It’s the little things that make a difference–give or take a million or so years. In this :60 with a Discovery Channel program-type feel, we see the microscopic wonders of nature, starting with a solitary water flea deep in the ocean. A narrator fills us in on this curious-looking creature’s existence and its implications for the future of humanity.
“Deep in the ancient sea, we discover a lone water flea,” the voiceover relates. Then we see another, this one a female. “He approaches the female–and the courtship begins,” chronicles the narrator. “At that moment, love is born on this planet.
“Time goes by,” he continues. “Children are born. “They grow, meet companions and their love multiplies to fill the oceans.”
Our underwater documentary shows us each step along the way, with children alongside their parents frolicking through the sea. The water fleas indeed bear fruit and multiply as their colonies grow exponentially.
But there are two sides to the cycle of life continuum, the other being the fateful conclusion. The narrator relates, “The first of the clan have grown old. It’s their time to go. Others follow, falling like snow to layer the ocean floor.”
We see two elderly water fleas land in their final resting place at the bottom of the sea. The significance for humankind, though, is literally fuel for thought. The voiceover explains, “The story of oil begins.”
A super then reads, “Millions of years later.”
Our perspective rises from the ocean to some sort of fluid-filled vortex, which then turns dry as we get closer to the surface. It turns out we have emerged–along with a nozzle–out of an automobile’s gas tank. Holding the nozzle is a grown man wearing a cowboy hat and boots. A single drop of petrol falls from the nozzle and lands on his shoe, much to the guy’s consternation. But a drop of gasoline isn’t all that significant as the camera takes us up from the gas station to the nighttime sky. Supered against this backdrop is the line, “Nothing lasts forever,” followed by two words, “Hybrid technology,” and the Toyota logo promoting its hybrid Prius automobile.
Andrew Douglas of bicoastal Anonymous Content directed and lensed this spot, titled “Water Fleas,” for Hakuhodo, Tokyo. Also involved in the project was the agency’s in-house production entity, Hakuhodo Photo Creative. The agency team consisted of creative director Masahiko Ishii, copywriters Koji Ando, Tetsuya Tokimatsu, Kotaro Yoshioka and Usagi Ishii, executive producer Munehiro Sai and producer Yasuyuki Kubota. (There was no agency art director.)
Andy Traines executive produced for Anonymous, with Aris McGarry serving as producer. Bruce McCloskey was the production designer.
Editor was Michael Elliot of Mad River Post, Santa Monica. Colorist was Stefan Sonnenfeld of Company 3, Santa Monica. Audio post mixer was Peter Rincon of POP Sound, Santa Monica; Jason Talton was assistant mixer.
Visual effects were done at Digital Domain, Venice, Calif. Digital Domain artisans included visual effects supervisor Eric Barba, executive producer Gabby Evans and producer Chris Fieldhouse.
Elias Arts, bicoastal, was the music house. The shop’s talent ensemble consisted of creative director Dave Gold, composer Kimo Kemp and producer Dayna Turcotte.