Introduction
The « Potato » movie project is a codename for a student film.
Its real title remained a secret until march 15th, 2012.
« Potato » is Christopher Taylor and Quentin Geluyckens‘ end of studies project, both students are at the Haute Ecole Albert Jacquard. They have set themselves a few challenges. First off, they decided to use Blender as the main production software. Camera tracking, stabilisation, modeling, animation, texturing, rigging, lighting, rendering and compositing were all done using Blender. They wanted to do EVERYTHING visual in this project within the software package. Why? Because they believe Blender is an incredible, production-ready tool, and want to prove this belief. Second, they wanted to make an AMAZING short where everything is as seamless as possible.
How ?
Project Potato is a VFX short film, 5-6 minutes long. It is part filmed on location and a part filmed in a studio on greenscreen. It’s shot with two Canon EOS 600D’s (Rebel T3i/Kiss X5).
So, why name it « Potato » ?
We chose a potato at first because we wanted to code name our project after something edible and unusual. You can also make a battery from a potato, so you can get energy from it. Energy is an important symbol to us as we’re putting all our energy into our movie project. We’re also working on a shoestring budget, just like potatoes are when it comes to food. It’s also a reference to the main technology we’re using: The Blender Tracker, implemented first in the “Tomato branch”, an unoficial release of Blender. We also live in Belgium, where potatoes are produced to make our national food: chips. (Or french fries. Or whatever you choose to call them)
Please note that no potato will be injured during the making of this film.
About us
Quentin Geluyckens:
Quentin is 21 years old and studying 3D and visual effects at the Haute Ecole Albert Jacquard. When he was a teenager, he fell in love with the idea of « creating things that don’t really exist », and that’s what he does. He creates stuff. Lots of stuff. At the age of 13, he discovered Adobe Photoshop 6 and was totally amazed by the possibilities! The same year, he uploaded his first website.
He also loves cinema. He loves it so much that he wants his name in the ending titles of a movie. He wants to be the name you see when you stay during the whole credits. Not the one everyone can see as soon as the film ends, but the name you see approximatively 5 minutes after the movie is over. One of those guys you’ll never meet, but who made the movie you’ve just watched. The movie you’ll be talking about for days, months, or years… Yes, he has dreams.
Beside of all of that, he enjoys to practice badminton, kayak, surfing and archery. He also loves Z-movies, zombie stuff, old-school gaming and cola drinks. As a Belgian, beer is his religion.
His main interest and source of inspiration in life is Art. He loves it in every shape. He started to study it at the age of 6, with drawing, painting, film photography and sculpture classes. He started so early in his life that it allowed him to see the world through his very own vision and helped him to open his mind.
Christopher Taylor:
Christopher D. Taylor is a British 3D artist. He moved to Belgium at a very young age, was educated in the international school system there, and ended up studying 3D at the Haute Ecole Albert Jacquard. After starting out with 3DsMax and Maya, he ended up falling in love with Zbrush and then with Blender, despite it being one of the last packages he ever thought he would like. The community, development and advances made for this package continuously amaze him.
Chris has a passion for science fiction, bad horror films and Noodles. He draws his inspiration from classic sci-fi, fantasy and related styles. He has varied tastes in art, being a fan of artists such as Moebius and Gieger, but also liking classical art and comic books/manga.