GRASSROOTS

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GRASSROOTS *

MAN ON!

Cartoon character with overweight build, wearing a colorful jacket and black shorts, standing in a small, cluttered locker room

Brief

In our second short film, we wanted to tell the story of a character everyone knows: Baz - an ageing, unfit Sunday league footballer who lives for the weekend.

Every team has a Baz. He loves football, talks a good game, and will do anything to help the team - even if his body can’t quite keep up. He dreams of being back in the action, but unfortunately spends most of his time on the sideline. Poor Baz.

Client
Ritzy Animation

Style
3D / 2D

Genre
Character / Sport

Illustration of a football player in various stages of drawing and coloring, with the final colored version showing a man in blue sportswear holding a water bottle.
A digital illustration of a male cartoon soccer player with various sketch and color versions. The full-body sketch shows him in a jersey, shorts with the number 36, soccer cleats, and holding a water bottle, with a soccer ball nearby. The headshot sketches depict him with different facial expressions. The colored image in the center portrays him with a friendly face, short dark hair, and a warm background.

Behind the scenes

Designing Baz was first on the list.

The design had to tick a few boxes:

  • Be OVERWEIGHT (but once fit)

  • Have ALL THE GEAR (but no idea)

  • Look FRIENDLY (and useless)

The real challenge? His face. We needed him to be likeable, not a hooligan - someone the audience could warm to, a far cry from your typical ‘lager lout’. Baz is just a guy who wants to be part of the team.

Animated illustration of a man in a soccer uniform standing in a locker room, holding a water bottle, with a soccer ball on the floor nearby, and open lockers on each side.

With Baz visiting several locations, at multiple times of day, our designers painted up several locations, and then our modeling team matched the design in 3D so that we could integrate our character to the scenes seamlessly

The animatic and storyboarding went through several iterations, evolving right through animation and even during the final render.

With some shots lasting just two frames, there was plenty of back-and-forth to make sure the story stayed clear and every cut hit just right.

We wanted the pace to pick up with each ‘loop’ of Baz’s story, showing his lifestyle spiralling as he grows increasingly demoralised by sideline football and the daily office grind.

A cartoon illustration of a man with glasses and crossed arms standing in a desolate, snowy park with a cityscape in the background.
3D wireframe model of a cartoon character standing with arms outstretched in T pose

And of course, Baz needed a full wardrobe to match. In total, there were over 60 clothing assets created, plus several texture variations of them - so wherever we put Baz, he looked the part.

Now for the bit we love the most. With Baz rigged for animation, we could start bringing him to life. Our animators did a few tests to make sure his personality was coming through and then it came to creating the 70+ shots in the edit - a massive undertaking.

Where needed the team had fun creating references (not helped by our office dog, Baxter) of some of the more complex movements, but as more and more shots had polished animation, the film was beginning to take shape.

As animation progressed, we began lighting, creating a repeatable setup so that shots could be built quickly, while giving us a lot of control in compositing. And all the while the edit was being refined so that every frame counted.

Illustration of five diverse young adults standing together, with one person in front with a soccer ball. They are dressed in casual sportswear.
A recording studio with two computer monitors, speakers, and audio equipment on a desk. Two people are partially visible, one standing and one sitting, in a room with a large window showing a cityscape.

Our friends at BXFTYS layered on a gritty soundtrack to match the visuals, along with rich SFX captured straight from real football pitches and local bars - making the world of Baz feel authentic down to the last kick and clink of a pint.

To celebrate the end of a long production we decided to host an event to launch the film. It was great to see all the people that contributed to the film and our industry friends turn up.

Keeping the football theme, where better to host than Bar Kick - a fussball bar in the heart of Shoreditch.

People sitting and standing in a dimly lit bar watching a performance or event, with some holding drinks, ambient lighting, and a dartboard on the wall.

WATCH

CREDITS

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CREDITS 〰️

Direction: Two Jeffs

Producers: Beth Yirtaw, Anika Zinat

Character Design: Jackie Nguyen, Maya Remenyi

Matte Paintings: Maya Remenyi, Gilbert McGirr, Marta Calvo

Storyboard: Marta Calvo

Editing: Dan Edgley

3D Model/Texture: Leo Rezende, Amina Muench, Ines Coimbra, Sophia Shephard

Rigging: RigIT.net, Vytautas Puisys

Animation: Vytautas Puisys, Dan Edgley, Kirsty Harris, Conor Ryan

Lighting & Compositing: Charlie Batho, Juliette Berthe, Maya Remenyi

Audio & Sound: BXFTYS