High Five: A Mixed Bag of Disciplines
This was such a fun exercise! I’ve often imagined myself being interviewed by Lauren Laverne on Desert Island Discs, so this is right up my alley. I’m a multi-disciplined creative with strong roots in VFX and production, mainly in broadcast, but I also did a stint as a crowd technical director on the feature film 'Happy Feet 2'. Naturally, I have great affection for executions with beautiful and meticulous production. The following selections cover a mixed bag of disciplines with a focus on craft, and they are all great examples of three principles I value highly in creative work: simplicity, authenticity and artistry...
Fender - 'The Acoustasonic Jazzmaster: The Sonic Shape-Shifter'
Agency, Production & Post: ManvsMachine
Sound: Resonate
I’ve done a few 3D product animations during my time as a VFX artist, but this elevates it to the level of visual poetry. Reminds me so much of Zeitguised’s work, 'Peripetics', which was a seminal influence on my own personal creative style. Kudos to Fender for not being nervous about having their product distorted and warped, at times beyond recognition. The Acoustasonic range is a game-changing line of guitars that is capable of bridging the sonic divide between electric and acoustic like no other semi-acoustic guitar, (I personally own the Mexican made Telecaster Acoustasonic) and this ad perfectly communicates the sound-bending capability of the guitar.
NRL - 'This Is How We League'
Agency: R/GA Sydney
Production: Collider
Post: White Chocolate
Sound: Song Zu x Trailer Media
This campaign just drips with authenticity. I’m totally not a rugby league fan, but I was at the R/GA Sydney office when they launched this campaign, and when they showed the TV spot, it sent chills down my spine. You can’t beat compelling grassroots level storytelling, especially when it’s presented in a cinematic quality production.
Viceland - Branding
Agency: Gretel New York
This brand execution is as deceptively simple as a Mark Rothko painting. It perfectly encapsulates the ethos and swagger of the Viceland TV Channel, purposefully going against the norm of a slick and polished network TV-style branding. The DIY aesthetic is functional, human and imperfect, without any artifice or veneer.
The National - 'Sleep Well Beast' Album Brand Identity and Packaging
Agency: Pentagram
Photographer: Graham MacIndoe
The cover art for this album has always haunted me whenever it comes up on my Spotify playlist. So it totally blew my mind to discover that Pentagram had designed a full corporate identity package just for this album, complete with a standards manual. This has so much delicious irony wrapped around it - an indie band riffing on a corporate aesthetic for laughs...
Nike SB - 'Chalk'
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy Tokyo
Production: HutchCo
Director: Max Malkin
This ad is older than my kids, and still kicks ass today. Pure visual wit in video form, married with exceptional craft and attention to detail (notice the chalk dust flying as Paul Rodriguez lands his six-foot switch flip). It has the vibe of a classic print ad. Beautiful in its simplicity, and effective even without a voiceover or music track.
