Reel of the Month Club (Dec. 2024): Coat of Arms
December 21, 2024
Here’s director/designer (and former Superfad co-founder) Justin Leibow on his new trio of feel-good live action/animation spots for PayPal: “The agency, Havas Worldwide, brought me in as the director through Wild Plum. But, also additionally hired me as the CD for the design and post-production handled at their [Watch]
How good can CG medical animation look? How inspiring can a story about cancer cells be? The Mill and Wieden+Kennedy answer those questions with this Fantastic Voyage-like glimpse at the destruction of chronic myeloid leukemia for Oregon Health & Science University. Robert Sethi, director/CD: “This [Watch]
Newly signed to Division for representation in France and the US, music video mavens Jonas & François team with Paris VFX/animation studio Mathematic for the title track from Jack White’s new solo project called “Lazaretto” releasing June 10th on Columbia. [Watch]
Fast and fun new CG character and VFX work from London’s Gramercy Park Studios (launched in 2013) and Academy director Walter Stern for the repositioning of Betfair, the world’s largest internet betting exchange. GPS handled all post duties from VFX supervision and the CG octopus, thru to grade, sound design [Watch]
Bangkok native and former TBWA Thailand art director, Panop Koonwat weaves 2D cel and 3D animation techniques into a riveting short for his School of Visual Arts MFA thesis film, wrapping his message about “overpopulation, overconsumption and global warming” into a manic/comic tale starring Adam and Eve and [Watch]
According to director William Armstrong‘s bio he “grew up in Botswana in the middle of the bush surrounded by crocodiles and snakes” so we’ll assume that’s where the savage intensity of this new Adidas online spot comes from as captured by DP Sebastian Pfaffenbichler and edited with fanatical precision by Andreas Bardet @ Infected. [Watch]
This latest music video from AFSchepperd, Philadelphia’s master of mind-melting, hand-drawn animation, weaves his trademark psychotropic spillage into the tragic narrative for Cody Alan’s “Heart Like a Rabbit.” Stash has admired Schepperd’s talent since 2009 when we published Ape School “Wail to God.” [Watch]
Jakob Trollbäck and crew bring a much-needed fresh look to the news parody genre with this crisp and intricate open for HBO’s “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” topped off with a layer of witty psuedo-Latin labels that Chuck Jones would appreciate. [Watch]
Samsung’s massive and cheeky campaign for the Galaxy rolls on with four minutes of wonderfully over-the-top sci-fi fun from Psyop/Smuggler director Laurent Ledru backed by sleek and wall to wall VFX from the Psyop crew. Because of the players’ schedules, they were each shot separately in London, [Watch]
Many Dr. Who fans (my son included) were underwhelmed by the latest BBC teaser (below) featuring only Peter Capaldi’s silhouette, but VFX artist John Smith was inspired to do something about it: He created this full trailer featuring the 12th doctor and Clara arriving in a dazzling new time and space:
“My aim was to capture the more ‘magical’ side of the show, rather than the dark-and-gritty approach I usually take. I used After Effects, Maya, Mudbox, and Premiere.”
London’s STK and in-house director/editor Chris Boyle deliver three fast and furious 3D cartoon takes for Nike’s “Risk Everything” World Cup campaign with VFX backup from Unit Post – all inside a tight four-week production sched.
Created with a combination of keyframe animation and dynamics by a small team at the Mill+, this inventive and pristinely rendered title sequence provided the centerpiece for the 2014 D&AD awards handed out earlier this week. Director Nils Kloth: “Every year the D&AD titles are a fantastic opportunity for us to [Watch]
California creative director Ash Thorp and Toronto filmmaker/musician Anthony Scott Burns stretch the opening titles for OFFF Barcelona 2014 out to a full 12 minutes of moody mystery complete with dark and riveting sound track by Pilotpriest (aka Anthony Scott Burns). Produced by Topix. [Watch]
New Zealand filmmaker/designer Joel Kefali (formerly 1/2 of the Special Problems studio with Campbell Hooper) is best known for his music videos for Lorde, Tune Yards, Flying Lotus, etc., but with “Baba” a brisk and graphic short based on the memories of his Turkish grandfather’s early days as a refugee in [Watch]
