Digital Trends: advert-body-2 by House Special

Tech publisher Digital Trends, partnered with animation studio HouseSpecial to produce its annual holiday gift guide, this time telling a gift-giving story in elaborate miniature scenes. The feature showcases gift ideas for tech lovers, hand selected by the editorial staff at Digital Trends.

The visual stories created for the gift guide use human-sized everyday objects and tiny character models. Leading the team is HouseSpecial Director/Art Director Gee Staughton, whose stop-motion work includes the awarding-winning Chipotle short, 'Back to the Start' and campaigns for Planters, Travel Portland, noosa and Dish Network.

The images are snapshots into an odd reality and feature rich, tiny custom handmade details. For example, miniature home chefs in a cooking class prepare dinner on sharp cheese knives, a naked man with tan lines gets a massage beside a pool made from a repurposed giftable book and a street performer plays his guitar under the shadow of a looming city created with pink suitcases and black wireless speakers. Readers who look closely and investigate each scene will be rewarded with funny little 'Easter eggs.'

The figures were designed in HO scale or 1:87, which is the traditional scale for model railroads. Gift ideas are tailored for following categories of recipients, each with an individual feature: The Foodie, The Traveler, The Audio/Entertainment Junkie, Parents & Grandparents, The DIY Freak.