CG Animation

FutureDeluxe for Nespresso

Mcann / Hogarth recently commissioned FutureDeluxe to produce a CG animated commercial for Nespresso that is really wonderful. OK, what am I saying pretty much everything FutureDeluxe does is wonderful. The short clip takes the viewer on a journey that travels through a variety of spaces. Each highlighting the colors and variety of Nespresso machines, all of which are designed to create an atmosphere reflective of the machine itself. The short is made up of 37 films, 44 CG products, and 40 key visuals that live in 7 unique spaces.

One thing that really stands out to me about this advertisement is the fact that you hardly see any Nespresso branding. You occasionally see the logo on a shopping bag or on the Nespresso coffee pod but that is it, and it works. The brand is so well known they don’t need to smack you over the head by plastering the logo in every single shot. Not only that but the spaces themselves continue to elevate Nespresso to be seen as the luxury coffee item that it is.

If you want to geek out a bit, the process real below shows how this was put together from a fairly high level. Sketches, style frames, animatics, wireframe renderings plates, and all. Personally, I love looking at this stuff. I find it absolutely fascinating.

Mello Yello

Most people’s interaction with the band Yello is from John Hugh’s film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” with the song “Oh Yeah”. To be perfectly honest I didn’t realize Boris Blank and Dieter Meier were still together as a group and producing new music. With that said, they are and they have a new music video that was produced by Dirk Koy, and it’s a hypnotic piece of animation that goes perfectly with Yello’s sound. The timing of the animation to the music is absolutely spot on, and the song can be a bit of an earworm. You have been warned.

Friday Inspiration. Chipotle’s “The Scarecrow”, from Moonbot Studios.

A little over a year ago, Chipotle launched “Back to the Start” on YouTube to huge success. The video went viral, won tons of awards and got critical acclaim for the quality of the animation and production value. So how do you follow something like that up? You hire academy award winning Moonbot Studios, (The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore) and let them raise the bar.

“The Scarecrow” is a 3 and a half minute 100 percent CG animated short that follows a similar theme as “Back to the Start” set to Fiona Apple doing a haunting rendition of “Pure Imagination” from Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The mood of the film isn’t uplifting when you think about all the processed crap we eat everyday, but the quality of this animated short is definitely inspiring for a Friday afternoon.