Tha Santa Claus Happy Tyme Show

[agv]

I produced a comedy short shot with string puppetry called The Santa Claus Happy Tyme Show (2005). I'll post some of the preproduction artwork starting with Santa's Office, which used Christmas colors to tacky proportions. It looks almost as though much of the set was covered with holiday wrapping paper. If the video freezes don't seem ultra sharp, it's because they are taken directly from the movie. While shooting, there never seemed to be enough time to stop and take stills of the sets.

If you're interested in watching a clip from the film, here's the site: SantaShow.com

 

[agv]

There's one scene in the film where Santa's Workshop transforms into a control room, and louvered windows lift to reveal a secret underground toy factory. The control room was inspired by Thunderbirds and the factory (which you barely see here) was inspired by the brilliant Ken Adam's Bond headquarters.

 

[agv]

The film introduces us to Santa's Workshop with a wide shot that dollies all the way up to the front door. The secret toy factory is hidden in the mountain directly behind the Workshop. (Mountians at the North Pole? Hey, in the world of make-believe anything can happen.) Now you might be asking, "Everyone knows that Santa makes toys, so why the secrecy?" Well, the elves are underpaid, overworked laborers and Santa wants to keep a low profile on that. Kind of like how real toys are made...so maybe it isn't all make-believe.

 

[bluerider]

Wow...what shows did this piece get aired on . I enjoyed watching the clip. Did you story board it. I like the concept sketches. How long did it take to produce this piece. How many people worked on it, who wrote the script.

Sorry about all the questions, hope you don't mind. :bowdown:

 

[agv]

Glad you liked the clip and sketches. Thanks Graham!

Many of the more complex scenes (like the car chase clip on the site) where storyboarded, but not the entire 30 minute film.

The project took a little over 5 years to make, mostly because it was usually a small crew working on the side. On any given shoot, the size of the crew ranged from 5 to just myself. Over the course of the project, there were about 30 artists involved.

I wrote the script with a couple friends; the same people that often contributed talents in other departments like making puppets and building sets.

Santa has shown at 11 festivals, but hasn't aired anywhere as of yet.