The project

In preparation for a series of explainer videos, we recently worked on the design and creation of a custom character with 2.5D capabilities. Therefore, this was a good opportunity to create a short time-lapse video to show what is going on behind the scene. So here's a glimpse of all the work required to go from a static Illustrator file to a fully rigged character ready for animation.

Designing the character

The character was created in Illustrator by Henna Nguyen, a fantastic 2D artist, who has been able to complete the work within tight deadlines, according to stringent aesthetic and technical requirements.

Rigging work in After Effects

After that, the project moved in After Effects to rig the character and bring it to life. The main task here was to make the character 2.5D, which required a lot of adjustments and fine tuning. To clarify, the 2.5D consists in using 2D graphical projections and similar techniques to simulate the appearance of 3D. Consequently, this technique allows to take advantage of a 3D character's capabilities all while keeping the animation process simple. Most importantly, the render times remain very short compared to traditional 3D animation.

The result

As a result, the character is able to rotate his head in every axis even when fitted with all his accessories (safety googles, safety helmet and ear protections). In the same vein, the hands and feet can bend and rotate. And even the whole body can also rotate. In addition, the mouth can be automatically lip-synced with a voice over. And, to top it off, the process also includes the creation of a set of controllers. Those controllers will be used to easily adjust the movements of each separate body part thus making the upcoming animation work super fast and easy.

Do not hesitate to contact us to know more about our explainer video production capabilities. And, before leaving, have a look at our demo clip for explainer videos.

It's always a real pleasure to carry out a video shooting on a VSL project. Not only because they are very friendly people, easy to work with; but also because they always work on very big and impressive construction projects. Bach Dang bridge, one of the biggest stay cable bridges in Vietnam, is no exception. Therefore, it was a perfect opportunity for us to create a beautiful and stunning infomercial video.

For the production of this video, Alisa Production provided HD videography, aerial drone cinematography, voice over recording, color grading and video editing. The first version of the video was released after three days of shooting and two weeks of post-production, right on time to premiere it at the VSL's end of year party.
Several months later, as the bridge was nearing completion, we organized another day of shooting to get shots of the structure in its final stage of construction and edit the final version presented here.

This video is the last one of a long list of infomercial videos produced for VSL. Visit our video portfolio to discover more videos like this one.

Alisa Production offers a wide range of corporate photography and videography services. So the aim of this video is to briefly present our main area of expertise with example of our recent achievements.

Coming along with the complete revamp of our website, this new showreel is an update of the previous version with more recent photos and video productions. Therefore, it better reflects our actual day to day activities.

Beside of this new showreel, you may also be interested by our color grading reel and our explainer video demo clip. So jump on our showreels page to watch them all.