The studio was called on to create 13 seconds of 3D animation that links two live action worlds. Tallgrass Pictures’ lead animator, Beau Runnels, created an 8-bit world complete with pepperoni nunchuck fights and flying bad guys.
By taking frames from the live-action footage and using them as a base for the animated characters, Runnels was able to make a seamless transition from the dueling celebrities to the animated world and back. When the animated character, Oliver, twirls his pepperoni nunchucks, the company’s animators made sure that the motion was identical to the live-action nunchucks. These smooth transitions give the viewer the feeling of floating along in a dream sequence.