ADVERTORIAL
SIGGRAPH 2019
L
earning can be fun if you make it
that way, and that’s probably why
Checker Tobi is so popular. Produced
for German television, the children’s show
is hosted by Tobi, an exuberant young
man who checks out ideas and questions
in exciting ways that spark kids’ curiosity.
Checker Tobi is such a hit, its creators
decided to take the show to the big screen
(youtube.com/watch?v= GLGSPne-VrI) for
a feature-length exploration of the secret
to life on Earth – water.
Knowing how animation-heavy the film
would be, German production company
Megaherz teamed up with renowned 3D
design studio Aixsponza (aixsponza.com)
to create roughly 15 minutes of motion
graphics and VFX for the film’s explanatory
sequences. Matthias Zabiegly, Aixsponza’s
3D lead and set supervisor, headed up
the studio’s team who primarily relied on
Cinema 4D, ZBrush and Houdini while
working on the film on and off for nearly
nine months.A BELOVED CHILDREN’S SHOW
HITS THE BIG SCREEN
This was Aixsponza’s first opportunity
to work on a feature film. And although
the team had a great time helping to
create Tobi’s animated world, it was
even more fun to see how kids reacted
at the premiere. “That was such a great
experience, seeing our work so well
received by the audience, especially the
children who were cheering and laughing,”
Zabiegly recalls. “The kids really saw all
of the little details, like the birds dancing
and having a party, and all of the other
tiny things we did that were happening on
the side of the screen.” (See all the shots
Aixsponza created in collaboration with
Megaherz here: vimeo.com/318420020.)GOING FOR A HANDMADE LOOK
Before collaborating on this project,
Megaherz worked with Aixsponza on
several smaller jobs, including medical
visualisations and TV show openers.
Looking back, Zabiegly thinks those
served as test projects that gave MegaherzAfter modelling a globe
in C4D, Aixsponza used
handmade illustrations
to create the film’s
kid-inspired EarthCASE STUDY
Aixsponza on creating animations for Checker Tobi and the Secret of Our Planet
the confidence to tap them for a full-
length feature. It helped, too, that both
companies are based in Munich and use a
lot of the same software, like Cinema 4D.
Work began with a briefing led by
Megaherz animation director Robert
Mayer, who explained that the visuals
needed to look like someone who knew
what they were doing made them at
home. “Not something a five-year-old put
together in some weird, awkward way,”
Zabiegly explains. “More like something
maybe a really talented 16-year-old
would make.” Though Aixsponza usually
storyboards in 3D, concepting began with
Megaherz doing rough drawings on paper.
Once those were finalised with director
Martin Tischner, Zabiegly’s team started
doing layouts in 3D.
“Robert had some ideas in his head that
weren’t in the storyboards, so we worked
together on layouts,” Zabiegly says. “It was
nice because he was very open to creative
feedback, like if we said something lookedAixsponzaADVERTORIAL
SIGGRAPH 2019