Fabulous character work here courtesy of Nexus director Laurie Rowan, who deploys a stop-motion aesthetic in a series of deadpan CG social media clips for Australian teleco Telstra thru Sydney agencies +61 and Bear Meets Eagle On Fire.

From the team at Nexus: “The spots star Colin, an endearingly disgruntled cuckoo clock character [voiced by actor/VO artist Rupert Degas] who brings a fresh and funny twist to Telstra’s latest promotion, App O’Clock.
 

“Colin feels real to me, and despite his self-importance and uncharitable outlook, I still find myself drawn to him and his lovely little shoes.”

 
“Laurie chose 3D animation to bring Colin to life, providing a high level of control and adaptability during production. This allowed the Nexus Studios team to heighten the comedy through micro-expressions, tonal shifts, and iterative refinements using the replacement method for Colin’s mouth and eyes to give the series its unique visual language.

Laurie Rowan “Colin feels real to me, and despite his self-importance and uncharitable outlook, I still find myself drawn to him and his lovely little shoes.”
 
 

 
Client: Telstra

Agency: +61, Bear Meets Eagle On Fire
CCO: Micah Walker
CD: Chris Cheeseman, Doug Hamilton
Producer: Renee Nadin
CD Design: Mike Witcombe

Production: Nexus Studios
Director: Laurie Rowan
EP: Rachel Moss
Producer: Lizzie Small
Production Manager: Ruyi Meer, Tyler Antin
CG Supervisor: Mark Davies
3D Animation Lead: Marylou Mao
Art Director: Melanie Climent
Character Designer: Laurie Rowan
Modeling/Texturing: Hen Levene, Alex Franks, Eder De Souza
Senior Rigging Artist: Niko Rossi
3D Animator: Alina Bopele, Juan Carlos Chaparro, Marta Pevida, Will Lorton
Lighting Lead: Pawel Adamiec
Lighting/Rendering: Ioana Tanasache, Hen Levene
Compositing Lead: Gareth Tredrea
Compositor: Chiara Feriani, Hugo vieites Caamaño
Editor: David Slade

Sound: Rumble Studios
VO Artist: Rupert Degas