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Stop-motion is, at its core, an act of belief. Belief that tiny movements made by hand, will stir up emotion. That each frame, when put together will make motionless puppets feel alive. And that a single idea—ruthlessly pursued—can carry an entire story to screens everywhere.
All You Need Is One was built around that philosophy. Created for Base, the short film is a tactile, hand-crafted reminder that meaningful change doesn’t start with scale—it starts with intention. Underneath the storyline of a small blue cube slaying the zombie apps that have been leaching off us creators for years, is also the story of the underdog, and the ruthless pursuit of creating with the simple goal of making people smile.
The idea took shape on the drive back to Portland from the New Day One event in Los Angeles on July 16th, 2025. The team felt compelled to make a high-impact stop-motion short—one that imagined a world we could actually live in, free from the bloodthirsty apps creators have fed for decades without meaningful reward.
Directed by Emmy winner Rob Shaw, All You Need Is One began with a deck and a mood board to pull together the look and feel of the story we wanted to tell. We then approached legendary hip hop producer Bootie Brown (Gorillaz, Pharcyde, Africa Express) to create an original track so our little Base character, Fuse, could have some sick beats slay these zombies to.
Soon after, character and environment designs came in, along with the animatic.
Side note: An animatic is critical to stop-motion animation. It lays the foundation—mapping rhythm and testing story beats before anything else begins. Because stop-motion is so labor-intensive (often producing just 4–5 seconds of animation per day), there’s little room to capture frames that won’t be used. Once production starts, improvisation is limited, so the animatic ensures every department is aligned long before sets are built or puppets are moved. It keeps the entire production on track.
The character design (by Jesse McManus) and environment design (by Jenn Ely) kicked things off with playful and intentional style for us to move forward. These designs became blueprints for physical objects that would need to move, bend and survive hundreds of incremental adjustments.
Puppet fabrication was led by Jen Prokopowicz, Rob Shaw, and Kristen Kingsbury, transforming sketches into fully articulated characters. Each puppet had to balance durability with expressiveness, capable of holding precise poses while still feeling alive on screen.
Animation was led by world-class artist Jeff Riley, whose credits range from favorites such as Fantastic Mr. Fox, Coraline, Box Trolls, Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio, Tiny Chef Show and so much more. This performance is measured in millimeters, and Jeff’s animation always brings nuance to even the smallest gestures.
Behind the camera, Director of Photography Dan Ackerman treated the miniature set with the same care as a live-action shoot. The lighting and the downshooter set up were all designed to elevate the dramatic look of Fuse's world.
Once animation wrapped, the project moved into post. Compositing by Kristen Kingsbury and Jeff Riley brought the characters to life within the tiny world. This includes rig removal and any other masking or edits needed prior to putting the characters into the world, ready for battle. Editing, led by Kingsbury, sharpened the pacing and locked the film into the rhythm of Bootie Brown’s vocals, which brought an unmistakable energy: The music didn't just support the visuals—it gave the entire piece its heartbeat.
Producer Pippin Beard of Pattern Integrity Films guided the entire process, keeping a highly specialized team moving in sync across disciplines, timelines, and within budget.
All You Need Is One was the result of many hands working toward a single vision, and supported generously by Base. In a medium where every second requires dozens of individual decisions, and anything and everything can go wrong, the short film stands as a testament to collaboration and handmade craft.
Just like the message it carries, the film proves that one small idea—executed with care—can move worlds, even if those worlds are built by hand and moved one frame at a time.
Stop-motion is, at its core, an act of belief. Belief that tiny movements made by hand, will stir up emotion. That each frame, when put together will make motionless puppets feel alive. And that a single idea—ruthlessly pursued—can carry an entire story to screens everywhere.
All You Need Is One was built around that philosophy. Created for Base, the short film is a tactile, hand-crafted reminder that meaningful change doesn’t start with scale—it starts with intention. Underneath the storyline of a small blue cube slaying the zombie apps that have been leaching off us creators for years, is also the story of the underdog, and the ruthless pursuit of creating with the simple goal of making people smile.
The idea took shape on the drive back to Portland from the New Day One event in Los Angeles on July 16th, 2025. The team felt compelled to make a high-impact stop-motion short—one that imagined a world we could actually live in, free from the bloodthirsty apps creators have fed for decades without meaningful reward.
Directed by Emmy winner Rob Shaw, All You Need Is One began with a deck and a mood board to pull together the look and feel of the story we wanted to tell. We then approached legendary hip hop producer Bootie Brown (Gorillaz, Pharcyde, Africa Express) to create an original track so our little Base character, Fuse, could have some sick beats slay these zombies to.
Soon after, character and environment designs came in, along with the animatic.
Side note: An animatic is critical to stop-motion animation. It lays the foundation—mapping rhythm and testing story beats before anything else begins. Because stop-motion is so labor-intensive (often producing just 4–5 seconds of animation per day), there’s little room to capture frames that won’t be used. Once production starts, improvisation is limited, so the animatic ensures every department is aligned long before sets are built or puppets are moved. It keeps the entire production on track.
The character design (by Jesse McManus) and environment design (by Jenn Ely) kicked things off with playful and intentional style for us to move forward. These designs became blueprints for physical objects that would need to move, bend and survive hundreds of incremental adjustments.
Puppet fabrication was led by Jen Prokopowicz, Rob Shaw, and Kristen Kingsbury, transforming sketches into fully articulated characters. Each puppet had to balance durability with expressiveness, capable of holding precise poses while still feeling alive on screen.
Animation was led by world-class artist Jeff Riley, whose credits range from favorites such as Fantastic Mr. Fox, Coraline, Box Trolls, Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio, Tiny Chef Show and so much more. This performance is measured in millimeters, and Jeff’s animation always brings nuance to even the smallest gestures.
Behind the camera, Director of Photography Dan Ackerman treated the miniature set with the same care as a live-action shoot. The lighting and the downshooter set up were all designed to elevate the dramatic look of Fuse's world.
Once animation wrapped, the project moved into post. Compositing by Kristen Kingsbury and Jeff Riley brought the characters to life within the tiny world. This includes rig removal and any other masking or edits needed prior to putting the characters into the world, ready for battle. Editing, led by Kingsbury, sharpened the pacing and locked the film into the rhythm of Bootie Brown’s vocals, which brought an unmistakable energy: The music didn't just support the visuals—it gave the entire piece its heartbeat.
Producer Pippin Beard of Pattern Integrity Films guided the entire process, keeping a highly specialized team moving in sync across disciplines, timelines, and within budget.
All You Need Is One was the result of many hands working toward a single vision, and supported generously by Base. In a medium where every second requires dozens of individual decisions, and anything and everything can go wrong, the short film stands as a testament to collaboration and handmade craft.
Just like the message it carries, the film proves that one small idea—executed with care—can move worlds, even if those worlds are built by hand and moved one frame at a time.
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Happy Friday
All You Need Is One is a handcrafted stop-motion short film created by a dream team of animators, designers, and musicians building together on @base.base.eth 💙 Check out the story that goes in-depth on process, from idea to finish, right here.
so cool
Just wait until you see the next one! Sent the script out today 🧰 🛠️
🔥🔥
🧯🙏
All You Need Is One, a Base stop-motion short directed by Rob Shaw, follows the handmade creation of Fuse as it defeats app-heavy zombies. The piece highlights design by Jesse McManus and Jenn Ely, with music by Bootie Brown, and a collaborative, frame-by-frame process chronicled by @flanneldonut.