Barnefilmfestivalen April 22 – 27 2024

Masterclass VFX

In the new film about "Three Robbers and A Lion", Qvisten Animation has used a new technique where they combined the traditional craft of building models with the most modern in CGI animation.

Masterclass with Martin Andersson Aaberge from Qvisten Animation

When: Wednesday April 26th at 15:00

Where: Aladdin Red

The Masterclass is a part of the industry program, get accreditation here:

Environments such as the city itself and the robber´s house were built by hand as small miniatures, while the robbers, aunt sofie and all the others in the town were animated as CG characters similar to most animated films nowadays.


In the professional environment, this would be called visual effects (VFX) - i.e. where animated content is integrated seamlessly into filmed backgrounds, and the audience does not know what is what. The film can therefore boast a Norwegian record for the number of VFX shots (1,300), because all characters are CGI and the surroundings real. And by the fact that the expressions on the characters, and the style of the animation, look like stop-motion, we can also allow ourselves to say that we have revolutionized how traditional stop-motion films should be produced.

It is not only ground-breaking in itself, but provides a significantly greater scope for details and possibilities at a time when output formats and platforms are constantly changing. The technique offers great reusability and a flexibility we could never get with hand-animated dolls.

In the master class, Martin Andersson Aaberge will go through the technical aspects of recording, photogrammetry, match moving and seamless integration of miniatures and CGI characters.

Martin Andersson Aaberge

Aaberge has been working with animation and VFX for two decades. After several years abroad on films such as Three Musketeers, Silent Hill and Black Panther, he currently works as CG Supervisor at Qvisten Animation. At the same time, Aaberge has participated in the development of the curriculum for various vocational schools and colleges, and has taught students in both Norway, Sweden and Denmark for the past 13 years. Aaberge has led the professional new quarry work on "Three Robbers and A Lion".