FC Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta stars in this 45-second spot–but mostly in the form of a string puppet moving about on a miniature soccer field. Like the real-world Iniesta, the marionette version–with strings attached–displays some fancy footwork, eluding pursuers while dominating the midfield. He performs with a ballet-like precision to face his final obstacle, which is lowered onto the field–a goal with the goalkeeper standing out front. Iniesta indeed scores, making an impact that is surpassed by the one pulling the strings–instead of a hand serving as puppeteer, we see that the strings are being manipulated by a foot which wears, like Iniesta, Nike’s new shoe, the CTR 360 Maestri III.
Titled “Take Control,” this Nike spot produced by Aardman Animations, Bristol, U.K., for Wieden+Kennedy, London, captured the number one slot on SHOOT’s quarterly Top Ten Visual Effects & Animation Chart. W+K’s ensemble included creatives Anders Stake and Stuart Harkness, and producer Michelle Brough. At press time, the :45 had already generated some 2 million hits on YouTube.
For the spot. Patrick Boivin directed not only the animation but also the live action (Iniesta is shown kicking the ball, and the Maestri III is revealed as the puppeteer.) Sur Pictures, based in Barcelona, was the production company Aardman worked with to produce the live action.
The Aardman team used Stopmotion Pro to shoot the animation. It was then composited, tracked and projected where necessary in Nuke. Aardman used Maya to animate the strings in post, then put the string renders through After Effects to add the “look” of the strings and motion blur. All animation plates were also run through After Effects where the plug-in ReelSmart Motion Blur was used. Then Light Factory, Final Cut, Smoke and Speed Grade were used in the edit.
Directorial feedback Boivin said that the Nike project was “presented to me with a lot of ‘liberties.’ I was able to create a particular universe of my own with a lot of really artistic aspects. The agency first came to me and pretty fast I teamed up with Aardman to make it happen. It was the first time I was working with Aardman and I was really excited about it as well. Animation is something I really understand but I don’t have personal ambitions (for the moment) with this discipline. On the other hand, when I started directing, I was really impressed by the way Aardman was doing things. It did have a great deal of influence on my work and so being able to work in their studios was like being on an excellent vacation.”
As for the biggest challenge posed by the job, Boivin related, “The real challenge for me was to talk to football fans because basically I knew nothing about football before I got involved in this project. I did watch a lot of clips with Iniesta playing in order to understand what makes this particular player the star that he is. I think at the end, we did pretty well and I kind of became a fan of this sport. As for the animation itself, I have to admit that it was the first time I was able to work with 100 percent professional stuff, so it was really easy. I also had the chance to work with a great animator [Aardman colleague Grant Maisey] with whom I shared the task. My favorite moments are those we animated together at the same time.”
Prequel Taking the number two slot on the quarterly SHOOT Visual Effects & Animation chart was Dishonored: The Tales From Dunwall–The Awakening, Part 1.
The Psyop studio and agency Rokkan created this animated prequel series–The Tales From Dunwall–for Bethesda Softworks and Arkane Studios’ much anticipated multi-platform game Dishonored. The three-part online series gives gamers a first-hand glimpse into the steampunk-inspired, shadowy whaling city of Dunwall where plague is rampant and the city is in disarray and on the verge of dystopia.
Rokkan and Psyop, in concert with Bethesda Softworks, worked to design a unique look for the series. Inspiration was taken from the game’s artistic direction established by Arkane Studios, but with a twist. The three webisodes were primarily produced by hand. Each frame was essentially a fully rendered style frame which was then enhanced with 3D elements to add to the painterly atmosphere, dimension and depth of each shot.
“Usually when we animate, it is largely a CG production,” said Psyop creative director Jon Saunders. “After we saw the storyline, we decided to draw each style frame thirty or forty times and create a cel-animated look and give it a sort of a painting-come-to-life effect.”
Although stylistically different from the Dishonored game, the prequel videos accurately portray the story of Dunwall and showcase the fantasy worlds that Psyop is known for creating.
“After vetting several animation studios, Psyop stood out because they understood the story we were trying to tell. They were the only studio who could really bring the stories to life with their animation precision and craft,” said Charles Bae, Rokkan’s chief creative officer. “Bethesda and Rokkan’s approach to the prequels was to give context to the oppressive world of Dishonored, establishing the story up to the point of the player’s immersion at the start of the game. Our primary objective was to tell a great story in the simplest and most compelling format we could, period.”
Saunders directed the prequels for Psyop and also served as one of the designers and illustrators/animators.
