Heartbreaking Stories, Well-Told: “A Dangerous Journey”

Narrated by two survivors of sex trafficking, “A Dangerous Journey” by London’s Animage Films warns young African women of the dangers of being tricked into prostitution by animating the women’s tragic stories and describing the various techniques of coercion used by traffickers.

The film (funded in part by Comic Relief) won the Gold World Medal at the 2013 New York Festivals and the 2013 Human Trafficking Foundation Media Award. [Watch]

Vetor Zero/Lobo: “Brincante” Closing Credits

Peek behind the scenes with the Vetor Zero/Lobo crew in São Paulo’s as they craft the tiniest of details in the stop-motion tail credit sequence for “Brincante,” a docudrama exploring the life and work of Brazilian musician, performer and folk culture researcher Antonio Nóbrega. [Watch]

Stash Latin America 3 Book + DVD | STASH MAGAZINE

Stash Latin America 3 Launches at Cannes Film Fest

Spread across 6,000 miles, six time zones and every possible climate, the design, animation and VFX industry in Latin America represents a staggering array of talent bound together by a passion for creating outstanding work. (Watch the collection here.) Stash’s third collection of studios from across this vibrant region [Watch]

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Andy Hall and Elastic: Adidas World Cup “Black + White”

Director Andy Hall and a compact Elastic crew sculpt 1:14 of intense, chroma-free, CG drama for Adidas in this ramp up to World Cup chaos. Agency: TBWA Chiat Day. [Watch]

Heckler UNICEF | STASH MAGAZINE

Heckler and Iris Worldwide: “UNICEF Change for Good”

Sydney all-round creative force Heckler shows their mettle for dealing with CG metal in this animated spot for a UNICEF/Qantas initiative called 5 Fund that turns small coins into “the most powerful change in the world.” Agency: Iris Worldwide Sydney. Director: Craig Rasmus @ The Feds. Music: “Blood” by The Middle East. [Watch]

Significant Object_Paul McCartney | STASH MAGAZINE

Andre Chocron + Significant Object = Newman + Paul McCartney

Sir Paul McCartney commissioned London’s master puppeteers Mervyn Millar and Ed Dimbleby (aka Significant Object) to create Newman, his robot co-star in this music video for “Appreciate” by Oslo director Andre Chocron. Newman will also appear live on stage at McCartney’s concerts in Tokyo, Osaka and Seoul. [Watch]

LAIKA/house for Jose Cuervo Tradicional

CD/director Kirk Kelley and a LAIKA/house crew of 60+ expose their collective obsessive compulsive disorder in this :60, creating psychotically detailed handcrafted dioramas for Jose Cuervo Tradicional (the world’s first tequila) thru McCann New York. Check out the extensive behind the scenes post here.
[Watch]

Pharrell Williams Takaski Murakami | STASH MAGAZINE

Takaski Murakami + Pharrell Williams + “Jellyfish Eyes”

Trippy new video for the theme song from Takaski Murakami’s feature film “Jellyfish Eyes” with freakishly over-the-top CG animation by Kaikai Kiki Sapporo Studio Poncotan. The track, “Last Night Good Night (Re:Dialed)” by livetune (featuring Hatsune Miku) was remixed by Pharrell Williams. You may not make it [Watch]

Tinman Wonders “Where Do Winter Tires Go?”

Toronto character specialists Tinman Creative Studios channels a Hanna-Barbera-meets-UPA vibe to help solve the annual Canadian dilemma of what to do with ones snow tires during the two or three months you may not actually need them. Produced for the Ontario GM Dealers thru MacLaren McCann, Toronto. [Watch]

Gergely Wootsch Unveils Frankenstein for “Penny Dreadful”

Beakus director Gergely Wootsch adds just the right sense of sinister style to the first of three animated virals promoting the new drama series Penny Dreadful on SKY in the UK. “Taking inspiration from the origins of Frankenstein, this dark and atmospheric clip is narrated by Matthew Sweet, and illustrates how the novel came about. ‘Penny Dreadful’ is created by John Logan and stars Josh Hartnett, Timothy Dalton, Eva Green and Billie Piper.” [Watch]

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Piccadilly Curtains, Tequila and Justin Timberlake

Strange Beast director Piccadilly Curtains (aka Adam Parry) shows off his diverse bag of design and directing skills with this very cool multimedia set piece for Sauza’s premium 901 tequila starring Justin Timberlake and some very tasty graphic projections. Piccadilly Curtains: “Projections, illustration, alcohol and a [Watch]

Makin’ Animated Loops with Andy Martin

Freelance London animation director Andy Martin reveals the fine art of creating stop motion loops via his Vine-based Plasticine Rhythm project, “I have always been interested in the way visuals can effect sound and how visual loops can be brought together to create a piece of music.

“This is how I produced Plasticine Rhythm; allowing each stop motion loop, made using Vine, to dictate a sound and combining these sound loops on screen to build a compatible interplay of rhythm and melody. Once this was established I then played with all the elements, including the background color and the mini-TVs containing the loops, so every element was intrinsically linked with the music.”


[Watch]

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For Conor Finnegan “Life Begins at Breakfast”

Nexus director Conor Finnegan leverages the charm and subtle humor of his multi-award-winning short film “Fear of Flying” for this gentle peek at a wooly, puppet-populated woodland thru London Agency Sunshine for Dorset Cereal. Conor Finnegan: “It was a tight enough schedule from initial go-ahead, with just [Watch]

Sibling Rivalry Rebrands Nicktoons

Creative collective Sibling Rivalry answers the question many parents (and the exec’s at Nicktoons) are asking: What does a nine-year old boy think is awesome? The studio’s reply, as demo’d by this insane montage is a combination of humor, action and intense color created with a mashup of live action, stop motion, 2D, and 3D.
[Watch]