Blur Studio Animates Scooby

Scooby-Doo scares up some spooks on the small screen in a new 15-second television spot produced by Blur Studio. Conceived by advertising agency G&M Plumbing, the spot promotes the release of the new PlayStation 2 video game SCOOBY-DOO: NIGHT OF 100 FRIGHTS. Like the game, the commercial is modeled after the SCOOBY-DOO television series rather than the recent feature film adaptation, although both transform the cel animated pooch into the world of 3D. The spot opens on a gabled mansion, shrouded in fog, its windows glowing with an eerie amber light. Scooby appears and frantically tells viewers that his pals, Shaggy, Velma, Fred and Daphne have gone missing. This leads to a montage of game play footage of Scooby racing from room to room looking for his friends while being pursued by headless ghosts and other ghouls and goblins. Blur Studio artists produced the all-CG opening scene, creating the haunted mansion and animating Scooby-Doo after reference material from the television series. "It is always a challenge to transform a character from 2D to 3D, especially one as familiar as Scooby-Doo," explained CG supervisor Aaron Powell. The Blur team used 3d studio max for animation and rendering. Compositing was completed with eyeon software digital fusion. Blur Studio also edited the entire piece in-house, combining their CG animation with game play material provided by THQ. Credits for Blur Studio go to CG supervisor Aaron Powell, producer Al Shier, 3D artists Irfan Celik and Bryan Hillestad and company creative director Tim Miller.