This 60-second spot is part of a larger campaign by the state of North Carolina — Count On Me NC — that calls on business and individuals to pledge to join the fight agains Covid-19, by preventing the spread of the virus in simple ways – washing hands / keeping distance / wearing a mask.
CountOnMeNC.org for more on the campaign.
“With this quality of animation, they’ll earn millions by making a movie”
-Thanos, Perceptive and Absolutely Correct YouTube commenter
This project was a collaboration between Igor + Valentine and Young Arts to create a film that explores the idea of togetherness while promoting art within the film for purchase to raise money for YoungArts. With a series of 18 bird designs created by a mixture of Young Arts alumni, mentors, and established artists, Igor + Valentine teamed up with the folks at CALLEN to tell a story of a few hero birds bringing eggs to a cage to hatch and reveal different artists’ designs. The birds come together in a nest to sing and dance, finally leaving the cave to fly together around the sun.
The film’s overarching message of togetherness is one that felt vital, and more valuable now than ever. Unable to connect physically with other people as we normally would, Igor and Valentine decided to explore a deeper element of togetherness that celebrates the beauty of our differences and the coming together of people across race, gender, religion and all other things that divide us. What they achieved is a film that underscores powerful messages of solidarity and interdependence.
With the end goal of the film being to sell individual frames from the animation to raise money for Young Arts, Igor + Valentine had to approach animation differently, as not every moment of action works well as an isolated still frame. As a result, they had to be especially strategic about their compositions, trying to minimize the amount of in-between moments and frame as many of the birds in a scene that could work as a printed still.
The biggest challenge, however, was figuring out a way to bring together 18 different styles of birds, created using various techniques, into one unified film with a cohesive visual language. Drawing inspiration from author/illustrator Jon Klassen, known for creating environments that are minimal yet still full of depth, Igor + Valentine made the birds stand out against their backdrops, ensuring they were highlighted in each frame. They then introduced more collage and mixed media techniques as the glue that melded the different styles of birds together into one cohesive look, while still maintaining each artist’s unique design through the birds’ different environments.
Dipping fluidly in and out of reality, director Marco Spier beautifully orchestrates a collision between real and imagined worlds in this mad ride of match cuts, sweeping transitions and gamer tropes. Always taking the viewer on a journey but never itself too seriously. Game on.
As Dirk Nowitzki’s career comes to a close, W+K Amsterdam and Nike approached Wizz’s CRCR to retell the incredible story of his career in the legendary form it deserves. After 21 years in the NBA, Dirk has changed the game forever. He is the league’s highest-scoring European, the first big man to shoot threes and the original stretch four – in short, a legend. So the team decided to tell his story the way epic legends have been told for thousands of years: with a book.
To spread the story even further, they turned the book into an online film, transforming the illustrations into moving animations, and getting one of Dirk’s best friends – NBA legend Steve Nash – to narrate it.
Camp W is a story-rich visual adventure game about friendship, mystery, and (not) fitting in.
Camp W puts you in the role of a young Witch experiencing their first ever summer away from home at sleepaway camp. But there’s a twist! (Isn’t there always?) Though you’re from the Witching Realm, where magic is commonplace, you’ll be enrolling at a summer camp for Humans who have long since forgotten that Witchcraft exists. While summering in the Human Realm, you’ll have to conceal your identity and make sure not to get caught practicing your craft. Make friends, cast spells, and uncover secrets during your first ever summer away from home.
Kevin the Carrot is back for his 5th consecutive year in holiday marketing for Aldi thanks to Psyop Founder/Directors Todd + Kylie who gave birth to this anthropomorphized root vegetable 5 years ago and have since proven that sequels can in fact be just as good if not better than the original! This year, partnering with McCann Manchester, they delivered a fresh and creative story that perfectly adds to the Aldi repertoire. Opening with a teaser that pays homage to Top Gun in which Kevin gets lost after falling out of a fighter jet, this festive spot lives up to the hype of its predecessors and is sure to leave fans satisfied. On a mission to be reunited with his family in time for Christmas (a la Home Alone), Kevin treks across a snowy landscape to make his way back home but not without getting into some crazy antics along the way. The film is adventure-filled, heartwarming and of course sprinkled with cultural references, an Oscar-worthy performance by Jim Broadbent as Santa Claus, and subtle nods to other iconic films, E.T. and Pirates of The Caribbean, as always.
At the start of April 2020, we were tasked by the creative team at Sedona in collaboration with Che Proximity, to produce an animated story that depicts the unique struggles of people working during this difficult time, specifically young moms. With the goal of shining a light on these unsung heroes, Psyop developed a heartwarming story that captures the intimacy and connection between loved ones that are forced to be apart during these trying times.
The story follows Esme, a nurturing mother, a caregiver, someone that provides for the community. As an essential worker at a market and a new mother, this time is particularly difficult for Esme as she struggles to balance work and life. As her workday unfolds, a pattern and rhythm is developed that highlights the challenging nature of her repetitive and physically demanding job. Esme stocks and restocks the shelves at the market until she is able to steal a moment of privacy in the intimate confines of the storeroom where WhatsApp allows her to connect with her family and be with them.
“We wanted to craft a story that conveyed the intensity of the moment, and the deep importance of feeling connected to loved ones in these times which are often so isolating. It was important to me that the animation be nuanced, reflecting the stillness of our world and the uncanny tension all around us. It was refreshing to see a brief that spoke to the heart of the moment. How people who are otherwise often overlooked in our society have become our heroes.” -Eve Strickman, Executive Producer
The 2D animation and cinematographic style of this piece were very purposefully chosen with the intention of creating a sense of realism similar to live action films. The delicate quality and fine lines of the 2D style perfectly capture the fragility of the world at this moment in time, while the sparing use of camera movement emphasizes the quiet stillness that everyone is feeling around them.
The project’s quick turnaround time combined with having to navigate newfound obstacles that come with working from home were the biggest challenges faced while making this project. The restrictions of Covid, however, allowed for a newly effective working relationship to develop between the studio, agency and client that was much more collaborative and communicative. And despite the time crunch (the project was pitched in only one day over Memorial Day weekend), the team was able to churn out an incredibly powerful piece that speaks to this unique and unparalleled moment in history where time with loved ones has become both precious and uncertain.
“We seek space to console one another in these isolated difficult times. WhatsApp provides us with moments of intimate private connection with our friends and family. Our work, our families, our lives have changed in ways we never would have imagined, and being able to connect one on one, quickly and easily makes navigating these changes a little easier.” – Marie Hyon, Director
On the journey to his afterlife, a hero is lured off his path by evil spirits. Soon a series of events unfold, sure to leave you on the edge of your seat.
In close collaboration with Riot Games, Sun Creature directed and created this three-act short story full of mythical references, unpredictability, drama and of course the mandatory heart-pounding action scenes.
ACT I
Our hero wakes up on a shore confused and scared. As a fox guides him through serene and beautiful nature, we begin to sense an eerie and ominous presence. The world reveals its dark and dangerous sides, as an evil spirit attempts to lure the hero off his path.
ACT II
Our hero steps off his path and is surrounded by darkness immediately. The horrors of his death are revealed to him as the demon feeds on his despair and anger, awaiting the perfect moment to strike.
ACT III
As the two are confronted, darkness dissipates. They are trapped in the hero’s soul, frozen in time. The demon appears out of a sea of anger. The fight is epic and aggressive and the outcome will surprise you.
This project got us excited right from the get-go. The folktale storyworld and the anime style of animation are both near to our hearts, so we didn’t spare any effort making this film as epic as we possibly could.
In close collaboration with Riot Games, Sun Creature directed and created this three-act short story full of mythical references, power, unpredictability, drama and of course the mandatory heart-pounding action scenes.
The three acts each have their own visual expression, mimicking the hero’s emotional state as the narrative progresses.
The visual style is cinematic and inspired by East Asian art and culture, adding history, myth and lore, and creating an array of truly captivating scenarios resembling the feeling of walking through an ancient fable.
We were greatly inspired by anime references known for mixing moments of stillness and contemplation with extreme movement to create contrast and shifts in intensity, giving the film its spectacular and versatile look and feel.
As a sports buff, I had the extraordinary pleasure of unveiling Adidas’ latest football inspired collaboration with legendary streetwear brand Bape for Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta. Spearheaded by the wonderful folks at Kamp Grizzly, we created a Saturday morning inspired animated series to help launch the new gear. The three part series is narrated by non other than Atlanta native Quavo and features a plethora of my favorite NFL athletes. With this many folks involved, the project was a true collaboration all the way around.
There is Mambo! There are Pink Flamingos, and there’s a taste of all you can do in 140 hours in Miami.
Hyatt’s The Confidante Hotel created a Twitter competition where people would describe their best way to spend 140 hours in Miami. Our job was to give life to the best tweet.
The new campaign for responsible drinking from Brazilian beer SKOL (AB-Inbev) brings a edge and very realistic concept: “Drink Right, F*ck Right”.
To get the public’s attention and build a dialogue, Wieden+Kennedy São Paulo had an insight on a subject that has never previously been mentioned in campaigns: sex. Hard-partying types with a harder fact – binge drinking and alcohol abuse in general leads to underwhelming sexual performance.
We created a non-stop animation with so many movements and elements to recreate the feeling of trying – and usually failing – to remember a crazy drunken night. There are more elements and movements than it’s possible to handle, not least in bed.
Cartoon Network has always been an inspiration for kids everywhere.
So much so, that even many grown-ups who work in animation do it exactly because of how much they loved Cartoon’s creations when they were young.
That’s why it was such a gigantic honor for us at Le Cube, after we too were not so long ago just kids sitting in front of the TV amazed by what we saw, to create the channel’s 25th-anniversary celebration film.
If you want to take a peep into our souls in one of our projects, this is it. This is the kind of project for which Le Cube exists.
Senna is more than a Formula 1 racer; for Brazilians, he is a hero, an icon of overcoming hardship, stubbornness and good character. Sadly to say, he died young, in a race in 1994. But his legacy lives on. Part of this is thanks to the Senna family who opened an NGO called “Instituto Ayrton Senna”; their mission is to help in the education of Brazilian children and keep the image of Ayrton Senna alive.
For the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the “Instituto Ayrton Senna”, together with JWT and us (Le Cube), have prepared a beautiful message from Senna to all the Brazilian Olympic athletes, pointing out the importance of winning at home. Ayrton Senna lost eight times before winning the Brazilian GP, and when he did, it was with a lot of effort. Still, he faced it unflinchingly.
Take a look at what is, perhaps, our masterpiece. And, always remember to do your best and put all you have to accomplish what you want, just like Senna.
RGA Shanghai’s latest collaboration with Final Frontier and Le Cube is a berserk animation for Boxing Cat Brewery’s new Amber Lager, a theme-song-cum-opening-credits action film about a superhero cat boxer intent on ridding China’s cities of mundane liquor, one haymaker at a time.
We’re proud to share our latest project made for China with our homies from Final Frontier – a short film for Ritz-Carlton, Sanya made with Saatchi & Saatchi, telling the real story of hotel guest Soviet Cosmonaut Vladimir Kovalenok. It’s a touching tale of love, loss, and soul-searching.
Followfood isn’t just another sustainable food brand; they are a real movement for raising awareness in consumer habits around the world. In this PSA, we teamed up with Tank Tank Hamburg to raise the awareness that food consumption habits matter and change our planet for good or for evil.
For “In Your Hands” film, we developed an art showing a contrast between the sad planet made by bad decisions and the hopeful world in humankind when changing consumption habits for sustainable choices. It was a challenge to don’t end up showing cliche portraits of waste and animal cruelty since they are always so powerful. Who follows Le Cube’s work knows our obsession with elegant designs and fluid movements, so for this animation, we work hard in finding a way to generate bad feelings portraying a sad world but with distinctive designs, with uniqueness and aesthetic solidity. After so many years doing animation, we know clearly that our way to impact the world with powerful and meaningful messages is to show unique designs that transmit Le Cube’s soul and heart.
We hope by watching this film, you give a second thought on the next time you do your groceries, thinking that your choices impact the whole world.
Psyop Directors Marco + Marie take viewers on a sweeping journey through history, space and time. Working with advertising partner Ogilvy & Mather, the film is a gorgeous take on the butterfly effect set off by the first planting of a seed and showing the impact of farming from nourishing the masses to propelling progress across industries.
Built with exquisite detail in CG, the directors took heavy inspiration from photography and brought rich colorful vistas and humanistic portraits into their world of perpetual movement and evolving transitions. They filled that world with hundreds of a characters from not only different cultures but time periods.
From the first story beat of the seed being planted, the visual narrative fluidly transforms and shifts taking the viewer across cultures, continents, from the beginning of time to the modern day – a visual conceptual conceit that pays off the tagline – Keep Growing.
Psyop Directors Marco + Marie take viewers on a sweeping journey through history, space and time. Working with advertising partner Ogilvy & Mather, the film is a gorgeous take on the butterfly effect set off by the first planting of a seed and showing the impact of farming from nourishing the masses to propelling progress across industries.
Built with exquisite detail in CG, the directors took heavy inspiration from photography and brought rich colorful vistas and humanistic portraits into their world of perpetual movement and evolving transitions. They filled that world with hundreds of a characters from not only different cultures but time periods.
From the first story beat of the seed being planted, the visual narrative fluidly transforms and shifts taking the viewer across cultures, continents, from the beginning of time to the modern day – a visual conceptual conceit that pays off the tagline – Keep Growing.
“In the spirit of Albert Einstein, we wanted to create a film that will challenge our imagination. We love the story of Dr. Max Huber and the myth behind his journey to find the cure to heal his burnt skin. We believe the myth is more powerful than the reality. Our film focuses on the poetic legendary tale rather than the reality and its facts. Besides, reality leaves nothing to the imagination. For the first La Mer film, we focused on introducing Dr. Max Huber and telling his story. For the follow up film, we focus mainly on the fascination of exploring the unknown. Curiosity is the key to staying young. And the wonders of nature inspire the curious ones to seek out its secrets, and question what is beyond or beneath the surface. La Mer Part 2 is inspired by light and the transforming effect it has to surfaces. This element of change is magical to us, from the spectacular colorful displays of a sunrise, to the northern lights, to the illumination of light on the surface of water or ice and even beyond the surface. Inspired by Dr. Max Huber, we will tell a story of one traveler who represents us all.”
Marie Hyon
-Marie Hyon, Director
Director
-ALBERT EINSTEIN
“I AM ENOUGH OF AN ARTIST TO DRAW FREELY UPON MY IMAGINATION. IMAGINATION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN KNOWLEDGE. KNOWLEDGE IS LIMITED. IMAGINATION ENCIRCLES THE WORLD.”
“When The Wonderful Agency and Teleflora approached me with this project, I was captivated by the idea of working on a long format film with such a strong creative potential. It, alloweding me a better flexibility to set the context, the background and to develop in detail the evolution of the main character as we follow this man over a long period of his life -, from his childhood to adulthood. This sequence of “slices of life” reminds me of the introduction to Disney’s film “Up”, where the most important moments in Carl’s life play outfollow one after another.” “It was a rich and challenging experience to see the character’s design evolve throughout the film, both in terms of styling and the ageing of his face, while also working on a range of his multiple expressions.” “I come from 3D, so the creation of this universe in 2D all in black and whiteB&W (with a few brushstrokes of red to highlight the flowers 😉 ) was a great opportunity to create longer shots, a varied cast of various characters and to craftcreate a more elaborated narrative.”
Sun Creature was approached Josh Mullens and Micah Walker, co-founders of the newly opened creative studio and agency, Bear Meets Eagle on Fire, based in Sydney. Having seen Sun Creature’s work on Travel Oregon, they decided a similar Japanese Anime approach would be a great fit for the Optus campaign.
Sun Creature’s Guillaume Dousse co-directed this project with French director and former Pixar animator, Louis Clichy, whose affinity for character driven stories wonderfully complimented Dousse’s experience from working on the Travel Oregon films.
They produced the film in only 7 weeks time and the final product screened in cinemas in Australia as well as on Television and online.
Yet another wonderful collaboration with the team at Sun Creature, this short film was very dear to our hearts. This was a sensitive story, a grandmother reflecting on her life and retelling the story in the form of a fairytale to her grandson. We wanted this film to feel as though it were being imagined through the eyes of a child; the innocence, the menace, the surrender and the salvation.
Kylie Matulick – Director
A mesmerizing explosion of undulating textures and patterns embody Ecobee’s temperature setting powers.
“A young woman who lived in a shoe… My immediate take away was to take the absurd old rhyme and turn it on its ear.”
Marie Hyon
Director
“Through interesting “story within a story” tableaus of women, I wanted to create living portraits embodying the spirit of punk rock.
The painterly cinema-graphs, reminiscent of Renaissance paintings, each story is its own vignette, in a huge Hieronymus Bosch style tableau of modern women’s stories was the goal. This style gave me a chance to create the visuals with depth and detail and backstory, developing the character of these individual women that could hold meaning across all women.
These tableaus are subversive commentaries on breaking the status quo. Why should we care about fitting into glass slippers? Shouldn’t we care more about smashing glass ceiling? I was truly stoked at the opportunity to champion women to feel empowered to believe the same.”
