Stilt Walkers

From the 3D World Showreel: a young boy finds adventure and danger among the clouds on his unlikely fl ying machine in this charming animated short, produced by a Belgian film student over a period of just seven months

A boy on a Jules Verne-like flying machine soars through painted clouds at the start of Alexis Van der Haeghe’s gorgeous animated short, Stilt Walkers. ‘The sky’s the limit’ seems to be the motto of this optimistic film – a message borne out by its own production history. Working entirely alone, the 22-year-old Belgian animator completed the ambitious short in just seven months as his final project at the Haute Ecole Albert Jacquard in Namur, Belgium.

VITAL STATISTICS
Running time: 04:00
Budget: Self-funded
Funding sources: N/A
Time taken: 7 months
Software used: 3ds Max 8, CAT 2.1, ZBrush 2, Combustion 4, Vue 5, AfterBurn, Photoshop, Painter, Vegas 6, Sound Forge
Hardware used: Dual-core Athlon 4400+ PC with GeForce 6800 GTX, 2GB RAM 
Public screenings: Online only

SYNOPSIS
Can a boy riding a balloon escape two stilt walkers and make it home?

LOOK OUT FOR
00:18 A boy at play
00:38 Up and over
00:51 Grabbing a handful of cloud
01:17 Enter the stilt walkers
01:56 Limping home
02:40 Pandora’s box
03:15 The Winsor McCay bit

SEE ALSO
Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1988) M Hata
Little Red Plane (2002) Shadedbox Animations
Lots of Robots (2004) Andy Murdock

Click here to download (~36MB)