One of animation’s great uses is creating what is not real, as if it is. In the case of our latest Showcase pick, stop motion has been artfully employed to create what is not real…yet.
When the creative team at Aviva Arena approached Scale Model Studios to create a handcrafted scale model and stop-motion film showcasing the future Aviva Arena–set to open in Bristol in late 2028, they wanted something showing it building up but they weren’t sure how it would look and how to approach it. “I suggested something with dynamic camera moves in conjunction with the build up,” director Jennifer Kidd said, “and they were on board for it which was great. They wanted to see it all from the outside in and then in the end I suggested having a blur of the animator in and they liked the idea and we went for it.”
Making the film, which brings the arena’s future to life, required precision, craftsmanship, and inventive problem-solving. Built by hand in the team’s Bristol studio, every element of the model had to be carefully considered, from the architecture to the surrounding landscape, to capture the spirit of the future Aviva Arena while supporting the stop-motion process.
They started on paper. “We scaled the architectural drawings down to 1:500,” Kidd told us, “and designed the build so key elements like the cladding and sections of the facade could be added in via stop motion, allowing the animation to show the arena assembling itself piece by piece.
“The interior seating was designed and 3D printed, the roof was split so the solar panels could be added separately during animation, and we added in miniature trees for the final look. In the last shot we slowed things right down and included the animator within the frame.
“Underneath the model sits a lazy susan divided into millimetre increments, which we calculated against our motion control rig so we could capture the full rotating shot in a single continuous take while the build was still being assembled around it.
“By the end it was a genuinely mathematical process as much as a creative one,” Kidd said, noting that this translation of detailed architectural plans into an accurate miniature build was the main challenge of the production. Especially, “getting the scale right while also calculating the turn and timing against the motion control rig to pull off the rotating shot in one take.”
The result gives an impressive look at Bristol 2028, by combining traditional model-making techniques with solid animation and filmmaking.
To find out more on the production, check out this BTS video: