Inaugural Southeast Asia Six Nations Running Event Launched with Heckler Singapore

Kicking off in Vietnam on 23 April, the run - which features 5km, 10km, and 21km race categories as well as a Kids Dash for families with young children - then moves to Indonesia, Thailand, The Philippines, Malaysia, before culminating in Singapore on 23 July.

Design, animation and VFX house Heckler Singapore was tasked with reflecting the key elements and vibrancy of each country where the run is being held, while only filming in Singapore. 

Directed by Heckler's creative director, Cody Amos and animation director, Fred Venet, the film traverses the region showcasing its unique cultural landmarks and icons, including the terrace fields of Vietnam, the floating markets and playful elephants of Thailand, the Sinulog dancers of The Philippines, Balinese dancers and Komodo dragons of Indonesia, the Petronas Towers of Malaysia and the Merlion, Marina Bay Sands and dancing otters of Singapore. The brand’s mascot, Lazzie, also features to encourage participants to keep on running.

The mixed media film integrates Venet’s trademark illustration style into a live action running film. Some of the animation is simple after effects, but a lot of it is traditional, hand-drawn, frame-by-frame cell animation. All of this brings to life the different countries, characters and lots of comic-book style flourishes to convey sound and speed. All of this animation was 3D tracked into the live action plates so that everything felt a part of the environment. 

Talking about the making of the film, Amos said: “This film was really fun to make on lots of levels. The base concept of a guy going for a run, but his run being transformed by a whole animated world that springs up around him, is super playful and lighthearted and fun. 

“We shot on location with a Segway and Ronin setup, so that we could keep the camera moving nice and fast (since it's a running film after all) but also smooth (to help with integrating the animation). While shooting we needed to imagine the animation and make sure there was plenty of room in the frame for Fred’s magic. We also tried to get some nice interaction in there. Our hero high fives an animated mascot of the brand, as he ducks under some 2D water from an elephant, that sort of thing is really fun. 

“I also enjoyed the opening shot where we transition from our main character waking up in bed, to him suddenly standing outside stretching. It’s a simple trick where we pull the bed away and move a bunch of light blockers around. But it was really fun, and hopefully adds a little more playfulness into an already playful film.”