Our quarterly Top Ten VFX & Animation Chart hits the ROOF, literally, as the #1 entry, biopharmaceutical company Insmed's "Unbreakable," is from Brooklyn-based ROOF Studio. The piece creates a visual metaphor, an ailing bunny character, for NTM lung disease, raising awareness and empathy for those afflicted with it.
Also in the mix are Doritos, Klarna and Samuel Adams commercials which broke on the Super Bowl. Innovative work from Microsoft, Dell, Dunkin', Veloz, Lincoln and the California Deparment of Health additionally made the cut.
So have a look at the best the year's first quarter has to offer in visual effects and animation.
1: The Best Work You May Never See: ROOF Studio Crafts Poignant CG Short To Raise NTM Lung Disease Awareness
Client Insmed Agency AREA 23, New York Tim Hawkey, EVP, chief creative officer; Chris Bernesby, Joe Capanear, SVPs, group creative directors; Paul Harrington, VP, creative director; Jennifer Harrison, Ronnie Caltabiano, VPs, associate creative directors; Kristen Bell, Corinne Feight, associate creative director; Sasha Mishkin, sr. copywriter; Chinkara Singh, VP, group executive producer; Kevin Mullucks, sr. integrated producer. Production ROOF Studio, Brooklyn, NY ROOF Studio, director. VFX/Animation ROOF Studio, Brooklyn, NY Guto Terni, creative dir. and environment design, look development, 3D layout, 3D ltg., compositing; Vinicius Costa, creative director and prop & environment design, look development; Lucas Camargo, creative director & 3D ltg., look development, character design, character explorations, simulation, grooming; Marcus Lansdell, EP; Vanderlei Santana, head of prodn; Heber Conde, 3D lead, 3D layout, simulation; Guto Terni, story lead; Estevao Chromiec, storyboard; Bruno Celegao Monteiro, animation lead; Alex Ferreira, Andrea Delfino, Bruna Berford, Bruno Santos, Christian Weckl, Daniel Oliveira, Emerson Manfrin, Francisco Catão, Hannry Pschera, Jesiel Almeida, Jonathan Edward, Jorge Zagatto, Leonardo Felix, Leonidas Maciel, Marcio Nicolosi, Matheus Caetano, Rodrigo Dutra, animation; Steferson Rocha, Carolina Avelino, Lincoln Horita, Gean Carlos, Geison Araujo, Roberto Fernandes, modeling; Danilo Pinheiro, rigging; Gustavo Rangel, look development lead; Mateus Kurzhals, Josemar Queiroz, Rafael Chies, Camilo Franco, Renato Braz, look development; Gustavo Rangel, Rafael Chies, 3D ltg; Victor El Guy, character explorations; Alejandro Echeverry, simulation; Rosenio Pinto, pipeline; Hasan Tawfiq, Rouhollah Toghyani, grooming. (Toolbox: Maya, Redshift, After Effects)
2: Top Spot of the Week: Sanctuary Directing Duo Mindcastle, a52 “Mesh” For Microsoft
Client Microsoft David Wolfe, John Nguyen, creative directors; Dave Carleson, concept artist. Production Company Sanctuary, Culver City, Calif. Mindcastle, director; Pat Scola, DP; Noah Thomason, live-action producer; Melissa Myers, production designer; Preston Lee, founder/exec producer. VFX/Animation a52, Santa Monica, Calif. Jesse Monsour, Urs Furrer, VFX supervisors; Kirk Shintani, art director/CG supervisor; Richard Hirst, Andrew McKenna, Matt Sousa, Steven Wolf, John Valle, Michael Vaglienty, Enid Dalkoff, Flame artists; Dustin Mellum, Ariana Ziae Mohseni, Aemilia Widodo, Weiyo Sha, Bryan Cox, Josh Dyer, Jose Limon, Jade Smrz, Joe Paniagua, Mike Di Nocco, Derek Friesenborg, Joseph Chiechi, Mike Bettinardi, Christoffer Bjerre, Haram Jung, Lusine Arakelyan, 3D artists; Jeff Han, design art director; Carlo Sa, Christoffer Bjerre, designers; John Valle, online editor; Niki Love Goodwin, sr. producer; Sara Dotson, production coordinator; Stacy Kessler-Aungst, head of production; Michael Steinmann, head of CG production; Patrick Nugent, Kim Christensen, EPs; Jennifer Sofio Hall, managing director. (Toolbox: Flame, Maya, Vray, SpeedTree, Houdini, Nuke, Photoshop, Substance Painter, Cinema4D, After Effects). Color Primary, Santa Monica, Calif. Daniel De Vue, colorist; Corey Martinez, color assistant; Jenny Bright, color producer; Thatcher Peterson, exec producer. Editorial Rock Paper Scissors Ted Guard, editor; Michel Shugarman, assistant editor; Sasha Grubor, producer; Shada Shariatzadeh, exec producer; Dre Krichevsky, head of production; Eve Kornblum, managing director. Music Future Perfect John Connolly, composer/partner; Maxwell Gosling, partner; Nathalie Cordoba, producer.
3: Damien Chazelle Directs Matthew McConaughey In a “Flat” Super Bowl Performance For Doritos 3D Crunch, Goodby
Client Frito-Lay/Doritos Agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco Margaret Johnson, chief creative officer; Laura Petrucelli, Andrew Bancroft, creative directors; Pedro Furtado, Sophie Lichtman, copywriters; Fabio Santoro, Mila Wizel, art directors; Rachael Stamps, content creative designer; Bonnie Wan, partner, head of brand strategy; Leila Gage, director of broadcast production; Sara Ward, executive producer; Molly Troy, sr. producer; Lauren Adams, producer. Production Superprime, Culver City, Calif. Damien Chazelle, director; Rodrigo Prieto, DP; Michelle Ross, managing director; Rebecca Skinner, managing director/exec producer; Charlotte Woodhead, exec producer; Matt Sanders, head of production; Carr Donald, line producer/unit production manager. Editorial Exile Edit Shane Reid, editor; Ersin Dogruer, Erin Offenhauser, assistant editors; Jennifer Locke, head of production; CL Kumpata, exec producer. Music “I Want To Break Free” by Queen. Justin Hurwitz, music editing. Sound Design Lime Studios, Santa Monica, Calif. Rohan Young, sound designer. Audio Post Lime Studios, Santa Monica Rohan Young, mixer; Jeremy Nichols, assistant mixer; Kayla Phungglan, producer; Susie Boyajan, exec producer. VFX/Finishing The Mill LA Anastasia Von Rahl, director of production; Heather Johann, sr. producer; Sean Tomek, production coordinator; John Leonti, creative director/shoot supervisor; Alexander Candlish, shoot supervisor/2D lead artist; Matt Bohnert, 3D lead artist; Franz Kohl, Jake Albers, Marisa Chin, Toby Brockhurst, Jacob Maymudes, Lenz Kohl, AVV Suresh,Rose Mathew, Prajeesh E,, 2D artists; Melanie Okamura, Christian Sanchez, Ziming Lui, Monique Espinoza, Ken Bishop, Daniel Stern, Hiroshi Tsubokawa, James Robinson, Stefan Kang, Omar Taher, Mike Kash, Elizabeth Hammer, Michael Lori, Krushna Ramrao Kulsange, Akshay Suresh Lanjewar, Asis Kumar Mahakhud, Somesh Tiwari, Sudhir Verma, Anish MohanFazal, Showber Shadik, Swathi Balasubramaniam, Upasana Choudhary , Verru Ramesh, Vinayak Balamurugan, Dongili Varaprasad, Manoj Ravi, Ashish Rawat, Lalit Salunke, Sukanta Chakraborty, Ujasgiri Goswami, Mahesh M S, 3D artists; Bill Lu, matte painting; Jacob Bergman, Matt Connolly, John Fieldling, Gustavo Gonzalez, Aton Lee, John Bloch, Michael Dinocco, animation; Justin Demetrician, motion graphics; Paul Yacono, colorist; Fawn Fletcher, exec producer, color; Denise Brown, color producer; Gemma Parr, Logan Highlen, color assist. (Toolbox: Flame, Nuke, Maya, Houdini)
4: VMLY&R, Director Marco Prestini, MPC NY Delve Into “Youniverse” For Dell
Client Dell Agency VMLY&R Wayne Best, chief creative officer, NY; Justin Ebert, Niraj Zaveri, group creative directors; Meredith Kinee, Rachel Cuyler, creative directors; Greg Lotus, executive director of integrated production; Bobby Jacques, executive producer; Dan Bradbury, sr. producer; Alexandra Allen, music producer; Theresa Notartomaso, executive music producer, North America. Production Anonymous Content Marco Prestini, director; Eric Stern, managing director; Lori Stonebraker, exec producer; Kerry Haynie, head of production; Malachy McAnenny, line producer; Mauro Chiarello, DP. Production Services Radioaktive Darko Skulsky, Kate Galytska, exec producers; Antonina Patramanska, line producer. Postproduction/VFX MPC New York Alvin Cruz, creative director; Jim Radford, on-set VFX supervisor; Renato Ferri Carone, 2D lead; Andrew Ortiz, 3D lead; Ricky Gausis, colorist; Nicole Melius, VFX producer; Chris Connolly, exec producer; Stephen Dierks, production coordinator; Gianna Yarull Urena, Roger Hom, design; Tom McCullough, Mat Ellin, finishing. (Toolbox: Nuke, Flame, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Maya, Substance) Editorial Rock Paper Scissors Mikkel Nielsen, editor; Alex Liu, assistant editor; Lisa Barnable, producer. Audio Wave Chris Afzal, sound designer & mixer; Vicky Ferraro, exec producer; Eleni Giannopoulos, producer. Music “Rabbit Hole” by Why Mona, written by Joanna A. Jones and Armond Arabshahi. Remix & arrangements by Squeak E. Clean Studios. Stuart Welch, remixer; Zac Colwell, creative director & remixer; Danielle Toporoff, sr. producer.
5: Andreas Nilsson Directs Maya Rudolph In Klarna Super Bowl Spot From Agency Mirimar
Client Klarna Agency Mirimar Los Angeles John McKelvey, founder & chief creative officer; Luke McKelvey, co-founder & managing director; Jon Marshall, Johan Arlig, creative directors; Mariola Bruszewska, design director; Kristine Ling, head of production. Production Biscuit Filmworks, Los Angeles Andreas Nilsson, director; Shawn Lacy, partner/managing director; Holly Vega, exec producer; Sean Moody, head of production; Karen O’Brien, Jay Veal, producers; Jen Berry, production supervisor; Alexis Zabe, DP; Alexis Ross, production designer; Christina Blackaller, costume designer. Editorial Cabin Chan Hatcher, editor; Connie Chuang, assistant editor; Carr Schilling, managing partner; Liz Lydecker, head of production; Adam Becht, exec producer; Michelle Dorsch, sr. producer. VFX KEVIN, Venice, Calif. Tim Davies, executive creative director/partner; Mike Dalzell, head of CG; Sue Troyan, sr. exec producer/partner; Jami Schakel, sr. VFX producer; Andrew Cowderoy, VFX producer; Carl Harders, Matt Longwell, Bryan Repka, 3D; Robert Murdock, Susanne Scharping, Tim Bird, 2D. (Toolbox: Flame, Maya) Music & Sound Design Walker Sara Matarazzo, Stephanie Pigott, exec producers; Danielle Soury, music producer. Audio Post & Additional Sound Design Barking Owl Kelly Bayett, creative director; Ashley Benton, executive creative producer; Mike Franklin, sound design & mix. Telecine Company 3 Sofie Borup, colorist; Alexandra Lubrano, producer.
6: Hornet, BBDO NY Play Bubble Hockey For Dunkin’
Client Dunkin’ Agency BBDO New York David Lubars, chief creative officer, worldwide; Doug Fallon, Steven Fogel, executive creative directors; Talon Gustafson, Brian Pinkley, creative directors; Diane Hill, EVP, group executive producer; Mike Woodall, sr. producer; Julia Millison, sr. music producer. Production Hornet Peter Sluszka, director; Hana Shimizu, managing director; Karen Lawler, head of production; Kristin Labriola, head of creative development; Dez Stavracos, production supervisor; Trever Stewart, producer; Riley Spencer, associate producer; Sean Lattrell, storyboard artist; Cat Rao, character designer; Jennifer Ely, design exploration; Joel Kretschman, stop motion line producer; Ivan Abel, DP; John Harrison, VFX supervisor & lead compositor; Richard Coppola, motion control operator; Tim McDonald, art director; Peter Erickson, Maxwell Sorensen, Mikail Ekiz, Illya Smelansky, Camille Labarre, David Assel, Ben Kress, Nico Benenati, Argon Props, fabricators; Mikail Ekiz, Matt Somma, Maxwell Sorensen, animators; Sandra White, food stylist; Guilherme Ferreirinha, Xiaoxiao Tan, Ted Wiggin, compositors; Anita Chao, sr. editor; Minseok Kim, assistant editor; Lotty Vigue, production coordinator (Toolbox: Dragonframe, After Effects) Color Honest Labor Color Shawn King, colorist; Alex Rochinski, color producer. Sound Sound Lounge Rob DiFondi, audio mixer; Marshall Grupp, sound designer; Lauren Mullen, sr. producer. Manufacturing Partner Home Arcade Games.
7: Goodby Silverstein & Partners, Director Matt Aselton Horse Around In Super Bowl Spot For Samuel Adams
Client The Boston Beer Company/Samuel Adams Agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco Margaret Johnson, chief creative officer; AJ Warren, Brett Beaty, Joshua Hacohen, associate creative directors; Bonnie Wan, partner, head of brand strategy; Stephanie Bousquet, director of brand strategy; Marisa Perazzelli, sr. brand strategist; Leila Gage, head of broadcast production; Matt Flaker, executive broadcast producer; Stephanie DeNatale, executive producer; Nick Goldsmith, producer. Production Company Arts & Sciences, West Hollywood, Calif. Matt Aselton, director; Toby Irwin, DP; Marc Marrie, managing partner/exec producer; Mal Ward, managing director/partner; Christa Skotland, head of production; Zoe Odlum, exec producer. Editorial Arcade Edit Geoff Hounsell, editor; Ryan Andrus, assistant editor; Kristen Thon-Webb, sr. producer; Crissy DeSimone, exec producer. Audio/Sound Design Lime Studios Michael Anastasi, sound designer; Sam Casas, audio engineer; Susie Boyajan, exec producer; Kayla Mashburn, producer. Music Butter Music Annick Mayer, music exec producer; Stone Irr, music producer. VFX Framestore Matt Pascuzzi, VFX lead; Maura Hurley, sr. producer; Nathaniel Cabra, production coordinator; Dez Macleod-Veilleux, exec producer; Avery Herzog, Elaina Brillantes, Euna Kho, Greg Gaskins, Kane Herd, Zavier Mojica, Ryan Ninko, Raul Ortego, compositing team. (Toolbox: Nuke, Flame) Color Company 3 Tom Poole, colorist; Alexandra Lubrano, producer.
8: Veloz, Superconductor, Laundry Give “40 Million Reasons To Go Electric”
Client Veloz Agency Superconductor Chris Adams, chief creative officer; Todd Makurath, chairman, Luke Ricci, president/CEO; Allison Amon, EP/EVP; Noel Sullivan, chief strategy officer; Lara Friedmann, talent coordinator; Jera Mehrdad, creative director/art director; Ron Schlessinger, creative director/copywriter; Jarrel Smith designer; Luke Kancir, coordinator; Derek Mosher, programming & animation. Animation Production Laundry, Los Angeles & San Francisco Jayson Whitmore, executive creative director & director; James Sweigert, managing director; Matthew Primm, head of production; Dean Marchand, producer; Adam Finley, production coordinator; Yeri Lee, Whitney Lam, Chris Yoon, Yuying Herr, Jessica La, Symphony Allison, design & illustration; Judah Dobin, Eddie Lin, storyboards; TJ Sochor, Yongmin Park, Stephen Villari, 2D animation; Geoff Ciccarelli, 2D character animation. (Toolbox: Photoshop, After Effects) Music Walker Music Ayoni, vocalist; Doran Danoff, composer; Stephanie Pigott, Sara Matarazzo, exec producers; Danielle Soury, producer. Audio Post Lime Studios, Santa Monica, Calif. Rohan Young, mixer; Susie Boyajan, exec producer. Editorial Lark Edit Mike Wolfe, editor; Betsy Beale, exec producer.
9: Matthew McConaughey, Directors Igor + Valentine “Thinking Of You” For Lincoln, Hudson Rouge
Client Lincoln Agency Hudson Rouge, New York Production/Animation Psyop/Blacklist, bicoastal Igor + Valentine, directors; Andrew Linsk, exec producer; Cameron Lewis, producer; Matt Smithson, design and animation; David Stanfield, Eze Matteo, Dante Zaballa, animation. (Toolbox: After Effects, Photoshop, Animate)
10: 1stAveMachine, BRUT Team On Calif. Tobacco Control Program PSA For Acento Advertising
Client California Department of Health/California Tobacco Control Program Agency Acento Advertising, Los Angeles Vicent Llopis, VP, executive creative director; Salomon Resler, group creative director; MJ Lazcano, associate creative director; Francisco Stohr, sr. art director; Gustavo Garcia, executive producer; Brian Reyes, producer; Angelica Garcia, VP, strategy & insights. Visual Effects/Animation 1stAveMachine, Brooklyn, NY Sam Penfield, partner/EP; Peter Repplier, Nick Litwinko, Michaela McKee, executive producers. BRUT, Barcelona, Spain BRUT, director/producer; Martin Allais, creative director; Maud Beckers, EP; Sara Camacho Gutierrez, producer; John Harrison, lead compositor; Jor Ros, art direction & illustration; Richard Ubach, art direction & animation; Ales Santos, type design; Angus Pepper, Fernando Abaca, Bujor Stefanescu, Javi Vaquero, Ellis Chan, animation; Marga Lopez, clean-up lead; Margarita Rojas, Eva Puyuelo, Libardo Bohorquez Gutierrez, Macarena Ortega, clean-up; Hugo Morais, comp & 3D. (Toolbox: Photoshop, Animate, Illustrator, After Effects, Cinema 4D)