About project
Screw you, After Effects!
Introducing “Stuntcat: a stunt action buddy movie”. It’s a story about a cat who works as an animator and has to become a stuntman in order to create authentic and believable visuals.
Concept
Quit staring at the screen!
The idea for the film was born from the thought that VFX artists sit in comfortable chairs and create danger in movies instead of stunt performers. And so we thought: enough sitting, it’s time to go outside and at least do a kickflip or jump over a fire.
Katya Mikheeva, director, animator and character designer
This movie is all about freedom. It combines everything that we at Petrick studio love — our humor, our rhythm, our approach to our work. It’s a film about love and trust in crazy, out of the box solutions. To me, it’s a self-portrait of our studio’s character. It’s a gag, but it’s created with taste and risk when it comes to technique and storytelling.
Agent Ksushansky, character designer
For me, working on Stuntcat was a blast! The idea was cool, the characters were funny, and the team was inspiring — it was my favorite experience in character design. I loved that there was a desire to do something wild, and in the end, it seems like the goal was achieved.
Stuntcat Character design:
I just want to be a good employee
In the early versions of the script, Stuntcat was always cool — he could extinguish a falling cigarette butt with a spit or ride a motorcycle out of a skyscraper window after work. Everything changed with the introduction of the fish in the script.
The cat is the protagonist who drifts along the current of adventures. He’s an ordinary quy who just wants to keep his job. What I love most about Stuntcat is his naivety and pure heart — he never has a hidden agenda or ulterior motive, he acts on his emotions, he’s one of those who act first and think later (if he ever manages to find the time to do so).
Janitor Character design:
Iron robotic suit
The Janitor, who, unable to cope with the death of his father, builds his personality on one single goal — revenge. Revenge consumes the Janitor entirely, he is literally trapped in it, like in an iron robotic suit.
Boss Character design:
I’m not crazy, I’m just ahead of schedule.
The studio boss is only concerned with one thing — getting the job done well and on time. How you achieve the desired result is not his concern. He is satisfied if you give him what he asks for, and his praise becomes the most valuable trophy. He also wears several watches on each paw so as not to waste time.
Character design of others:
Meow, meow, meow!
Meow meo-meoow, mew meooow moew. Meow meow meow-meeeow meow, m-meow! Meow meoww meow.
Animation and effects
Free-stock-footage.mov
When we were working on the visual part, one of our main goals was to find a balance between kitsch and nostalgia. As a result, we have created a funny and slightly surreal collage of 2D/3D graphics and video footage.
Environment design
Surrounded by Green Screen
Roman Novak, Environment design
The main task for the backgrounds was to find the perfect balance between simplicity, avoiding oversaturation of scenes with unnecessary details and noise. We sought inspiration not only in animation and cinema but also in video editor interfaces as well as on film sets.
