Stop-motion animation pros Screen Novelties, the latest talent addition to DUCK Studios, created a jolly opening sequence for children’s favorite SpongeBob SquarePants’ 10th anniversary special on Nickelodeon. The roughly :45 piece is a spectacular showcase of the diverse capabilities of DUCK’s newest creative team.

The intro is a rollicking adventure across, beside, and beneath the ocean, with a brief jaunt into outer space, through fantastic landscapes handcrafted by the gang at Screen Novelties. SpongeBob, along with a pirate and fish, are represented with a mixture of stop-motion, cardboard animation and puppetry as the show’s zippy anthem plays in the background.

“This one was quite an honor,” noted Screen Novelties’ Mark Caballero. “To be asked to create a piece for something so culturally significant as SpongeBob – and for something so important as their 10th anniversary show – says a lot about the talent we’ve been able to build up here. Now that we’ve joined forces with DUCK and their hip roster of clients, we’re looking forward to exploiting all the weird and funky stuff we can do with stop motion.”

“If anyone wants to know why we brought on Screen Novelties, they can just watch this sequence,” noted DUCK EP Mark Medernach. “They know how to produce a zany, fun piece, but in a totally professional, flawless way, which fits the DUCK mold exactly.”

Los Angeles-based DUCK, is a continually evolving creative studio producing commercials, music videos, short films and web content. DUCK offers a wide range of services, including live action and integration, character design, film title design, 2D and 3D animation, digital compositing, digital/traditional ink & paint. In recent years, the studio has expanded, adding an original content division that works with writers and animators on unique ideas for film and TV.

CREDITS
Client: Nickelodeon
Spots Title: Spongebob Squarepants :45
Air Date: November 2009

Special Title Sequence by: Screen Novelties (of DUCK)
Directed and Produced by: Mark Caballero, Chris Finnegan, Seamus Walsh
Director of Photography: Ralph Kaechele
Storyboards: William Reiss
Animators: Sarah DeGaudemar; Musa Brooker, Kelly Mazurowski
Puppets by: Bruce Lao; Max Winston; Paula Lauterbach, Cesar Romero, Robin Walsh, Thomas R. Smith,
Sets and Props: Jeff Cross; Brian Capati; Meaghan Ross; Roy Wood, Christopher Swanson
Digital Artist: Hlynur Magnusson

RELATED LINKS
www.duckstudios.com
http://screen-novelties.com