Maerchenhotel — 3D animated video case study

Maerchenhotel Bellevue is run by the owner’s family and has a long history of innovation, always with the purpose of surprising its guests, both parents and children. All facilities and the weekly guest program are designed to provide a unique guest experience.

Last year, the hotel renovated the children’s dining area, called the Hall of Kings. One entire wall of this room serves as a projection canvas illuminated by four projectors. The projection was a static background picture with a few animations.

Maerchenhotel Bellevue requested the production company to produce a customizable animation video for this wall with the innovative software for the youngest guests. To create a movie in which kids could color their paintings and these paintings would appear in the movie on the wall.

Produce a video with interactive artwork created by Maerchenhotel’s youngest guests. Incorporating interactive artwork in the video allows participants to create colorful characters on paper that are then digitally scanned and brought to life within the scenes of the movie. Maerchenhotel wanted the artists to enjoy watching their creatures in action and the viewers to celebrate the charming combination of art and technology.

The main challenge in this project was blending interactive artwork with 3D animation, ensuring that the children’s hand-drawn art could be integrated seamlessly into the movie. 

1. Animatic approval and detail expansion:
   
   The first version of the animatic was approved, and the team began adding more detailed elements to the movie, moving closer to the final vision.

    

2. Creation of coloring templates:
   
   One of the key features—templates for the kids to color in the real world—was created later in the project. These templates were designed to be incorporated into the movie, where the kids’ drawings would be projected on the wall in the hotel.

    

3. 3D animation process:
   
   While the templates were being developed, the animation process started. Each scene, described in the script, was modeled in 3D and brought to life in the movie, matching the story’s needs and tone.

    

4. Integration with hotel’s software:
   
   Once the movie was completed, Blue Carrot worked closely with the Maerchenhotel team to test and develop solutions for integrating the movie with the hotel’s software, ensuring smooth functionality during its use by the guests.

    

5. QA phase:

    

   The project culminated in a testing phase where the first group of children had the chance to interact with the project. The kids colored the templates and enjoyed seeing their artwork projected within the movie on the hotel’s wall.

Blue Carrot Animation Studio and the Maerchenhotel team created a project where reality transforms into a 3D animated movie that takes you on a magical journey through the grounds of the hotel.