Dark and mysterious short showcases Cinema 4D

Swedish animator Rickard Bengtsson's first foray into 3D is an epic, cinematic experience. We take a look behind the scenes.

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We're already big fans of 20-year-old Swedish animator Rickard Bengtsson - we raved about his ethereal short 'I'm not quite sure what it was (opens in new tab)' back in November. So we were intrigued to check out his first full-blown foray into 3D.

This personal project is short but very sweet. Created using Cinema 4D (opens in new tab) and After Effects (opens in new tab), it shows a seemingly empty, lifeless chair coming to life in a dark and mysterious room. The concept may be abstract, but Bengtsson succeeds in creating a truly cinematic experience from an idea that could have ended up just looking like a loading screen or software demo.

Behind the scenes

"Just like with 'I'm not quite sure what it was', this was an opportunity to really dive in and learn about something new," says Bengtsson. "The last time it was cell animation, this time was 3D. The short was mainly created in Cinema 4D, but being a fan on the more analogue handcrafted look as far as animation goes I did a lot of post-production - layering over textures, noise, blurs and lighting. To get away from the pixel-perfect 3D look and a more fitting visual atmosphere."

Both the music and sound design was created by Bengtsson's co-worker at animation agency Adme (opens in new tab), Vince Kriss. You can take a brief look into the making of the film here:

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