Works

CASE REVIEW – Secret Job

Sometimes we do work that never sees the light of day for one reason or another. This is one of those jobs.

The client wanted a way to “tell their story”. They wanted something that humanised them and chronicled where they’d come from and where they were going.

And what better visual for the idea of travel and a journey than an airport.

Always pushing up the hill

“We all love airports… well, not the food prices but the other stuff. They’re exciting, they represent the joy of possibility and the comfort of returning home.” said Madeby Executive Producer Dave Owen. “If we could capture that sense of adventure we knew we’d be onto something.”

After lengthy discussions with the client, it was clear what sequences needed to be shown. Now we had to figure out the best way to join those scenes together and to give them a sense of cohesion. We wanted the animation to be seamless to imply their ‘story’ had been similarly seamless.

“The ‘camera’ floating freely through the sequence helped replicate the freedom and experience of flying,” said Madeby Creative Director Travis Hunt.

How can I explain

It wasn’t enough to simply imagine what some of these scenes would look like or how they would function, we needed to dive into research and plenty of emails and phone calls back and forth with the client to make sure that we represented everything as accurately as possible.

This ensured that not only would we get a great looking end product but it would be something that their peers and interested parties could see their day to day work-lives in. That sense of being represented was a powerful outcome.

Never looking down again

Once we knew we had the nitty-gritty down it was time to make it beautiful. “Despite the flack JJ Abrams (Director – Star Trek, Star Wars VII, Mission: Impossible 3) takes for them, lens flares are awesome,” said Dave. “When used correctly they can help bring warmth and energy to a scene.”

The ‘camera’ also needed to be rigged and it’s movements mapped out so that it felt like a real camera and its movements felt purposeful and elegant. This allowed us to play with the viewer’s expectations and ensure that they had to sit forward and engage with the video and not just let it wash over them.

We are always running for the thrill of it

Unfortunately, due to some restructuring and administrative changes in the client’s organisation, this one wasn’t able to be published under the brand for which it was created. Nonetheless, the client loved it and it’s one of our most frequently referenced videos on new requests. So here it is where it can see the light of day (even if only in secret ;))