Inside the production area of the stop motion animation project “Ceramic Warrior” (Blank Blank), there are 7-8 scattered scenes and continuously carrying out the stages of completing props, animation, photography... From a dense forest, a majestic castle, a ruined warehouse to magical creatures, all are designed in detail and vividly.
Art from the hands
Stop motion animation (still life animation or also known as stop motion animation) is a creative art genre with sophisticated techniques, although it was formed around the end of the 19th century. Today, stop motion is an indispensable part of the film industry, not only demonstrating the creative talent of the filmmaker but also deeply reflecting the connection between art and technology.
By photographing each small movement of a static object, continuously combining photos and combining sound and effects, the filmmaker creates the character's movements naturally and smoothly. On average, it takes 1,500 frames for one minute of stop motion film, a film about 90 minutes long is the dream of every stop motion filmmaker around the world. And at Sconnect Studio, that dream has come true 90% thanks to the dedication of a creative team over the past year.
Starting production in early 2024, the film “Ceramic Warrior” is expected to be completed in six months and will be released nationwide in the third quarter of 2025. The first stop motion animation film to hit the big screen is a special mark not only for Sconnect Studio but also for Vietnamese animation in general, proving the ability to stand shoulder to shoulder with advanced filmmaking units in the region and the world. The director of “Ceramic Warrior” is Pham Duy Anh (born in 1997), a former student of Engineering Physics, Hanoi University of Science and Technology.
He is also the director of the animated series Clay Mixer, which was honored to receive the award for Outstanding Animated Character Set at the Vietnam Digital Content Creation Awards 2023. Working alongside Duy Anh to create “Ceramic Warrior” is a team of 65 artists, scriptwriters, technicians, props, sound, lighting specialists... most of whom are in their “9x” and “2k” years of age, the youngest born in 2004.
According to Duy Anh, stop motion production is different from other animation technologies in terms of props and animation. Each large scene is created from thousands, tens of thousands of tiny details made of plastic, clay, foam, paper... or each character also requires hundreds of expressive shapes for each scene.
Excitedly sharing his expertise, props specialist Nguyen Van Nhan (born in 1995) said that with the project “Ceramic Warrior”, Sconnect Studio has invested and applied technologies that are close to those of famous animation studios in the US, France, Japan, etc. to bring the audience the highest quality visual experiences. To create the Ceramic Warrior from a ceramic workshop, the props team organized a field trip to Bat Trang ceramic village, visited, talked with artisans, learned about the characteristics of ceramics, etc.
Due to the characteristics of stop motion techniques, ceramics are not suitable for movements, so artists and technicians have to find ways to create shapes from diverse materials to look as similar as possible to ceramics, from color to surface. Next, the animators will “play the role” and “act”, create microscopic changes and record them. This process requires not only knowledge or visual thinking but also perseverance and high concentration.
But through that, the inanimate creatures and complex settings are breathed into miraculous, flexible life in each frame. Watching a two-second scene is enough to show the ingenuity and uniqueness of stop motion, as well as understand why director Pham Duy Anh shared that prop production takes up half of the time and effort when making a stop motion film.
However, the sophisticated and strict nature of stop motion technique can be met with the strengths of Vietnamese human resources: meticulousness, diligence and abundant creativity. That is the affirmation of Sconnect Studio Director Nguyen Anh Tung (born in 1990). He added that from a collaboration with a to he artisan, the Sconnect team realized the great potential of applying Vietnamese handicrafts to animation production in particular and the creative industry in general.
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| Director Pham Duy Anh (wearing glasses) and Director of Sconnect Studio Nguyen Anh Tung take care of an animated scene of “Ceramic Warrior”. |
The country currently has about 5,400 traditional craft villages with about 50 craft groups that are highly appreciated for their cultural and artistic values. In a field that is increasingly dependent on CGI (digital image simulation technology) and AI (artificial intelligence), stop motion brings a new contrast. The manual storytelling, nostalgic emotions, and the power of precision and patience of stop motion help audiences have authentic, unique cinematic experiences that are difficult to replace.
Aspiration for “Make in Vietnam” animation
Although he has to sit and work with tiny characters and backgrounds every day, repeating the same kneading, cutting, trimming, etc., Nguyen Van Nhan has never felt bored during his eight years working at the Sconnect animation studio. Each new set of characters brings new and interesting discoveries and skills to him as well as the staff and collaborators of the props department.
Now, the team of young “artists” is even more excited and proud to contribute to the first stop motion animation work in Vietnam with the most meticulous investment and largest scale ever, which is about to be released to serve the audience.
Due to the high cost and long time, stop motion is still considered a difficult game even for long-standing film studios and famous directors from developed cinemas. However, many generations of movie lovers are still fascinated by the mysterious creatures of Ray Harryhausen or the enchanting world created by Tim Burton, the modern wonders of Laika Studios or the film “Pinocchio” by Guillermo del Toro, which won the Best Animated Feature at the 2023 Oscar.
There are thousands of stop motion animation studios in the world, but only 1-2% of them are capable of producing movies. And “Ceramic Warrior” by Sconnect Studio from Vietnam will be the next film studio to add its name to that small percentage.
Director Pham Duy Anh said that in this first major work, the crew wanted to bring a new perspective, bringing an international story to reach a global audience. The main character is a boy named Gom, born from the hands of a ceramic artisan and always living in loneliness because of his difference. One day, an incident happened, taking him and his friend, the ceramic dog, on an adventure through strange lands, meeting new characters, both good and bad.
After that journey, the Ceramic Warrior, from an empty character inside, was filled with rich emotions and saved the world in the film from evil plots. Aimed at young audiences and families, the film sends a close, not too complicated message. The special element will be the situations that create the maturity and perfection of the character, the relationships of friendship, family love... and the eye-catching visuals from stop motion - a technology that challenges all professional animation studios.
“Ceramic Warrior” also marks a turning point in Sconnect Vietnam’s strategy, when the company pioneered investing in developing animated films even though it owns the short stop motion film segment that occupies the leading market share on digital platforms.
In fact, in recent times, two stop motion character sets, Luka and Tiny, by Sconnect Studio have reached more than 300 million views per month on YouTube, and are also shown on pay TV channels in Vietnam and several countries, and in China alone, they are exclusively distributed on about 40 domestic applications of the country of more than a billion people.
However, the collective of artists, engineers, businessmen, etc. of Sconnect Studio all cherish the plan, the desire to create products that resonate, characters that become brands, reaching a large audience at home and abroad.
Nguyen Anh Tung repeatedly mentioned his pride in the team of young, talented, enthusiastic staff and said that in terms of technology, Vietnamese animation still has a lot to learn, but in terms of craftsmanship, we have the advantage of human resources and tradition. Vietnamese animation films in the past 65 years have also won many prestigious international awards...
And at this time, when Vietnam is a country developing very quickly in terms of technology as well as focusing on and promoting creative industries, many individuals and animation production units share the same aspiration to spread Vietnamese intelligence and Vietnamese values to the world.
With Sconnect Studio, the stop motion animation project “Ceramic Warrior” is strategically invested with a clear direction, not only the images but also the sound is synchronized with very high quality standards of international cinema, has a copyrighted music library...
The film also received advice and support from prestigious experts in the film industry such as screenwriter-Master Pham Thi Thanh Ha (Vietnam Animation Studio), artist-director Vu Duy Khanh, director of photography Trang Cong Minh, screenwriter Pham Dinh Hai.
From the idea of cute clay figurines, pottery wheels in ancient villages across Vietnam, through the combination of stop motion animation techniques and modern technology, Vietnamese animation is expected to create new miracles in 2025, paving the way for many diverse voices and stories to reach a wide audience.
