Nerdo director Daniele Gavatorta musters half a dozen artists and animators to build out a passionate manifesto film about the benefits of feet freedom for UK footwear brand Vivobarefoot thru agency Thingy&Thingy.

Daniele Gavatorta: “This project was born from a simple but powerful idea: we’re all born barefoot. And being barefoot means being free – respecting the natural shape that Mother Nature gave our feet. But as we grow, we’re forced into shoes that slowly squeeze, deform, and constrain us, until we forget what it feels like to walk naturally.

“VivoBarefoot is a bold brand that decided to team up with an equally bold agency, Thingy&Thingy, UK. Back in May they reached out with a clear statement: we don’t want a f**ing commercial*.

“What they wanted was a manifesto, a call for change, a tool to wake people up and help them live differently. A philosophy against BigShoes: FREE Your FEET. Ambitious and brave for sure: ‘When your feet are free, your whole body gets the memo: you’re here to live, not just to exist under someone else’s rules.’
 

“Our goal was to create a unique visual language, one that stayed far away from the shiny, AI-driven, CGI worlds we usually see in big shoe brand advertising.”

 
“From the very beginning, our goal was to create a unique visual language, one that stayed far away from the shiny, AI-driven, CGI worlds we usually see in big shoe brand advertising.

“Instead, we wanted something imperfect, human, natural, analog. To do that, I reached out to friends and artists (mainly illustrators and animators) each with a strong handmade approach. Techniques ranged from cut-out and collage to traditional animation and experiments with scanners to create distortions and glitches.

“The manifesto is made up of 30 unique scenes, each completely different in style. The big challenge was making all these voices live together in one coherent flow that could still tell a story – so a majority of pre-production focused on storyboard and animatic work, finding the best transitions and keeping the action and subject at the center.

“Working closely with VivoBarefoot’s creative team was key – they’re genuinely passionate people, truly believing in the product and the benefits it can bring. Having that constant dialogue helped us dive fully into their world and represent it at its best.”
 
 

 
Client: Vivobarefoot

Agency: Thingy&Thingy
Designer: Kapser Nyman

Production: Nerdo Studio
Director: Daniele Gavatorta
Producer: Letizia Saponaro
Designer/animator: Milena Tipaldo, Alessandro Novelli, Adolfo Redaño, Laura Gonçalves, Malena De Luca, Matteo Cozzo, Daniele Gavatorta

Music/sound design: Birdbrain