A film fan who is hired by well-known Hollywood makers for a blockbuster film from the children’s room? No, that’s not a pipe dream, it’s actually become reality for Preston Mutanga, a 14-year-old student from Toronto, Canada. (Golem and Variety have over New York Times reported)
The path that has taken the teenager Preston to the golden gates of the film capital of the world begins with a small-scale toy: Lego clamping blocks.
It all starts with… Lego?
The superhero sequel »Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse« has been running in local movie theaters since June 1st of this year. As with the previous film »Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse«, what is special is the look of the film. The films look as if the hand-drawn comic book world is authentically brought to life like never before. Last but not least, thanks to this sensational look, the films have won over comic fans.
One of those fans is 14-year-old Preston Mutanga. The teenager maintains one of his own YouTube-Kanal, about which he publishes short videos. The videos are in stop-motion optics and show iconic figures from pop culture in humorous situations (e.g. Batman, Shrek, or Better Call Saul!). And the videos simply show, in a humorously exaggerated way, what happens to the world as soon as the internet goes down.
link to YouTube content
Stop motion, also known as a stop trick, is a process in which objects are moved manually – frame by frame. If you now hang the individual images, let the whole thing run as a film, the illusion of movement is created.
Become a Hollywood player with Blender?
To achieve this look, Preston chose the 3D-Software Blender served. Blender is a free program that artists around the world use to create animated moving images. Blender is a powerful open source project supported by enthusiasts around the world.
In an interview with the New York Times:
»My father showed me this 3D software called Blender, I was hooked straight away.«
The Preston Blender taught itself self-taught – in other words: single-handedly via YouTube tutorials. So many entertaining videos were created. With a video that the young film talent uploaded on January 2nd of this year, he has now landed a dream job that other creative people spend years attending film school for: as an animator on the latest Spider-Man film.
With a total length of just over two minutes, Preston recreates the first trailer for the latest Spider-Man film. Very realistic and kept in a cute Lego look. A real feast for the eyes.
link to Twitter content
When filmmakers and active Twitter users Chris Miller and Phil Lord came across the video, they were delighted at its value – and reached out to Preston. Miller puts his enthusiasm for the youngster’s creative work into words when he says:
‘Remember this is coming from a kid outside of the film industry. Incredibly sophisticated! us [der Trailer von Preston Mutanga] blown away. Not just us, but some of the world’s best animators.«
Get Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga here
And if anyone in the film business can judge how good animated clipping blocks look, it’s Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. They are the directing duo behind 2014’s massively successful The Lego Movie.
Back to the young talent: Preston then sacrificed his spring break to work on the Hollywood film. Because during this he animated a Lego sequence for the Spider-Man film over several weeks. Preston regularly sat down with Miller via video call to get feedback on his animated work.
If Preston has learned one thing about the film business during his extraordinary commitment, it is the importance of working together. He says:
“One thing I’ve learned is the feedback thing. I like how many things are changed in the course of production – from the beginning to the finished product.«
Chris Miller, in turn, praises in one Interview mit Rotten Tomatoes the eagerness to work of his unusually young pupil:
‘He’s 14 years old. He has [die Animationen] made during his spring break. [Preston hat gesagt:] I can do the revision after I’ve finished my homework.«
The new Spider-Man film has already raked in over 120 million US dollars in its opening weekend. For comparison: »Avengers: Endgame« had one of the best opening weekends ever with over 350 million. Have you already seen the strip – or are you planning a viewing? Write us about it in the comments!