Panchita!!: How Unsaid Studio’s Beautiful Animation Is Helping to Fight Poverty

Today, over 200 million people live in poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean. That translates into a lack of essential systems which so many of us take for granted: portable water, a functioning sewage system, access to electricity, or even a proper home. TECHO (pronounced ‘teh cho’) is a charity dedicated to changing that reality with systemic solutions that stand the test of time. And now, thanks to a beautiful new animated short film called Panchita!!, the value of TECHO’s work is becoming visible to a wider audience than ever before. 

Panchita!!, which has already picked an award in the Best Children Animation category at the Short To The Point festival, is a labour of love for so many of the teams and creative minds involved. Whilst Unsaid Studio crafted the gorgeously realised animation for the film, Maxon helped make that possible by freeing up licences to use their package of filmmaking software. At the same time, Syncsketch’s review software was integral to many of the character shots in Panchita!!, Wacom provided pen tablets to help artists draw and animate the film, and GarageFarm helped the team at Unsaid render the move in time to make the festival circuit. Last but by no means least, Jawset provided a licence to create digital smoke that added to Panchita!!’s tactile charm. Each of these companies shared Unsaid’s belief in the underlying cause, and in TECHO’s work.  

But in addition to its strength as a standalone piece of creative work, it was also important that Panchita!! carried a message that inspires action. As TECHO US’ director of marketing and partnerships Ana Testa told LBB, “the experience of building a house for a family in need is transformational”, and so the film needed to raise awareness of the company’s work whilst inspiring viewers to take action where possible. 

Although the full film is set to release on October 2nd, Unsaid Studio has already released a sixty-second version named ‘The Art of Panchita!!’. The slimmed-down edit aims to provide a sense of the short’s tone and sensibility, without giving anything away. In addition to that, the Unsaid team have also put together a gorgeous coffee table book which shares more insight into the creative process alongside beautiful illustrations. 

Above: An immaculately put-together coffee table book from Unsaid Studio shines more light on Panchita!!’s tactile and lively animation. 

To find out more about how the film and its wonderfully-realised animated world came together, LBB sat down with Unsaid Studio’s co-founder and Panchita!!’s director Doug Bello, alongside creative director Tom Buch…

Above: Unsaid Studio has released a 60” version of Panchita!!, with the full film set to launch later in the year. 

LBB> Doug, what was your initial vision when the brief from TECHO first came through, and how similar is it to the finished film?

Doug> We were initially tasked only with creating a character for social media for TECHO. But after speaking with the fantastic Bruno Borges [former TECHO US CEO], we fell in love with their cause and decided to propose a bigger project - a five-minute animated short. From the beginning, they were very open to the idea and supported us throughout the process. Although the brief remained the same - to bring awareness to TECHO through a character - we believed that creating a bigger story and environment would make this character more memorable. 

Our initial vision was to create an easy-going story about such a delicate subject. I think that shines through in the finished film, albeit with improvements that were made along the way. 

LBB> I understand that you actually hired an oil painter in order to achieve the style that you landed on for the film. Why did you decide to do that, and how did you know that this would work so well for the film’s aesthetic?

Tom> A lot of talented artists made a huge difference in the movie. Finding the main style was a big challenge, and required a lot of time and endeavour from our team. Even though we were making a very technical 3D animated movie, we wanted to keep the artistic side of it at the forefront. 

So in key moments, we worked with some very traditional painters who were not familiar with some of the cutting-edge 3D animation software we were using. However, with their artistic eyes, they quickly overcame the technical challenges of the learning curve and the result is an animation style which feels charming and memorable. 

LBB> There’s one shot in particular where a TV is being dragged through sand, and the way the sand moves is just so satisfying. It’s like a zen garden. How did you achieve that effect?!

Doug> To create a satisfying effect for an animated short, multiple techniques are combined. Camera angles, clean shapes, and colours play a big role in this process, as does the talent of the character animator who brings life to the character. In this instance, the sand simulation. required a lot of research to nail details such as the right size of grains and the way they needed to move together.

We used a more specific special effects software called Houdini in order to achieve the effect you see on-screen. What’s so satisfying about this movie is that the environment is really another character all of its own - we wanted to nail that miniature feeling to invite a viewer to feel as though they could reach into this world and make change. 

LBB> So did you take any inspiration from other animated movies whilst creating Panchita!!? 

Doug> Panchita!! Is based on a true story told by one of TECHO’s volunteers. And for the craft on the materials and textures of the movie, we decided to go in a more original direction. Normally animated films try to mimic the texture and realism of real-life materials, but Panchita!! went in the other direction and tried to make it more abstract and artistic. 

In terms of the storytelling, however, we drew on lots of sources for inspiration. One example is The Little Colonel, a 1935 film which saw Shirley Temple discover the joys of tap dancing alongside Bill “Bojangles" Robinson. That movie was - and remains - a testament to the multicultural and timeless art of tap dancing, as well as a celebration of the Broadway style. We reached into the DNA of that story to show how the magic of dancing touched Panchita’s heart in our film, and brought colour and life to her surroundings. 

Going deeper, there’s another link to making change through art which united that movie and Panchita!!. Bojangles’ performances often broke down racial prejudices, and went on to inspire countless other tappers. It might seem like a small thing without that context, but it ultimately helped to change the world. 

LBB> What was the biggest challenge you faced whilst putting this film together, and how did you overcome it?

Doug> We had to strike a balance between coming up with a story that was both entertaining, and respectful to the cause. We did want it to be light and enjoyable, so we decided to tell the journey of a little girl who had problems with tap dancing because she didn’t have a hard floor in her own home. 

In that story, you can see the broader issues connected to the very serious and upsetting problem of not having a stable home. 

LBB> Can you tell us more about how this project reflects Unsaid Studios’ own passions and values?

Doug> From the start, Tom and I always wanted to build a company that had an enjoyable workspace as a rule. We saw the stress and pressure that other companies added to work, which could reflect badly on the final product. This project made us realise something even deeper - beyond creating enjoyable films, we could make a real difference in people’s lives. We kept saying that if just one more house was built because of this film, every second spent making it would be worth it. 

LBB> And what does it say about the kind of work you are looking to dive into? For example, are you looking at creating more content such as this, as opposed to traditional advertising?

Doug> We are a very open-minded company, and we always love to solve problems. In that sense, we’ll be enthusiastic towards all work that comes our way. 

Having said that, I can't deny that telling real stories is a real passion and a daily driver for us. We want to bring a human touch that ultimately is going to differentiate brands based on personalities, making them memorable in the process. That’s got a lot to do with storytelling, just like Panchita!!.  

LBB> And finally, Panchita!! Has already won its first award. Congratulations! Did you know whilst you were working on the film that you were onto something good, or has any of the reaction surprised you?

Doug> The main goal for this project was to create something helpful for TECHO, not to mention the fact that traditional storytelling doesn’t tend to sweep up many awards at festivals. We knew we had a good movie, but to win in such a competitive environment is a pleasant surprise. 

Looking ahead, we’re also going to be submitting Panchita!! to as many festivals as we can. This will help us to get a wider distribution and audience, and consequently more awareness of TECHO’s work.