VFS Digital Design alumni (class 15) Christopher Harrell and Juan Carlos Arenas, and current designer/animators at World Famous, a production house in Seattle, have collaborated as directors to craft the trailer for the 2013 Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF). It was a joint project between WDCW (Wong, Doody, Crandall, Wiener) and World Famous. The final product was 60 seconds, but over 900 man-hours were logged to create the miniature models and sets before filming took place.

The Behind the Scenes video offers a glimpse into their labour-intensive process. You can see the both of them molding, using a 3D printer, hand painting, and airbrushing. Christopher also provides the voice-over of the video where he comments, “it was a massive undertaking” that required “a ton of work, but it was really fun.”

The two directors made almost all of the highly detailed miniature set pieces that pay homage to twenty iconic films, which include recreated scenes from The Empire Strikes Back, Moonrise Kingdom, Murderball, Brave, The Exorcist, Beasts of the Southern Wild, and Kung Fu Panda, all of which have been screened at this festival over the years.

Here’s 2013 SIFF trailer: