Agency Producers See ‘No Limits’ to Use of Animation, VFX
Whether traditional 2D, mixed media or vidgame-inspired character work, the mashup of animation and VFX seen in TV spots is on the rise, producers say.
Agency Producers See ‘No Limits’ to Use of Animation, VFX
By Anthony Vagnoni
One thing about animation and visual effects that holds true is the premise that, while employing these techniques, anything is possible. That’s the recurring theme from a quartet of agency producers SourceEcreative spoke with recently about the use of animation and effects in advertising content.
As the techniques continue to morph into various new forms—from the edgy, adult-oriented animated humor series seen on US networks and cable channels to the increasing use of 3D in computer-generated feature films to the use of visual effects in even the most pedestrian of TV commercials—the prevailing notion amongst producers is that the forms have become more prevalent than ever before, and are appearing in more and more places.
“We’re using animation more now than I would have thought a few years ago,” says Sheldon Levy, EVP, Deputy Director of Broadcast Production at Saatchi & Saatchi in New York. “And it’s being employed in lots of media environments that are not aimed at kids. It’s become hipper, and more interesting. Clients see that it can be effective with a wider range of age groups.”
“I think animation in advertising is back in fashion,” says Adrienne Daniel, a senior producer at The Martin Agency in Richmond. “Its capabilities are limitless, regardless of what technique you’re talking about—mixed media, cell, CGI, whatever. It just gives you so many options. With the technology at hand, you can do anything.”
“As buyers, I think we’re all thinking about animation differently than we were before,” Levy adds, thanks to the perception that animation has become “more sophisticated and more technically facile” than it used to be, hence allowing agencies to use it to address a wide range of marketing problems.
With the impact of new screens like iPads and more mobile devices like Droids in use, how will the use of animation in advertising change?
Nadia Blake, Director of Broadcast Production at Publicis in New York, believes these delivery systems will have an impact on the use of animation and effects in advertising, but says the real key is going to be the kind of content the animation is wrapped around. Screen size and production value will take something of a back seat.
“The graphics on the games my 14-year old son plays are remarkable,” Blake says with enthusiasm, “but if the subject matter of the game is appealing, then he won’t care that much about the quality of the graphics.” The quality of the animation needs to match the story line, the audience and the delivery method, she suggests. “Younger audiences are less critical of the production values they’re seeing, and that’s having an impact on what you can get away with, but that’s always been true—the story is always the most important part of the equation.”
Overall, the prevalence of effects and animation in commercials today is so broad that the technique seems to have lost the feeling of being ‘special.’ “It’s really become like working in Photoshop on print ads,” says Kate Morrison, a producer at Butler, Shine Stern + Partners in Sausalito, CA who’s worked with Motion Theory, 1st Avenue Machine, Stardust Studios and Passion Pictures, among other animation and effects houses. “You can go in and clean up just about anything.”
Morrison says the use of effects work on even straight live action jobs has become so commonplace that, in many instances, its presence no longer fazes clients. “When you started to say things like ‘3D’ or ‘CGI,’ they used to think that meant long and expensive, but that’s no longer the case,” she points out. The main wrinkle can be asking them to approve things that are essentially not there yet—like signing off on green screen performances before background plates have been added. “It requires a leap of faith, and a level of trust,” she observes.
Given this need for clients to trust what their agency and production partners are working on, is familiarity with effects work a prerequisite for being agency producers today?
“It’s got to be a part of every producer’s skill set,” says Daniel, who started handling animation projects back in the days when agencies typically had more time to produce work than they do today. “It helped me learn the process in a more drawn-out fashion,” she adds, no pun intended.
These days, Daniel says, just about every agency producer touches animation and visual effects in one way or another, and the responsibility foe staying on top of the genres is really up to them.
Publicis’ Blake agrees. “Staying up on techniques is always a producer’s job,” she comments. “Everything changes and evolves. If you don’t stay on top of technology and techniques, you’re not going to be very successful.”
Blake says she’s lucky that her roster of brands at Publicis in New York is varied enough that most of her people get the opportunity to work on VFX and animation projects, and so through that they gain knowledge and expertise. Puffs, the tissue brand from P&G, for example, works with stop-motion on a regular basis, while Charmin, a big user of traditional 2D cel animation, has a producer assigned exclusively to its account.
Everything is driven by the demands of the creative when it comes to exploring animation and visual effects options, Blake continues. “If it suits the concept, then you pursue it,” she says. Her shop looks at things through a sheer veil of Charmin bathroom tissue—here’s a highly successful campaign that’s been a champion of classic 2D animation for many years, almost all of which has been produced by one company, Acme Filmworks.
The agency also works regularly in the stop-motion arena on its work for Puffs. The campaign, which uses extremely cute little product benefit stories told by stop-motion animated characters, has been directed by a sole stop-motion director working in England, Derek Mogford of Banana Park in London, who works with UK-based model and animation studio Mackinnon & Saunders on the spots. They’ve been producing work for the brand for over ten years.
“They work in a very old-fashioned way, and everyone is happy with it,” says Blake, proud of the old-school approach the agency takes. “And there are currently no plans to change. The relationship is a big part of this—Derek has grown as a filmmaker over the course of this campaign, and his role has grown, too,” she explains, noting that Mogford has even helped design the typeface for the onscreen graphics in the spots.
The Puffs work has a contemporary look and feel to it—more “Coraline” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox” than “Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer” in terms of its stop-motion look and feel. And that’s appropriate, given that almost all advertising use of animation and effects is influenced by entertainment.
“We’re clearly influenced by the impact of feature films and videogames,” says Martin’s Daniel about the continued role of 2D animation in commercials. “These genres are the leaders, and we often borrow from them. But I don’t think classic 2D animation will ever go away.” On top of this, she points out that old-school 2D animation is increasingly incorporating 3D elements in terms of lighting and shading, but in subtle ways that are not easily apparent at first glance.
This plays into the impact of platforms like Wii and DS on the future outlook for animation and VFX in advertising, since these devices are increasingly seen as being extensions of a TV viewing or online experience. The look of the animation and effects seen here is something clients are interested in, Daniel suggests, and that agencies are exploring. “I don’t think we’re there yet in totally emulating this look,” she says, “but clients like it because it’s contemporary. I believe that’s the direction we’ll be moving in; in fact, I can’t see why we wouldn’t.”
Published Aug. 4, 2010
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