According to Variety, “The Simpsons recently hit a ratings low, but it’s possible the Lego theme could help.” Duh, ya think? Leveraging the blockbuster success of the The Lego Movie for the 550th episode of TV’s longest running animated show is the perfect tonic to spike interest among former viewers and pull in a [Watch]
Parisian animation studio Supamonks are masters of injecting extreme dynamic range (from serenity to ultra-violence) into their characters’ actions and expressions. Latest case in point: this pair of 2D spots for MONKEY TIE, a French recruitment website that matches candidates to jobs based on their personality. [Watch]
Few people on the planet light up abstract 3D the way Zeitguised do. Like most, the Berlin studio pays the bills with gigs for consumer brands but also supplement their workflow with surreal and playful experiments. The results are most often a combination of wonder and delight, as seen here with “Birds” and recent work [Watch]
Dvein continue their explorations outside the 3D playground teaming with fellow-Barcelonians Physalia for the first in a series of IDs for the new Converse ‘Colors’ campaign thru Blacklist for Anomaly, “Together we developed machines that bring color to the sneakers in a quite unorthodox way.” [Watch]
Director/animator Clément Morin re-imagines Angus Wall’s now-classic 2011 “Game of Thrones” opening sequence to reinforce HootSuite’s prediction of the coming Social Media Winter caused by the “battles being fought between many social networks, who are building walls and blocking access between their [Watch]
Hornet director Yves Geleyn reveals to Stash readers his design and narrative goals behind the powerful new 90-second PSA for States United to Prevent Gun Violence:
“Most commercials would cut on the gunshot, but we felt strongly that we should show it. If it were live-action, broadcasting regulations would have stopped it. Animation allowed us to show the whole scene. People expect the climax even less because of the medium.
“Once we settled on using animation, the key to heightening the emotional impact is in the simplicity of the piece. Less is more. Your brain fills the gaps. You understand that you are in a kid’s room, but it is not filled with too many objects. It is about the mood. This gives more room for the characters to inhabit each scene.
“The character designs themselves are graphic. They have human proportions but in an illustrated way. It is about striking a balance between lovable characters while keeping them realistic so people can project themselves. The family also does not have any sort of key defining characteristics, which helps make them relatable to a wider range of people.
“Speaking in terms of lighting, it is designed in such a way that it points to areas we want you to focus on (something Renaissance painters used frequently). The lighting is sharp. There are no gradients. There are no shadows, just highlights. The lighting helps to build the scene.”
Facts about kids and guns in the US:
• 1.5 million American children live in homes with unlocked and loaded firearms.
• Every day at least 6 children age 0 to 18 are injured in an unintentional shooting.
• 75% of gun shot injuries to children under ten that are serious enough to require hospitalization are due to unintentional shootings. [Watch]
