20 Dec Merry Christmas from Huntington University (and Norm)

Huntington University is saying, “Merry Christmas,” this year with its very only stop-motion animated tale. The 24-second video follows Huntington’s mascot, Norm the Forester, as he decorates the tree for Christmas.

Animators Curtis Wood and Chris Veil (2010 HU alums) created the video with the help of the digital media arts faculty and other friends from the department.

The process started with an idea and a storyboard. From there, the pattern for the Norm puppet was sculpted and the armature (the bone structure) was assembled. Once the mold was baked, the paint and the final touches were added.

The animation for the tree was made through replacement animation, which is done by creating multiple stages of an object moving or transforming rather than manually moving or transforming the object, Wood explained.

With the pieces complete, the animation began. Tests were conducted with lighting and camera placement before the final animation was finished.

“We ended up shooting the entire thing in a day, about 12 hours straight, with a few breaks,” Wood said.

You can read more about the video.