Olympics

Every Rise, Every Fall

I’m probably not going to watch any of the winter Olympics this year. I’m just not into it anymore and the live schedule is just nuts. I’m not tuning in at three in the morning to watch Curling teams duke it out on the ice in slow motion. Although Curling action can be quite riveting and is a definite draw for me.

OK, with all that said, there is a new spot from Uncommon London that is extremely creative and executed so well. The two-minute online spot “Every rise, every fall, every victory – we’re in it together” does a great job of capturing the essence of the games and how it relates to viewers around the world. How the games pull you in and captivate. This is the most Olympic action I’m going to see this year, and it was worth 2 minutes of my time just to see the construction guy acting out snowboard ariels.

Freeze Frame

What a great little animation by Director, animator, and sound designer Serafima Serafimova. Amazing line work, fluid animation, nice transitions between sequences. What a great way to escape all of the crap that has been happening since March of this year. It made me think about the Winter Olympics and that is the entire point of this piece. I love the linework that she uses, and if you want to see more like this click-through using the link above. “Still Life” is another little escape built around a series of dance moves blending ballet, swing, and tango.

The Winter Olympics played a big part in my childhood. It was always on the telly and I remember family time spent marveling at the athletes who, to this day, I still think of as superheroes. In a year filled with uncertainty and fear, I found comfort in the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics and the joy and positive energy it will bring. I made Freeze Frame in the hope that it would recreate some of the magic I have grown to love and associate with the event. We could certainly use some of it to get us all through the winter months to come.

Art Direction & Animation: Serafima Serafimova
Music: Continent by Anbr
Music Remix: Mark Batch
Sound Design – Serafima Serafimova
Compositing & Moral Support – Giulia Bavagnoli

The Poster Designs for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Are Crazy – Awesome

I’m not sure what the selection criteria were for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, but I’m digging the completely crazy set of images that were chosen. The styles range from Manga to Cubism to Surrealism and Photography. If you compare these to what we traditionally have gotten the Tokyo posters seem almost out of left field. Hat tip to the judges for taking a chance and choosing posters that are a reflection of Japanese culture, and that take a chance. You can see all of the posters here and read the artists statements about the works as well.

DixonBaxi Designs Eurosport Home of the Olympics

I talk a lot about cohesive brand voice or cohesive visual voice across all touch points of a campaign. Many times I think I’m getting through to a client, and I’m not, so I end up looking up examples to show them. I usually track down digital and print components, static images, and PDF’s, then try and get them to wrap their head around how it also applies to video, motion graphics, audio, and all the other little bits and pieces that go into a full blown OMNI channel campaign. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. Today I found a great example that I think will help in the future.

The video below from DixonBaxi shows the campaign they have created to support Eurosport’s coverage of the Olympics for the next eight years. This is a huge project with hundreds of touchpoints that people will engage with. All of them need to have a look and feel that resonates the same way. From the editing of video all the way down to the static graphical content in print items. As you watch the video you will begin to see a very specific cadence that takes place in the way the clips are cut together. There is the establishment of a color pallet that gets picked up and used through out the campaign as well. About 15 seconds in they begin to hint at the graphics and animation, and then they roll out each component of the entire system showing how and where it will be used. From bus stop signs to tablet interfaces and everything in between. If you want to get a more in depth look, or just browse through the system at your own pace, they have it broken down on a really well-designed web page for you.