
From concept to final through low-res preview renders.
Version 1
This initial concept involved a squishy Santa figure trying and failing to go down a chimney. Instead he gets spit back out and explodes into confetti. A little weird and definitely not Santa friendly. We went with the other initial concept of a kid in a cardboard sled instead!
Version 2
It’s crazy looking back at this and seeing how much of it has stayed in the final render. The motion is extremely rough and played with the idea that the sled would land roughly and the presents jostle.
Version 3
The crash from the previous version was very jarring. Glad I explored it but the smoother ride here is much more satisfying. The camera angle also changed to show more of the kid’s face and sled contents.
Version 4
After adding Christmas lights, I did a test render for day vs. night lighting. Night was the clear winner! From there, little changes were made to bring it home.
- Gave the kid the rest of his body and a phone
- Trees are now also cardboard with the corrugated side out
Version 5
Tested cutting the frame rate to 12fps to mimic stop motion animation. We didn’t follow through on this since changing just the frame rate didn’t add much. Minute adjustments to objects every frame would have really made the effect work but that also meant expanding the scope.
- Music mix by John Elmendorf
- Main track: Bam Boom! Jingle Bells by Mike Kirin
- Sound effects: Various SFX from Artlist
Version 6
Last low-res preview before getting to the final version. The kid is now nestled atop a bunch
