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Sony Imageworks provides big effects
and animation for Warner’s Smallfoot
By Randi Altman
The legend of Bigfoot: a giant, hairy, bipedal creature roaming the forests and giving humans just enough of a glimpse to freak them out. Sightings have been happening for centuries, with no sign of slowing down — seriously, Google it.
But what if that story was turned around, and it was Bigfoot who was freaked out by Smallfoot (aka a human)? Well, that is exactly the premise of the new Warner Bros. film Smallfoot, directed by Karey Kirkpatrick. It’s based on the book “Yeti Tracks” by Sergio Pablos.
Instead of a human catching a glimpse of the mysterious giant, a yeti named Migo (Channing Tatum) sees a human (James Corden) and tells his entire snow-filled village about the existence of Smallfoot. Of course, no one believes him, so he goes on a trek to find this mythical creature and bring him home as proof.
Sony Pictures Imageworks was tasked with all of the animation and visual effects work on the film, while Warner Animation did all of the front end work — such as adapting the script, production design, editing, directing, producing and more. We reached out to Imageworks VFX supervisor Karl Herbst (Hotel Transylvania 2) to find out more about creating the animation and effects for Smallfoot.
The film has a Looney Tunes-type feel with squash and stretch. Did this provide more freedom or less?
In general, it provided more freedom since it allowed the animation team to really have fun with gags. It also gave them a ton of reference material to pull from and come up with new twists on older ideas. Once out of animation, depending on how far the performance was pushed, other departments, like the character effects team, would have additional work due to all of the exaggerated movements. But all of the extra work was worth it because everyone loved seeing the characters pushed.
We also found that as the story evolved, Migo’s journey became more emotionally driven; we needed to find a style that also let the audience truly connect with what he was going through. We brought in a lot more subtlety, and a more truthful physicality to the animation when needed. As a result, we have these incredibly heartfelt performances and moments that would feel right at home in an old Road Runner short. Yet it all still feels like part of the same world with these truly believable characters at the center of it.
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