United Airlines’ “Interview,” directed by Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis of Acme Filmworks, Hollywood, for Fallon, Minneapolis, topped the spot category at the 32nd annual Annie Awards competition, which recognizes outstanding achievements in animation. The Annies were presented by the Burbank-headquartered International Animated Film Society (ASIFA-Hollywood) during an awards ceremony on Jan. 30 in Glendale.
Named best animation ad of 2004 by Annie judges, “Interview” won out over four other nominees: AFLAC’s “Looney Tunes” directed by Jennifer Ferris and Richard Shagan of Warner Bros. Animation, Burbank, for The Kaplan Thaler Group, New York; Nintendo’s “Free Boy” helmed by Nathan McGuinness of Asylum, Santa Monica, for Leo Burnett USA, Chicago; Reebok’s “Above The Rim” directed by Tim Miller of Blur Studio, Venice, Calif., for The Arnell Group, New York; and Quaker Chewy Fruit ‘N Crunch Bars’ “Three Bears” with CG animation directed by Steve Talkowski of bicoastal Hornet (live action was directed by Russ Lamoureux of bicoastal/international Hungry Man) for Element 79 Partners, Chicago.
A SHOOT “Top Spot” last year (4/2/04, p. 10), “Interview” is no stranger to accolades, having been nominated for the primetime commercial Emmy Award in ’04. (The Emmy winner was Citibank’s “Outfit,” a live-action spot directed by Kevin Thomas of Thomas Thomas Films, London, for Fallon, Minneapolis.)
The United Airlines’ :60 opens on a man pulling up a window shade. It’s morning and he has just awakened. While his dog lounges in bed, the man tries on a variety of neckties in an effort to achieve the right look. We then see a plane soaring through the sky, followed by a cab pulling up to a big city office building. The man gets into an elevator. When he looks down, he notices that he has on two different color dress shoes–one black, one brown. Flustered by the fashion faux pas–especially after paying so much attention to his wardrobe–he sits down at a table and is interviewed by a panel of three people. After the grilling session is over, the man is seen walking down the street, looking dejected. Clearly, he feels he has blown his big opportunity.
Then his cell phone rings. He answers it and jumps into the air jubilantly–it turns out he got the job after all. Cut to a shot of a United stewardess walking down the aisle of the plane. She spots the man napping in his seat–a smile on his face–and pulls down the window shade next to him. A parting voiceover relates, “Where you go in life is up to you. There’s an airline that can take you there–United. It’s time to fly.”
Accompanying and advancing the story is United’s anthem, George Gershwin’s classic “Rhapsody in Blue.” A special version of Rhapsody–to reflect the emotional peaks and valleys in “Interview”–was arranged and produced by Elizabeth Myers and John Trivers of Trivers/Myers Music, Manhattan Beach, Calif.
The Acme Filmworks ensemble of talent on “Interview” included directors/painters/Flash animators Tilby and Forbis; executive producer Ron Diamond; producer Holly Stone; supervising technical director/compositor/digital clean-up/matte cutter Michael O’Donnell; compositor/digital clean-up/matte cutter Scott Coleman; digital clean-up/matte cutting artists Carrie Kost and Ryan Wheaty; painter/Flash animator Louise Johnson; painters Anjan Bhatt, Tim Westbury, Deborah Tilby, Joel Parod, Gina Georgousis and Joan Doyle; Flash animators Anna Saunders, Claire Armstrong-Parod and Rinat Gazizov; and editor George Khair.
The Fallon team consisted of worldwide creative director David Lubars (who has since become chairman/chief creative officer of BBDO North America, New York); creative director Bruce Bilstein; group creative director Stuart D’Rozario; art director Bob Barrie; Brian DiLorenzo, director of broadcast/North America; senior producer Kate Talbott; and producer Sofia Akinyele-Trokey.
Bill Coffin and Joe Cook of Post Logic Studios, Hollywood, served as Inferno artist and colorist, respectively. Audio mixer was Jimmy Hite of Margarita Mix de Santa Monica.
The Annie Awards competition honors outstanding animation achievement in features, TV programs, commercials, home entertainment and short subjects/special projects. The big winner was Pixar’s The Incredibles (best animated feature, best character animation, best animated effects, best director, writing and voice acting for Brad Bird, best music, best production design, best storyboarding). Copping the Annie for best animated TV show was Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants. Walt Disney Pictures’ Lorenzo was named best animated short subject film.
ASIFA is the French acronym for Association Internationale du Film d’Animation, an organization founded 49 years ago in France by a group of professional animators. ASIFA was chartered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in ’60 to encourage the art of animation and to further international understanding and goodwill through the animation medium. Currently, there are ASIFA chapters in some 30 countries. The Hollywood chapter was founded in ’72.
