The amplification of animation
Brian McCauley, ECD of creative studio Flavor, suggests that now more than ever, animation is a vital element in creative advertising. From new styles in TV and film to small animated moments in ads, creators are realising its storytelling power and today's viewers are so animation-savvy they've almost come to expect its presence.
During the pandemic, creative studios certainly saw an increased demand for animated content. Sometimes at Flavor we were presented with entire scripts that couldn't be shot because of the pandemic, and were asked to adapt them to animation.
Obviously, this presents its own set of challenges – animation isn't always a seamless replacement for live-action. But most often, we were asked to create interesting motion graphics and animation for advertisements.
Gone are the days of having two options; traditional cel-animation or that ‘3D look', we are now almost unbound by technological limitations.
So, while there was a boom in animated content during the pandemic, since this past May when the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 to no longer be a global health emergency, we have seen the expected return to live-action production.
There is a twist, however: A lot of content creators are now incorporating animation into live-action to elevate their storytelling. We are seeing animation being used in altogether new places, and I believe there are a few reasons for this.
Above: Flavor recently collaborated with Highdive on this campaign for the National Hockey League.
With the pandemic, we saw an increase in media consumption at home. From my perspective, this has resulted in more sophisticated viewing habits. As content creators, we are now motivated to push our ideas even further.
Animation is also a way to explore surrealism, something that is an increasing trend in all forms of content.
Whereas in the past, the use of animation might signal content aimed more at children, now we're seeing animation used everywhere for everyone. It indicates viewers are demanding more from their movies, tv shows, and even commercials.
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Above: The 2018 Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse introduced new rendering styles mixed in with hand-drawn elements.
Staying home and catching up on shows and movies gave viewers not only the opportunity to experience content they wanted to watch, it also familiarised them with the different ways we tell stories.
Movies such as the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its spin-offs have pushed animation in ways we’ve never seen before, ultimately inspiring other creators to use animation to help tell their stories in visually interesting ways. Gone are the days of having two options; traditional cel-animation or that ‘3D look', we are now almost unbound by technological limitations.
Imagine fully animated characters, controlled by animators and puppeteers interacting with live-action characters in-camera.
Animation is also a way to explore surrealism, something that is an increasing trend in all forms of content. From blockbuster movies like Barbie to the Oscar-winning Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, it's certainly fashionable to question what reality is.
Even in television with shows such as Loki, Atlanta, and Severance, creators are using surrealism as a reflection of our cultural state of mind. Animation is also a way to explore surrealism, something that is an increasing trend in all forms of content.
From blockbuster movies like Barbie to the Oscar-winning Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, it's certainly fashionable to question what reality is.
![](https://d17mj1ha1c2g57.cloudfront.net/v1/3DGOecK8PzOUdvSePdS-KpbHsXo/1280x/80/shotsmag/production/clips/8df5d285-82f1-40bf-83ac-2b771f820cd6/unnamed.jpeg?v=1&quality=70&format=jpeg)
Above: Marvel Studios' 2021 series, Loki, creates a surreal animated universe.
Animation therefore, is the perfect tool to help us explore this mindset. Now, it's not unusual for a live-action movie, TV show, or commercial to suddenly cut to an all animated scene, or use animated accents to help viewers understand what a character is really thinking.
Obviously we as animators have been doing this for years, but what feels different now is the increased usage of animation in the storytelling process.
![](https://d17mj1ha1c2g57.cloudfront.net/v1/fMqt_t2dX4YcYwXiEL7LmFKUlOc/1280x/80/shotsmag/production/clips/d17c1a9d-693c-46c1-bca0-7b0dcf23acf6/unnamed-1.png?v=1&quality=70&format=jpeg)
Above: The fantastical world of the Barbieverse, combined live action with animated elements.
As technology pushes forward with such innovations as Unreal Engine and shooting in volumes, it's becoming even more common to have 3D departments (including animators) on live-action sets to bring their creativity onto background screens.
This unlocks new forms of collaboration with production. In the future this could bring animators out of post-production and into production for more than just changes to lighting and scenery. Imagine fully animated characters, controlled by animators and puppeteers interacting with live-action characters in-camera.
Credits
powered by- Agency Johannes Leonardo/New York
- Production Company BLINKINK
- Director Will Wightman
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Credits
powered by- Agency Johannes Leonardo/New York
- Production Company BLINKINK
- Director Will Wightman
- Executive Producer Josef Byrne
- HP Alex Halley
- VFX/Animation BLINKINK
- Production Services Monkey Films/South Africa
- Founder/Owner Clare van Zyl
- Head of Production Phillip Killingbeck
- Editing tenthree
- Managing Director Ed Hoadley
- Edit Producer Rachel Goodger
- Editor Nick Armstrong
- Color No.8
- Executive Color Producer Charlie Morris
- Colorist Alex Gregory
- Sound/Music Major Tom
- Founder/Creative Chairman Jan Jacobs
- Founder Leo Premutico
- Group Creative Director Nathan Frank
- Producer Rebecca Little
- Group Creative Director Jeph Burton
- Group Creative Director Hunter Hampton
- DP Simon Duggan
- Creative Director Marjorie Vardo
- Creative Director Prit Patel
- Art Director Will Boyes
- Design Director Fabian Grateroles
- Design Director Shaung Wan
- Senior Designer Sarah FitzGerald
- Group Executive Producer Brett Fisher
- Senior Producer Jake Herman
![](https://d17mj1ha1c2g57.cloudfront.net/v1/5NlXYAWH8Qw3COrpgmnlz4AYo1Q/1024x576%23/80/shotsmag/production/clips/2a945f8e-1b72-4e61-bd14-8d101d1d56eb/1696861856982.jpg?v=1&quality=80&format=jpeg)
Credits
powered by- Agency Johannes Leonardo/New York
- Production Company BLINKINK
- Director Will Wightman
- Executive Producer Josef Byrne
- HP Alex Halley
- VFX/Animation BLINKINK
- Production Services Monkey Films/South Africa
- Founder/Owner Clare van Zyl
- Head of Production Phillip Killingbeck
- Editing tenthree
- Managing Director Ed Hoadley
- Edit Producer Rachel Goodger
- Editor Nick Armstrong
- Color No.8
- Executive Color Producer Charlie Morris
- Colorist Alex Gregory
- Sound/Music Major Tom
- Founder/Creative Chairman Jan Jacobs
- Founder Leo Premutico
- Group Creative Director Nathan Frank
- Producer Rebecca Little
- Group Creative Director Jeph Burton
- Group Creative Director Hunter Hampton
- DP Simon Duggan
- Creative Director Marjorie Vardo
- Creative Director Prit Patel
- Art Director Will Boyes
- Design Director Fabian Grateroles
- Design Director Shaung Wan
- Senior Designer Sarah FitzGerald
- Group Executive Producer Brett Fisher
- Senior Producer Jake Herman
Undoubtedly, the use of animation in media has evolved over time. From the classic Disney films of the 1930s, to animation on TV in the 1960s, anime in the 1980s, Pixar in the 1990s; from Saturday morning cartoons to Oscar winners. Finally, we’ve arrived at a place where the use of animation isn't just for kids.
I think we're only going to see more and more animated content in advertising.
Viewers today have grown up watching animation, so it's in their DNA. They are more sophisticated than ever. Finding who they are in the content they watch requires animation. The Ore Ida campaign from Johannes Leonardo is a great example of how animation is now a normal part of any creative idea.
Personally, I think we're only going to see more and more animated content in advertising. Viewers are no longer surprised by the use of animation, but delighted by its usage to help elevate creative ideas.
Now more than ever, animators are an integral part of the creative process.