Optimus Orchestrates a Chorus of Croaks for the Shedd Aquarium

Production and post house Optimus collaborated with Shedd Aquarium, also known as the “World’s Aquarium” dedicated to public education and conservation, to develop a spot for Amphibians, a limited-time special exhibit that opened to the public on May 16. 

The Optimus Design team, led by Creative Director Donnie Bauer, worked side-by-side Shedd Aquarium’s internal designers, marketing team and animal care experts to deliver a spot that blends live action shots of the exhibit’s fascinating amphibians with vibrant animation that conveys the energy of their habitats. Airing locally now, the spot urges viewers to visit the exhibit where they can “hear a chorus” of frogs or “discover the unexpected” beauty of salamanders.

“Amphibians is an opportunity for guests to explore the wonderfully diverse world of amphibians – further connecting them to the living world," said Amanda Enser, Assistant Director of Licensing and Media for Shedd. "Optimus has been an extraordinary partner over the years because they take the time to learn Shedd’s brand and animals. With this new piece, working closely with our team, they paint a complete picture for audiences through a creatively designed visual that shows the variety of shapes, colours and sizes of the extraordinary animals our guests will encounter and experience in this new exhibit.”

Optimus and Shedd worked together to visualize the commercial spot and align it with the print campaign for a seamless look. Also unique to this spot was that Optimus Design was responsible for the live-action shots of the amphibians and Bauer worked closely with Shedd to get footage of these dynamic animals, including a Japanese giant salamander.

“This was an incredibly rewarding project because it allowed us to go on this complete journey with Shedd – starting with pre-vis and production – through design, animation, editing and audio and, finally, the finishing process,” said Bauer.  “I think when viewers see the spot it’s obvious that the entire team not only poured its creative energy into the campaign, but we had a great time working together.”