– Animated Scene – The Great British Blender Bake Off –
This project required me to animate a 10–15 second shot featuring two characters interacting with a prop, with a strong focus on timing, staging, and animation principles. My aim was to create a comedic sequence that demonstrated clear character performance, readable cinematography, and effective use of reference. This blog documents my research, planning, experimentation, and reflection throughout the process.
Early ideas
I began the project with a completely different idea and even created a rough previs for it. However, I quickly realised it didn’t offer enough meaningful interaction between the characters. Because the brief focused on performance and physical engagement, I decided to explore stronger ways two people could interact in a short, comedic animation. I researched baking and cooking shows, as well as animated scenes where characters compete or fight over objects. This led me to the idea of two bakers battling over a piping bag, a prop that naturally creates tension, urgency, and clear motivation. Bakers are often under time pressure and competing for the best‑looking cake, so the piping bag became the perfect object to build a dynamic, character‑driven interaction around.
For this animation, I created a 15 second comedic shot inspired by the style and tone of The Great British Bake Off. The scene features two contrasting bakers working side by side: a messy, chaotic male character and a precise, tidy female character. Their personalities immediately clash, and the tension escalates when they both reach for the last piping bag of icing. What begins as a simple disagreement turns into a tug of war style struggle over the prop, ending with the icing exploding across the woman’s face and knocking her to the floor. As the man laughs at her misfortune, she retaliates by throwing a piece of cake at him, closing the shot with a final comedic beat.
My intention with this scene was to fulfil the brief by clearly animating two characters interacting with each other and with props, while also exploring physical comedy, timing, and character contrast. The bake‑off setting allowed me to push exaggerated reactions, experiment with prop‑based humour, and create a dynamic interaction that showcases both acting and animation principles within a short, contained moment.
– The Animated Shot Pipeline –
Storyboard
To plan the structure and pacing of the shot, I created a simple storyboard outlining the key beats of the scene. This helped me visualise how the action would unfold, from the initial tension between the two bakers, to the tug of war over the piping bag, which results in the bag hitting their cake. The storyboard gave me a clear roadmap for the timing, staging, and emotional rhythm of the animation.
However, as explained later in the blog, the ending evolved during production. Instead of the bag hitting the cake, I changed the moment so the icing splatters across the woman’s face, prompting her to retaliate by throwing a piece of cake at him. This adjustment strengthened the comedic payoff and created a more engaging back‑and‑forth dynamic between the characters.
Previs
I wanted to create a previs, so I exported my Blender background as separate PNG layers and brought them into Procreate. This allowed me to draw between the layers and plan out the character placement, poses, and interaction before bringing the 3D models into the scene.
This was how I used the PNGs to map out the character placement and get a clearer sense of how I wanted them positioned in the scene before importing the 3D character models. Blocking out the poses in 2D first helped me plan the interaction, spacing, and overall flow of the shot more efficiently.
This previs was based on my original storyboard, but I adjusted the action so the woman falls and hits into her utensil, which then flies into her cake instead of the piping bag. Here, I was exploring different ways to create a comedic “crash” moment that would trigger a stronger reaction and add more energy to the sequence.
Idea development
The concept for this shot began with the idea of creating a comedic baking scenario inspired by The Great British Bake Off. I wanted a setting that naturally encouraged prop interaction and character contrast, and a kitchen environment provided endless opportunities for physical comedy. The personalities of the two bakers, one messy and chaotic, the other precise and controlled and were developed to create clear visual and behavioural opposites. This contrast became the foundation for the humour and the escalating conflict over the piping bag.
I started by creating the scene, as having the environment in place helped me frame the characters more effectively. I looked at the kitchens in The Great British Bake Off and designed an environment inspired by their layout and colour palette. This gave the scene a bright, organised feel and supported the baking theme of the animation.
I also created the props that the characters would be interacting with so I could move straight into blocking with everything already in place. Having the key objects prepared early helped me plan the action more accurately and ensured the interactions felt intentional from the start.
External Research
To support this stage, I researched examples of slapstick animation and prop‑based comedy, paying attention to timing, exaggeration, and reaction beats. I also looked at references from baking shows to understand typical gestures, tools, and body language in a kitchen environment.
To understand how to animate the struggle over the piping bag, I researched real examples of people fighting over an object and people pulling on a rope. These references helped me study how tension travels through the body, how weight shifts between characters, and how arms, shoulders, and torsos react when two people apply force in opposite directions. Watching these movements in real life gave me a clearer sense of timing, resistance, and physical strain, which I then exaggerated for comedic effect in the animation. This research directly informed the tug of war section of my shot, ensuring the interaction felt connected, believable, and visually readable.
Practical research and experimentation
While studying video reference, I also acted out the movements myself to better understand the physicality of the tug‑of‑war. I tied the rope/string from my dressing gown/house coat (whatever you want to call it) to a door handle and pulled against it as if someone were on the other end. I find that physically performing an action helps me understand it more clearly than simply watching reference footage. For example, if I wasn’t sure how a shoulder should rotate during a pull, I would focus on that part of my body while recreating the motion, then translate those observations into the animation. When the woman is yanked forward in the scene, I acted out the same movement and paid attention to how my arm and shoulder reacted, adjusting the animation in Blender accordingly. So basically I was stood beside my pc acting and then keyframing back to back. My research combined external sources and practical experimentation, allowed me to expand beyond the material covered in class.
External Research
To support the prop‑based actions in my animation, I looked at real examples of how people interact with baking tools and food. This included watching clips of bakers handling cakes, icing, and utensils to understand how they hold, squeeze, and manipulate soft materials like icing. I paid attention to how piping bags are held and how bakers move around their workspace while carrying items.
Blocking
In the blocking stage, I established the key storytelling poses and the overall timing of the shot. My focus was on creating clear, readable silhouettes that communicated each character’s personality: the man’s loose, chaotic movements contrasted with the woman’s controlled, precise posture. This contrast helped set up the comedic tension right from the start.
I blocked the main beats of the tug of war over the piping bag, paying close attention to how the characters’ weight shifted as they pulled against each other. I treated the piping bag almost like a third character, planning its path and tension so the struggle felt connected and physically believable. This early posing also helped me check that the prop interaction stayed central and readable within the frame.
As I began blocking out my animation, I wanted the first five seconds to play like a timelapse of the bakers working, giving the viewer an immediate sense that they were preparing a cake. However, because the scene was so large, the composition didn’t read clearly. To solve this, I decided to use a split‑screen layout, similar to the style often seen in anime when two characters are shown simultaneously. This allowed me to present both bakers at once while keeping the action readable and visually engaging. Examples:
Here you can see that I added a plane with a cut‑out for the camera to sit behind, which created the split‑screen effect. I also keyframed the kitchen benches and characters closer together specifically for this section of the animation, so that while they appear in split‑screen, the viewer gets a close‑up view of both bakers side by side. This allowed me to show them working in a timelapse without losing clarity or detail in the composition.
This was my first block out, and originally had the icing bag fall into the cake. However, the action didn’t feel interactive enough, so I changed the idea and had the icing bag hit the woman instead. This gave her a clear motivation to retaliate, creating a stronger back and forth motion that supported the tug of war dynamic I wanted. When I showed this block out to Mike, he suggested improving the camera movement and overall composition, as the animation felt a bit flat. This feedback encouraged me to explore more dynamic framing and staging to make the scene more engaging.
Here you can see that I added more camera movement and fully animated the camera during the tug of war to give the scene a more dynamic feel and enhance the sense of stretch and tension. I also changed the action so that the icing bag hits the woman in the face, causing her to fall, which then motivates her retaliation. In my first pass, she threw her shoe, but after showing this version to Mike, he suggested replacing the shoe with a piece of cake. This allowed me to create a splatter effect on the man’s face, making the moment funnier and giving the interaction a stronger comedic payoff
Cinematography and camera planning
To make the opening timelapse sequence readable and engaging, I used a split-screen composition inspired by anime such as Food Wars! which Often uses split-screen to show competing chefs preparing dishes simultaneously, with dramatic contrast in technique and emotion. This allowed me to show both bakers working simultaneously while maintaining visual clarity and contrast. I placed a plane with a cut-out in front of the camera to frame each character separately, then keyframed the kitchen benches and characters closer together to create a tight, balanced layout. The symmetrical framing and mirrored actions helped reinforce the theme of rivalry, while the contrast in their stirring techniques added personality and comedic tension. This approach gave the scene a stylised, energetic feel and made the parallel action easy to follow.
For this shot, I used oppositional staging, placing the two bakers on opposite sides of the kitchen counter to emphasise their rivalry over the piping bag. This approach aligns with the animation principle of staging, which focuses on character positioning and visual clarity. As described by Pixune and Vsquad, effective staging directs the viewer’s attention and communicates character relationships instantly. By angling both characters toward the shared focal point, I created a clear sense of tension and competition.
I also applied the rule of thirds throughout the shot to keep the composition clear and visually engaging. By placing each character on opposite thirds of the frame, I created a natural visual tension that supported the tug‑of‑war dynamic. This spacing helped emphasise the push and pull energy between them while keeping their silhouettes readable against the background. Even in the reaction shot, positioning the man on the left third allowed the negative space on the right to highlight the aftermath of the gag and draw attention to his expression. Using the rule of thirds ensured that every beat of the interaction remained easy to follow and aesthetically balanced.
For this shot, I used a reverse angle, switching the camera to the opposite side of the counter to reveal the moment before the splatter. This technique is common in both film and animation for escalating tension or setting up a comedic payoff. By framing one character aiming the piping bag while the other is bent over and unaware, I used anticipation framing, an animation principle that prepares the audience for an upcoming action. This creates dramatic irony, the viewer can see what’s about to happen even though the character cannot, which strengthens the humour. This type of staging is frequently used in shows like Food Wars! during food battles, and in classic slapstick animation such as Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, where reverse angles and anticipation are used to set up pie throws, splatters, and other comedic hits.
To maintain clear screen direction during the tug‑of‑war, I followed the 180‑degree rule, keeping both characters on the same side of the action line throughout the sequence. This ensured the audience always understood who was pulling in which direction. When I switched to a reverse angle, I used the correct technique of rotating the camera around the action line rather than crossing it, which preserved continuity and avoided disorienting the viewer. I also applied the rule of thirds when positioning the characters, placing them on opposite thirds of the frame to emphasise tension and create a visually balanced composition. These cinematography principles helped keep the interaction readable while supporting the comedic rhythm of the shot.
In this final shot, I used an off‑centre reaction – also going back to the rule of thirds, framing to show the aftermath of the icing splatter. Positioning the character to the left of the frame creates a sense of imbalance and emotional disruption, which heightens the comedic discomfort of the moment. His pose clearly communicates his reaction, while the negative space on the right gives the audience time to absorb the impact of the gag. The additional space around him, particularly on the right side, reinforces a feeling of isolation and vulnerability after the mishap. This kind of asymmetrical reaction shot is commonly used in animation to punctuate comedic beats, and can be seen in films like Ratatouille and series such as Food Wars! where characters respond dramatically to food‑related chaos.
Overall, combining these cinematography principles helped me create a sequence that was both visually clear and stylistically expressive. By maintaining the 180‑degree rule, using the rule of thirds for balanced composition, and guiding the viewer’s eye through leading lines and intentional negative space, I ensured the action remained readable even during fast, comedic movement. The slight compositional imbalance during the tug of war added to the humour, while the use of foreground and background elements introduced depth that grounded the characters within the environment. Together, these choices strengthened the clarity, rhythm, and comedic impact of the shot, supporting the overall storytelling and making the scene feel more dynamic and engaging.
Polishing
As Richard Williams explains in The Animator’s Survival Kit, clear arcs, strong timing, and appealing poses are essential for creating believable and engaging character movement.
After finalising the blocking, I focused on refining the movement, timing, and physicality of the scene. My main goal in this stage was to smooth out transitions between poses while keeping the strong, readable storytelling moments established earlier. I applied several of the 12 Principles of Animation during this stage, particularly overlap and follow‑through in the characters’ arms, shoulders, and torsos to emphasise the physical strain of the tug of war.
I applied the principle of arcs throughout the tug of war and reaction moments to keep the movement fluid and natural. As Williams notes, most human motion follows curved paths rather than straight lines, and I used this to guide the characters arm swings, shoulder rotations, and the trajectory of the cake throw. The woman’s fall also follows a clear arc, which helped maintain physical believability while still supporting the comedic exaggeration of the moment. These arcs made the action feel smoother and more intentional, preventing the movements from appearing mechanical or stiff.
The piping bag required careful attention, as its motion needed to feel connected to both characters while still reacting with a sense of elasticity and resistance. I also applied squash and stretch to the piping bag to give it a more dynamic sense of weight and flexibility. This helped the motion feel more responsive to the characters’ pulling and added a stronger sense of physical interaction between them.
During polish, I also adjusted facial expressions and small gestures to enhance the comedic timing. I used timing to control the rhythm and pacing of the shot. Williams emphasises that timing determines both the weight of an action and the emotional impact it creates, and I applied this by adjusting the spacing of key moments such as the pull, the icing explosion, and the woman’s fall. Slower holds before the splatter built anticipation, while faster spacing during the tug‑of‑war increased the sense of struggle and urgency. These timing choices helped shape the comedic beats and ensured the physical interactions felt connected and believable.
I used anticipation and exaggeration to push the comedic moments further. Williams describes exaggeration as a way to amplify emotion and intention, and I applied this in the man’s smug expression, the woman’s dramatic forward pull, and the force of the icing splatter. By heightening these moments, the comedic payoff became stronger and the characters’ personalities more distinct, without losing the sense of weight and physical logic established in the blocking.
Finally, I refined the spacing to make the icing explosion sharper and more impactful, and cleaned up sliding, weight shifts, and hand contacts to improve realism and maintain clear physical logic.
At this stage, I added the splatter effects suggested by Mike, keyframing the icing bursts so that they shoot out from the characters’ heads creating a faster and better looking splatter on the face. I created these using shape keys and applied a Child Of constraint so the splatter would follow the characters’ head movements accurately. This final polish pass brought the performance together, ensuring the animation felt cohesive, expressive, and grounded in strong animation principles.
For the liquid pour, I used a shape key to animate the motion, since the shot was so short that a full fluid simulation wasn’t necessary. This allowed me to control the timing precisely and keep the pour readable without overcomplicating the scene.
As an extra touch, I created oven gloves for the female character to help portray her as more organised and prepared, in contrast to the male character lifting the tray with his bare hands. This small detail added personality and supported the comedic contrast between them. I attached the gloves to her rig using a Child Of constraint so they would follow her hand movements accurately throughout the shot.
Like the gloves, I used a Child Of constraint for every object the characters interacted with, as I found this was the most reliable method to prevent slipping during contact. This was especially important in the tug‑of‑war piping‑bag sequence, where both characters were pulling with force and the prop needed to stay firmly attached to their hands throughout the action.
This is my final animation after completing the changes and polishing the performance. There are still elements I would like to revisit in the future, such as improving the male character’s movements, which feel slightly stiffer compared to the female’s. I would also like to add more props to make the environment feel more realistic, and eventually include sound design to enhance the overall presentation. However, the main focus of this assignment was the characters’ movement and interaction, so I prioritised completing those aspects to a high standard. With the core animation finished, I can return at a later stage to refine the secondary details and fully complete the scene.
I feel that I completed the brief to the best of my ability within the time available. I successfully created a clear character contrast and used that difference to drive the comedy, while maintaining the tug of war dynamic throughout the shot, especially with the final cake throw moment. I also think the timelapse/sped‑up section at the beginning worked well, as it immediately showed the audience that the characters were baking. This helped make their argument over the piping bag more understandable, since it placed them clearly within a bake off style competition. The two contrasting personalities made the interaction more entertaining and added to the overall humour of the scene.
Progress presentation
Just before completing the animation, I created a short presentation to show Sarah my progress and gather final feedback. unfortunately this was not needed but I included it in my blog anyway.
Animated_scene_progress_AS2_MA_EH
Reflection
This project allowed me to combine character performance, physical comedy, and prop‑based interaction within a single shot. I developed a stronger understanding of staging and camera clarity, learning that keeping the camera simple allowed the characters and props to carry the humour. Focusing on silhouettes and readable poses made the action easy to follow, and the blocking stage was especially important for establishing timing, contrast, and the rhythm of the gag.
A key part of the storytelling came from the contrast between the two characters, which shaped both the humour and the pacing of the scene. I also considered appeal, ensuring that each pose was clear, readable, and expressive. As Richard Williams explains, appeal is not about making characters attractive but about creating poses and expressions that are visually engaging and instantly understandable. The tidy, precise woman and the messy, chaotic man naturally produced strong, contrasting silhouettes, making their motivations easy to read. Their exaggerated reactions, distinct body language, and opposing approaches to the task created a dynamic back and forth rhythm that drove the comedy. This contrast made the tug of war over the piping bag more engaging and helped shape the timing of each beat, making the sequence clearer and more entertaining.
During polish, I refined weight shifts, overlap, and facial expressions to make the performance feel cohesive. I learned how small adjustments in spacing or anticipation can significantly improve comedic timing. The final result reflects a balance between realism and stylisation, supported by research, planning, and iterative refinement.
Overall, this project strengthened my confidence in handling multi‑character interaction, prop physics, and comedic storytelling. It also reinforced the value of reference, clear staging, and a structured workflow which are skills I will carry into future animation work. Although I’m pleased with the outcome, there are areas I would improve with more time, such as creating smoother, less stiff movements for the male character and further refining the overall motion. I also would have liked to add sound, additional props, or even aprons to enhance the scene. However, the main aim was to showcase the character interaction, and I feel I achieved that successfully.