In this campy humorous :30 conceived by Minneapolis-based agency Periscope for Trolli candies, we are introduced to an offbeat guy gleefully going about his day while strapped to a T-Rex dinosaur. He makes a supermarket run, goes to work, jogs in the park, and takes a romantic stroll on the beach–the latter alongside his girlfriend who is also attached to a dinosaur. He even pops a Trolli Sour Bite candy into her mouth.
Rodrigo Garcia Saiz of Central Film North directed “Dino Trip” with visual effects from Zoic Studios.
The Zoic team, led by Chris Korn, utilized a stop motion dinosaur to amplify the humor embedded in the awkward trek, starting in Z Brush to create an initial design and then crafting a stop motion armature based on those templates. Next, they pieced the armature together and built the sculpture on top of it, filled their mold with foam latex, and painted the final model. For animation, seasoned stop motion animator Kim Blanchette utilized stop motion animation software Dragonframe to create the desired aesthetic.
An early passion for stop motion animation spurred by King Kong combined with a background in makeup effects and prosthetics made Korn a fitting designer for this project. He notes, “It’s a really great change of pace to get out of the computer and physically create something with your hands and then animate it to come to life even further. Each step of the process was surprising and an enjoyable challenge.”
Credits
Client Trolli Visual Effects/Animation Zoic Studios, Culver City, Calif. Chris Jones, VFX executive creative director; Matt Thunell, VFX exec producer; Ian Unterreiner, VFX exec producer/head of production; Nick Vassil, VFX producer; Yurika Mori, VFX coordinator; Ryan McDougal, VFX supervisor; Nadar Husseini, VFX art director; Giovanni Bucci, Derrick Ligas, Aziz Dosmetov, Brian Scott, Jessica Amzoll, compositors; Chris Korn, dino puppet design & fabrication/dino stop motion animator; Kim Blanchette, dino stop motion animator; Toby Brockhurst, Wes Waldron, Rob Winfield, Flame artists. (Toolbox: After Effects, Maya, Flame, miniature dinosaur models) Agency Periscope, Minneapolis Rob Peichel, creative director; John Sullivan, copywriter; Justin Davis, Jen Neis, art directors; Kelly Farley, producer. Production Central Films North Rodrigo Garcia Saiz, director; Beto Casillas, DP; John Barreiro, exec producer/producer. Postproduction The Whitehouse Brian Gannon, editor; Frank Sigwarth, assistant editor; Caitlin Morris, post producer; Kristin Banstetter, executive post producer. Music Echo Boys Sara Davidson, producer; Tom Lecher, Alex Berglund, composers; Chris Bartle, mixer.
Stain remover Vanish presents this emotional short film--created by BETC Havas, Sao Paulo, and produced by LOBO--that explores the profound consequences of bullying and highlights the importance of open conversations between parents and children. Titled The Bully Monster, the animated film premiered at the Maquinaria Festival in Rio de Janeiro on February 15 in a special edition featuring family-focused programming.
The filmโs protagonist is a boy who experiences bullying at school but keeps silent about his suffering. Isolation turns sadness into insecurity, creating invisible emotional scars that only grow in the absence of dialogue. When his mother notices stains on his uniform, these marks become the starting point for a revealing conversation. As words find space to make themselves heard, the stains begin to fade.
This initiative aligns with the Vanish Saves Your Uniform campaign, which, for the past three years during the back-to-school season, has engaged with parents by positioning the brand as a trusted partner in preserving school uniforms. This year, Vanish decided to broaden the conversation, bringing bullying into the debate as the real stain that can impact a childโs life.
The Bully Monster is being screened as preshow material in movie theaters starting February 20 and will also be available on streaming platforms and digital channels. In addition to the film, the campaign will include out-of-home activations and school initiatives through a partnership with Abrace โ Preventive Programs, the founding organization of the โBullying-Free Schoolsโ program, which has been equipping institutions with resources to combat school violence for 12 years.
โResearch indicates that stains on a uniform can... Read More
