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Scott DaRos
Stop-motion, Claymation , 2D animation, Illustration
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SYFY Animated Logo: Mystery Meat

SYFY frequently hires independent artists to create short animated logos for their channel. The prompt for this one was "back to school". My wife and I (aka Threadwood) were selected after we presented our pitch for a campy horror short that takes place in a school cafeteria. The main challenge we set for ourselves on this project was to give the short a 90s vibe. We both love corny horror shows and movies like Goosebumps and the X-Files and we wanted to make something that has the same feel as those random animated bumpers on MTV, Nickelodeon, etc.

My wife designed and built the sets and props, and I took care of camera, lighting, and animation. We both handled VFX. As with most of our projects, everything was made with some form of clay.

Mystery Meat SYFY ident by Threadwood

This was the image we used in our pitch to SYFY. We made the slime, but the rest is just a collage of stock images. This helped us communicate our vision without having to build assets before we knew if we were hired.

This was the image we used in our pitch to SYFY. We made the slime, but the rest is just a collage of stock images. This helped us communicate our vision without having to build assets before we knew if we were hired.

Before painting or building anything, we decided on a color palette using this color study sheet that Alexis created.

Before painting or building anything, we decided on a color palette using this color study sheet that Alexis created.

We bought some cheap items that we could easily customize to suit our needs.

We bought some cheap items that we could easily customize to suit our needs.

We worked on this project during the hottest time of the year in SoCal so we had work late hours when it cooled down a little bit.

We worked on this project during the hottest time of the year in SoCal so we had work late hours when it cooled down a little bit.

Figuring out the meat was difficult. Plain clay didn't look greasy or chunky enough, and adding materials like Vaseline or KY Jelly made a mess. Eventually we found a mixture that was just right! But it's our secret.

Figuring out the meat was difficult. Plain clay didn't look greasy or chunky enough, and adding materials like Vaseline or KY Jelly made a mess. Eventually we found a mixture that was just right! But it's our secret.

This was one of the first images after setting up the lighting. We were trying to match the lighting that we were seeing in tv shows and commercials from the 1990s. We noticed harsh edge lights and funky colors were often used for "creepy" moments.

This was one of the first images after setting up the lighting. We were trying to match the lighting that we were seeing in tv shows and commercials from the 1990s. We noticed harsh edge lights and funky colors were often used for "creepy" moments.

I had to animate from 8pm-3am because of the heat. Even then, I had to rig up a little electric fan pointed at the camera to keep it from overheating.

I had to animate from 8pm-3am because of the heat. Even then, I had to rig up a little electric fan pointed at the camera to keep it from overheating.

It's hard to explain the incredible relief and excitement I feel when I shoot the final frame of any animation! This is my face when I know that I can go back to being a normal person after many nights of back-breaking animation.

It's hard to explain the incredible relief and excitement I feel when I shoot the final frame of any animation! This is my face when I know that I can go back to being a normal person after many nights of back-breaking animation.

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