When you think vodka, you think ABSOLUT Vodka, thanks to the YEARS of brilliant and iconic adverts created by the stellar agency TBWA\CHIAT\DAY. When the creatives at TBWA asked us to pitch on logo animation for the upcoming limited edition ABSOLUT BROOKLYN, we were on it! ABSOLUT Vodka commissioned Spike Lee to design the bottle art to capture the vibe and flavor of his borough of Brooklyn. We presented 3 concepts for the closing logo tag of a 1 minute video for the behind-the-scenes of the bottle launch.
OUR PITCH CONCEPTS
#1: Travel through Brooklyn icons landing on the brownstones of the print ad…
#2: A watercolor draw-on technique of the brownstones of Brooklyn…
#3: A graffiti treatment based on Brooklyn icons…
TBWA really liked our 2nd concept and made their presentation to ABSOLUT and Spike for the final selection. A few days after our pitch, the agency gave us the good news that our logo animation concept was selected for the Spike Lee video to promote the limited edition bottle of ABSOLUT BROOKLYN.
leftchannel worked with GHAVA (Graphic Havoc – a visual agency based in Brooklyn) on a couple teaser videos as part of a large multi-studio rebranding campaign for AOL. This concept, called SOFTIES involves plushy figures colliding with each other in an empty stark-white space consistent with the dozens of other AOL branding animations. Similar to the other branding animations, the AOL logo is revealed as the figures collide. (note: this is a silent animation)
After a great shoot and edit for the EXPRESS January and February campaigns in NYC, it was off to South Beach. We shot behind-the-scenes for the March and April campaigns during a one-day fashion shoot on Hibiscus Island. Again, armed with dual 5D MarkII cameras, we shot stills and 1080p footage seamlessly while fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier worked the models. Chanel Iman, Michael Camiloto, and Caroline Trentini gave us some nice goofy and candid moments while footage of Bianca shot in NYC added to the mix.
Presenting part deux of our Nike Golf twin-spin animations: Victory Red. Along with the MACHSPEED driver animation, we collaborated with Summit Projects on anchor videos for their redesign of the NIKE GOLF website. Summit and Nike wanted to show-off the innovative compression chamber on the driver head that creates a trampoline effect when connecting with the ball… check it:
leftchannel has been editing/animating the campaign videos for EXPRESS fashion for quite some time now… And as of late last year (2009) we’ve also been shooting quite a bit, using dual 5D MarkII cameras. We shot the January and February campaign at Skyline Studios in Manhattan working alongside fashion photographer Greg Kadel. The EXPRESS models Michael Camiloto, Caroline Trentini, and Bianca posed and primped for our cameras as well.
“Imagine if a company paid the government to mine for gold or drill for oil in your backyard—but didn’t ask for your permission, pay you, or give you important information about the project. Right now, oil, gas, and mining companies are doing this all around the world, often in the poorest countries.” – from Oxfam’s Right to Know, Right to Decide campaign.
To help raise awareness of the negative effect of extractive industries on various western Afrikan nations, leftchannel collaborated with Talking Eyes Media on an immersive video/animation for the international relief and development organization Oxfam.
The animation was created with a combination of various types of media: footage (shot with the Canon 5D MarkII), 2D and 3D motion graphics, and animated photo plates from Ed Kashi Photography (sister company to Talking Eyes Media). Check it:
FOLLOW THE MONEY
Please visit Oxfam’s site to see our Follow the Money animation as well as other information on this particular project.
When Swiss filmmaker Reto Caduff asked us to create the opening titles for his upcoming documentary on Herbert Matter – the legendary Swiss designer – we answered! The title creation was an amazing collaboration with Reto as we created unique elements for the titles as well as integrating much of Herbert’s massive library of diverse work.
Rather than write our own description, we’ll just borrow the logline from the film’s website. “THE VISUAL LANGUAGE OF HERBERT MATTER is a revealing look at the fascinating life story of the highly influential mid-century modern design master. Known as a quintessential designer’s designer, Swiss born Herbert Matter is largely credited with expanding the use of photography as a design tool and bringing the semantics of fine art into the realm of applied arts.”
In other news, Reto is in negotiation with an Academy Award winning actress as the narrator. We can’t reveal her name just yet, but it will be well in-hand by the time the film is released this summer.
Even cooler news? For the second time in 3 years we’ve had one of our projects accepted at the South by Southwest Film Festival. Last week these titles were nominated, as one of 18ish finalists, by SXSW’s inaugural film titles competition – Art of the Title Sequence. The competition is judged next week – March 16 – so we’ll let you know how we do!
Oh yes we did! We created a sweet video for the swingmasters over at Nike. The stellar folks at Summit Projects approached us to collaborate on an anchor video for their redesign of the NIKEGOLF website. The SQ MACHSPEED Driver is one of the featured clubs in NIKEGOLF’s new arsenal of tour weapons. Summit and Nike wanted to show-off the aerodynamic aspects of the driver head… and nothing is more show-offy than a wind tunnel smoke test! Our video puts the sexy back in techy.. check it:
First of all, the gang over at Summit Projects is great. Jeanne, Eddie, and Chris gave us lots of freedom combined with a healthy dose of direction. Starting with a rough model of the driver, we cleaned-up some issues, textured it, and then rendered the bejesus out of it in Cinema 4D. The sweet simulated smoke generator for wind tunnel testing comes from 3ds Max. Adding some killer animated infographics and pseudo-telemetry, we composited our animation over footage of Justin Leonard shot at the Nike research facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The coup de grace of final touches is the sound design mixed by the fine peoples over at Circa Music.
The final two posters of our print campaign for ESPN/NASCAR are finally ready to be unveiled. Working with Wieden + Kennedy, we crafted the sequels to our original Speed poster. Called Fans and The Chase, these two posters appeared as large fold-outs in various publications such as USA TODAY, ESPN: THE MAGAZINE, NASCAR ILLUSTRATED, and NASCAR SCENE.
The Hong Kong based design publisher – IdN – is releasing their 15th Anniversary Edition What Do You Love? this month. Their monthly magazine is well known for its stellar collection of all that is great in the world of print, product, interactive, environmental, and motion design. The 452-page hardcover book features specially commissioned work from 250+ talented creators who have collaborated with IdN over the last decade and a half — sharing their thoughts on the past, present, and their visions of the future. leftchannel was invited to submit 3 selections, including our vision of the future in a custom animation specifically commissioned for IdN: Domination.
Domination is piece based around theories surrounding looming future planetary consumption and the outward stretch towards interplanetary domination. In the case of this piece, spider-like missionaries are able to tap a planet’s resources dry, conserving the planet’s livable shell for later use in constructing a inhabitable surface on a distant, larger planet. This piece portrays only a case example or snapshot if you will, of the expansive process of such domination. Perhaps domination is a process that could be compared to a innocent, wonder-filled child playing in a sandbox building castles and later destroying them to rebuild bigger and better ones. Does moss not grow on wet sand?
