Chocolate Retriever
Responsible for kitchen set planning and fabrication.
Directed by Paige Meakin.
Chocolate Retriever is a stop motion short film involving a woman traveling into the pit's of her dog's stomach to retrieve a chocolate bar he was not supposed to eat. The film has a stylized 1960's American aesthetic to it, especially present in the kitchen scenes. The story starts of with her baking in the kitchen, and upon realizing her dog's actions, shrinks down and enters her dog's stomach. The set switches to the stomach interior where her adventures continue until she is coughed out onto the tiles of the kitchen once more. My primary responsibility for the project was planning and fabricating the kitchen set.
Step 1: The Plan
Preliminary blueprints (created by another team member) were created based on concept art of the scene. Going in to the film, we knew we wanted this fisheye opening shot (shown above). Planning the kitchen involved making sure that shot would hit. Based on the size of the stage we had to work with among other considerations, we settled on a 1/6 scale for the film. From there, it was about figuring about proportions and layout of the space. The overall layout was pieced together from concept art, then adjusted as needed. We had two main walls in the space, with cabinets lining both of them. There was also a doorway, window, oven, and sink to incorporate. The following plans I created are what was referenced for most of the fabrication process. They were created in Adobe Illustrator to scale.
The cabinets themselves were a more specific challenge. They were planned and fabricated with 1/8" Masonite, 1/4" and 1/2" MDF, and 3/4" birch. They were all generally constructed following my blueprint below, with adjustments based on length. The birch and thicker MDF was used as the foundation upon which the thinner materials detailed.
Step 2: Laser Cutting
Much of the material we brought into construction was laser cut. For the duration of this project, I was responsible for preparing all the files and materials needed for laser cutting. Given that the kitchen is to have this manufactured, clean look, we ended up using laser cutting for many of the camera-facing set pieces. We were able to utilize the SCAD fabrication labs for this process. It involved sending the lab an Illustrator file, with the desired layout to scale with specific color-corresponding cut depths. I would cut the material (MDF or masonite) to a more precise size in our stop motion studio, then bring it over to the lab to be laser cut. With the material and blueprint file, all the pieces would be cut or engraved, then I'd be able to pick up the finished product in a day or so. Images of all these blueprints are below, as well as some finished cuts! If you hover over the images, you can see more information regarding each specific design.
Step 2: Construction
The construction process involved the use of a lot of power tools and glue. I worked with my partner to get the walls finished fairly quickly, though the cabinets and oven took quite a bit more time. I was primarily responsible for the cutting and construction of the set, and my partner did the painting, bringing a wrap to the process.
Highlight: The Oven!
The oven was the most intricate set piece I built. It required a lot of planning and exploration of different materials. It is definitely the piece I am most proud of! Here's the final piece before I get down to explaining how it was built:
Now onto the process! Once all the pieces were either laser cut or hand-cut, it was a matter of using a variety of methods to bring all the different pieces together. One of the first things I did was create the stovetop dishes to sit inside the laser cut holes I had cut. Using the original stovetop block (aka, a piece of MDF with four giant holes laser cut into it), I traced out where the holes lie on a piece of scrap birch wood to use as a base for a vacuform. I then drilled holes into the wood so the air of the vacuform would be pulled downward, creating the bowl indents. After getting the pull I wanted, I cut out the circular shapes with a Dremel.
As for the actual stovetop, I attached the cut lining to the cut top. A raised edge was created on three sides of the stovetop. Though this was, in effect, just two pieces glued together. To get the manufactured look I was going for, it needed to be smooth and plastic-looking. I used vacuforming to create this effect.
With the vacuforming done, I was able to start assembling the pieces together. Some parts had to be painted beforehand for an easier time down the road. From there, I glued most of the oven together, assembling all but the front.
I found the creation of the heating coils to be a fun challenge. I ended up using 1/16" wire and propoxy to create the final look. I used pliers to spiral the wire before curving it downwards so it could stem from inside the oven. The dishes had to be glued down at the same time as the coils, which were supported by them. A small hole was drilled into each of the dishes so the wire could pass through for greater support. I ended up using the birch scrap from earlier for the wire to run through under the stovetop.
After the coils had found their home, I used wire and a drill to to create the bars on the oven doors. A piece of clear acrylic was used for the window. Little sculpts of propoxy were used for the dials and screen.
There was lots of back-and-forth between my partner and I during the duration of this construction. I would pass over a part to be painted, then add the piece onto the model. That is to say, there were many parts of this process taking place at once!
Step 3: Installation
After everything was painted, it was time to install! Here are a few photos of the setup and some solo shots of set pieces! Installation was an ongoing process, with props being added to the set as soon as they were finished by members of the team.
From there, the lighters and animators stepped into the spotlight (literally)! It was immensely satisfying to see my creations being put to use. I am blown away by my teammates and what we were able to accomplish in the short timespan we worked in. The film is currently being submitted to festivals, and I can't wait to share our fun film with the world soon :)