Joelle Burt

Mama's Pizza is a multi-media animated VFX project combining practical miniatures with digital animation. It follows a bushy bearded man in the kitchen of a rustic cozy cottage. Chaos ensues while he attempts to cook his late mother’s special pizza recipe, and nothing goes according to plan.

The project combines physical props and sets with digital 3D animation; together creating a final result better than either can achieve alone. It explores physicality in character animation to create comedy and the feelings of nostalgia generated by practical environment design.

My focus was on character design, modelling, texturing, rigging, character animation, and how these features complement a dialogue-free comedic narrative. Our character is a digital re-imagining of a plasticine claymation puppet and engages the viewer through thoughtful application of slapstick and pantomime comedy principles.