It’s an average workday in the animation lab. Herds of students huddle into their respective corners, some holding sketchbooks, others with drawing tablets. A maze of whiteboards divides their territories. Mermaids, zombies, and cows in space suits decorate the walls. The frenetic, caffeinated buzz can mean only one thing… It’s capstone-crunch season!
If you’re unfamiliar, each year the senior animation majors here at Stout split up into teams which soon evolve into micro-animation studios. Each team has one academic year to put together a fully animated short, all of which will premiere during this year’s Senior Exhibition to an audience of classmates, staff, family, and friends.
This week I was fortunate enough to meet with two of these production teams, taking time out of their busy schedules to offer some insight into the creative process. First, I spoke with Molly Bartz (creative director) and Bee Mann (3D Animator) of Mess Hall Media about their team’s short, Sunny Side Up.
Sunny Side Up tells the story of Dylan, a young boy who’s grown too-cool for his childhood summer camp, as he forms an unlikely friendship with a mermaid named Sunny, who resides in the camp lake. But this whimsical tale of summertime fun comes with a twist; rather than a traditional animated film, the story is presented to audiences through a 3D model of a dark ride, not unlike those seen in Disneyland or Universal Studios.
While sitting with Molly I asked her the following questions.
What first inspired this short?
“Oh, I’ve told everyone this. I watched the Little Mermaid, like, seven times over the summer, and I just wanted to make something whimsical and nostalgic about this creepy mermaid girl at a midwestern summer camp.”
Where did the idea to create a dark ride come from?
“I was pitching my summer camp story, and at the same time Abby (3D director) was interested in the dark ride angle, so that part was all her idea. She loves the technical aspects of planning and building those types of spaces. I fell in love with the weirdness and unique qualities of her concept, and there’s already a Little Mermaid dark ride at Disney, so I thought these things could totally go together.”
What’s fun about being on your team?
“I feel like our team is super laid back. McKenzie and I will chat while we work during class, I’m sure Heagle thinks we’re getting nothing done. We all love making silly jokes and memes. Our favorite social media post was fan casting a “live action remake” of Sunny Side Up. Starring Timothée Chalamet, RuPaul Charles, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Danny Devito, Bad Bunny, and so many more people.”
How would you describe your project in one word?
“Nostalgic. Everyone on the team has been having fun putting in references to little things in our lives or portfolios. But we are really hoping to capture the memories of spending the summer at a Minnesotan lake.”
Keeping in theme with supernatural summer camps, Badge Of The Dead follows three tween girl scouts through a sleepaway trip turned zombie apocalypse! How’s that for a campfire story? This sweet and spooky short shines a light on the power of friendship, the pains of growing up, and of course, the wrath of the undead.
Badge Of The Dead has the biggest team out of any capstone project this year, boasting a whopping nine members, almost all of whom agreed to squeeze into a table with me for a quick interview.
“Who’s your ideal audience member?”
Mady Hill, the producer of Studio Juice replies, “We wanted to target the teen-tween audience, make something reminiscent of the 2000’s cartoons, a little bit edgy.”
“Something you’d see on Disney XD, not quite Adult Swim,” another team member chimes in.
Do you all have a favorite character from your short?
Almost immediately, a unanimous “Mack!” rings out through the room. Mack is the tomboy of the girl scout trio, impulsive and resourceful, seen wielding a DIY flamethrower onscreen.
“She’s the easiest to play around with, and she’s got swag,” says character design lead, Jenna Good.
“We call her The Delinquent…she’s kind of a trouble maker and she doesn’t take anything seriously. She’s always messing around,” the crew tells me with clear affection for the young arsonist.
What’s been the biggest challenge for your team during this semester?
“I think at first just gauging everyone’s strengths, like, ‘who’s gonna take lead of this’ and ‘who’s going to prioritize that.’ After we kind of figured that out, that was really effective in learning our pipeline. Along with that, sometimes having a group of this size, you might think everyone’s on the same page when they’re not. I think every group has that sort of problem regardless of size though, communication.”
What’s something fun about being on this team?
“Everyone in this group is crazy talented!”
“Everyone’s so talented at what they do that it’s really easy to get advice from everyone on how to make things better, how to keep pushing it, and everyone just holds each other up.”
How would you describe your short in one word?
“Zombies!”
If you’re as excited to see these silly, strange, and heartfelt shorts as I am, be sure to mark your calendars for this year’s Senior Exhibition! The shorts are slated to debut on Friday, May 8th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the Applied Arts building here on campus. And don’t forget to follow them on socials if you want to follow along on the exciting production journey from sketchbook to screen!
You can find the Sunny Side Up team here on Instagram or on their official website!
And you can find the Badge of the Dead team here on Instagram, YouTube and Tiktok!
