A ‘Broken Toy’ and a shape in the dark
Over the last few weeks, the VFX team for Daniel Miller’s ‘Broken Toy’ have been working tirelessly to create the central VFX toy character of the film, Mikkei. The below image contains concept sketches for the character, created by Ellie Ansell.
For the film 'Broken Toy', the team has decided to create a small promotional video for the toy Mikkei. The promotional video will be in a similar(ish) vein to the Buzz Lightyear advert from ‘Toy Story’, if you’ve seen it. Its aim is to showcase both the talent of the VFX team involved, but also build awareness of what we're doing to a wider audience. The VFX team's efforts have produced some truly amazing results, which you will be able to see soon.
Further developing the universe a fictional character resides within is a great way to build upon your initial idea. It’s the first few brush strokes on the canvas, or the first moments you notice the outline of a shape in the dark (did you see what I did there? You'll have to see the actual 'Broken Toy' film once we've produced it to really appreciate that).
Below is a selection of behind-the-scenes images from the 'Broken Toy' promo shoot in Richmond Park. Special thanks to the team involved, it was quite the hot day!

If you're curious as to the purpose of the strangle looking mirror ball (above) then check out this video describing how they were used to create the Colossus character in Deadpool. Alternatively have a read of this more detailed explanation.





If you want to keep up-to-date with new developments surrounding the production of 'Broken Toy', please do sign up to the ‘Broken Toy’ mailing list on the website.