Spaceships vs. a Giant Alien Octopus

Mexico’s Most Important Animation Festival, Pixelatl, Celebrated Its 10th Anniversary in 2022, and we had the honor of being one of the 10 animation studios selected to create the commemorative video. The concept was to create a cadáver exquisito, where each studio animated around 7 seconds. These animations were connected by a curtain in the form of a door, which, when opened, revealed a portal to the next animation under the theme “Opening Doors.”

Inspirations

For a long time, we had dreamed of creating an animation in the Japanese anime style, characterized by its unique aesthetic and dynamic camera movements. However, opportunities to propose such a project rarely arose in the studio, as this type of animation is costly and complex to produce. But given that the required animation was very short, we decided to seize the opportunity and bring our desire to life. We knew we had to stand out among other high-quality studios, and this approach seemed like the best path to achieve that.

Creative aproach

We drew inspiration from retro anime of the 1970s, with productions like Space Battleship Yamato and Captain Harlock as our main references. We started with the concept “together we are stronger” and chose a space-related setting.

Initially, we created thumbnails to capture our ideas. However, due to limited time, we decided to develop them directly on the timeline. Working thumbnails as a rough animatic can be risky, as while it provides a general idea of the actions and characters, it can be misleading if precise movement and shot legibility aren’t considered.We explored two creative paths. The first was more kawaii, with galactic kittens battling a mutant yarn ball in a colorful setting. The second, more classic, featured spaceships from different forces uniting to attack a giant monster. We leaned towards the latter, aiming to maximize the graphic elements and capture the essence of classic anime.

Visual development:

For the spaceships, we aimed to make them visually distinct from one another, reflecting the idea of different forces coming together against a common threat. The human ship, piloted by our protagonist, was inspired by the ships from Star Wars and the Viper from Battlestar Galactica: robust, square, and with a look that suggests years of service.

The alien ship was designed with a more futuristic approach, featuring rounded shapes and a unique silhouette.

 The organic ship was inspired by a crab, blending animal elements with a clearly spacecraft design. We played with colors and textures to balance the crab shape without losing the spaceship aspect.

Our protagonist was influenced by the graphic style of Leiji Matsumoto, but with adjusted body proportions and a cyberpunk outfit. Her jacket, a nod to Kaneda’s in “Akira,” gave her a modern, rebellious edge.

The monster, a gigantic planet eater with tentacles and a single eye, was designed to be grotesque and unsettling. It was the only part of the animation done with Cutout Animation, though the tongue was animated in full animation to add an extra touch of dynamism.

The final cut

The result was a 6-second short that was visually striking and colorful. We added final effects in post-production that further elevated the work. We believe we achieved our initial goal: to showcase Banzai Studio’s production capabilities and make our work stand out at such a prestigious festival as Pixelatl.