The Popzup Popper is a safe, new innovative way to microwave popcorn. Visual effects by Galaxy 61 demonstrate what’s going on inside your microwave as the Popper pops.

The inventors and co-owners of Popzup Popper, Julie and Marty Lapham, needed to show their new product in a clear and appetizing way. “Our main problem was that you can’t effectively photograph our product inside a microwave oven” says Julie. “That’s when Doug Johnson, the owner at Galaxy 61, came into the picture. He allowed us to show our potential consumers exactly how the Popzup Popper works through his superb animation skill. Doug was a pleasure to work with and he appreciably exceeded our high expectations!”

The box and popcorn were built in Autodesk Maya and animated using a combination of nDynamics and go-to keyframing techniques. As the popcorn pops, it pushes the top shell of the box up. Flaps open to turn the reusable box into a serving dish. Mental Ray for Maya was used to create the shaders and lighting, with depth of field and an abstract microwave interior completing the demonstration.

“It’s simple now” says Julie. “All we have to do is direct our customers to view our Popzup Popper animation video. It is perfectly produced, and we all know an animation is worth (much more) than a thousand words. We love animation by Doug. It’s perfectly corny and spectacularly beautiful.

Thanks so much to Doug and Galaxy 61!”