With a mix of work ranging from bringing back Albert Einstein to fulfilling the promise of a young man whose life was cut short by knife violence, this quarter's Top Ten VFX & Animation Chart strikes a responsive chord with audiences. Einstein advances the need for smart energy in contemporary society while we see some of what knifing victim Kiyan Prince would have achieved if he were alive today. The latter film underscores the need to properly address and help to prevent knife crime so that many other lives get the chance to realize their full potential.

SHOOT's Chart spotlights other notable efforts, including Dove's "Reverse Selfie," IKEA's "Our Little World," and a SK-II piece showing Olympian Simone Biles overcoming negativity in the form of pervasive online trolling.

So check out our Top Ten entries for the best that visual effects and animation has to offer this quarter.

1:  The Mill Deploys A CGI Albert Einstein For Smart Energy GB, AMV BBDO

Client Smart Energy GB Agency AMV BBDO, London Alex Grieve, chief creative officer; Nadja Lossgott, Nicholas Hulley, executive creative directors; Matt Swinburne, creative director; Laurens Grainger, copywriter; Alicia Cliffe, art director; Simon Dilks, designer; Zoe Robley, producer. Production Company MJZ, bicoastal/international Rocky Morton, director; Sara Nouman, Eliott Tag, producers. VFX The Mill, London Alex Hammond, creative director, VFX supervisor, shoot supervisor; Chris Allen, exec producer; Sean Francis, producer, 3D lead artist; Ben Turner, 2D lead artist; Matthew McDougal, 2D artist; Harsh Borah, Clare Williams, Andreas Graichen, Maria Carriedo, Sefki Ibrahim, Joao Pires, Dan Yargici, 3D artists; Ross Urien, matte painting; Freya Barnsley, designer; Gabriela Goncalves, production coordinator; James Bamford colorist. (Toolbox: Volumetric data capture hardware (from DI4D), Maya, Houdini, Zbrush, Mari, Nuke) Audio Post 750mph and Wave. Estate Representation, Licensing and Rights Clearance provided by Greenlight – Part of Ben Group inc Rights Services: Sonia Bouadma and Giulia Castelli Personality rights of ALBERT EINSTEIN are used with permission of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Represented exclusively by Greenlight.

2:  Top Spot of the Week: ENGINE Creative, Framestore Bring Kiyan Prince Back To Virtual Life For Anti-Knife Crime Campaign

Client Kiyan Prince Foundation Agency ENGINE Creative, London Billy Faithfull, chief creative officer; David Dearlove, Richard Nott, Orlando Warner, creative directors; David Dearlove, Richard Nott, creatives; Katie Farmer, executive producer; Seb Roskell, producer; Leo Birch, content strategist.  Production Company ENGINE Film David Dearlove, director; Debbie Impett, producer; Jakub Pieta, assistant producer; Jamie Thodesen, motion graphics designer; Oliver Schofield, Steve Montgomery, DPs. Editorial ENGINE Film Sam Hopkins, editor. VFX/Post Framestore, London Mike McGee, chief creative officer; Karl Wooley, global real-time director; Johannes Saam, creative technologist; Markus Schmidt, global head of creaturs; David Lochhead, sr. designer; Chris Scalf, artist. (Toolbox: Initial likeness: Photoshop, Zbrush, Maya [inc. XGen], Deep Fake: Blender, Houdini, Zbrush, Nuke [inc. new CopyCat node]) AI Electric Lens Co., Sydney Matt Hermans, CG supervisor. Postproduction Nineteen Twenty, London Kai Van Beers, colorist; Robert Lilley, 2D lead; Paul Branch, sr. producer; Claire Cullen, producer; Robyn Borrageiro, assistant producer. Sound Design & Music String and Tins Joe Wilkinson, Jim Stewart; Laura-Leigh Smith, audio producer.

3:  Top Spot of the Week: Dove, Ogilvy, Director Benito Montorio Take “Reverse Selfie” To Show Real Beauty

Client Unilever/Dove Alessandro Manfredi, EVP, global Dove; Sophie van Ettinger, global brand VP, Dove Masterbrand; Edo Briola, global brand director, Dove Masterbrand; Hugo Rawlinson, Alix Colin, global brand managers, Dove Masterbrand. Agency Ogilvy London Daniel Fisher, global executive creative director, Unilever; Juliana Paracencio, global creative director; Liam Bushby, art director; Alison Steven, copywriter; Ollie Jarrott, head of copy; Matt Nankivell, head of art; Sian Hughes, design lead integrated; James Brook-Patridge, head of integrated production (Unilever); Sally Lipsius, Sue Lee Stern, film producers; Sarah Thomson, head of art production (Unilever); Chloe Jahanshahi, art producer; Ben Kay, chief strategy officer; Ila De Melloa Kamath, strategy partner; Cristina Diago, strategist; Justin Jackson, sr. social strategist. Production Independent, London Benito Montorio, director; Steve Annis, DP; Verity White, exec producer; Simon Eakhurst, producer. Editorial The Quarry, London Sam Jones, Scott Crane, editors. VFX Absolute, London Phil Oldham, VFX supervisor and lead Flame artist; Lucas Warren, Tom Clapp, Carl Godwin-Alvarez, VFX artists; Jonas McQuiggin, motion graphics & design; Sally Heath, exec producer. (Toolbox: Flame, Nuke, After Effects) Audio Post Grand Central Studios, London Munzie Thind, engineer. Music Big Sync, London Philip Kelin, composer/arranger. Photography Sophie Harris-Taylor, photographer; Lucy Barbour, stills producer; Justin Schurmer, retoucher.

4:  Director Mark Zibert, Rethink Canada, a52 Create “Our Little World” For IKEA

Client IKEA Agency Rethink Canada Aaron Starkman, chief creative officer; Mike Dubrick, executive creative director; Joel Holtby, head of art & creative director; Dhaval Bhatt, creative director; Hayley Hinkley, art director; Jacquelyn Parent, writer; Karine Doucet, French writer, associate creative director; Sean McDonald, chief strategy officer; Shereen Ladha, strategy director; Anne Marie Martignago, Laura Rioux, broadcast producers; Sarah Longpre, French broadcast producer; Terri Winter, digital producer. Production Company Scouts Honour Mark Zibert, director/DP; Eric Kaskens, DP; Rita Popielak, Simon Dragland, live-action exec producers; Jesson Moen, production designer. VFX a52, Santa Monica, Calif. Jesse Monsour, VFX supervisor, on-set VFX supervisor; Dan Margules, on-set VFX supervisor; Andy Wilkoff, CG supervisor; Richard Hirst, Matt Sousa, Adam Flynn, Kirk Balden, Flame artists; Whitman Lindstrom, Jie Zhou, matte painters; Adam Rosenzweig, Ariana Ziae-Mohseni, Derek Friesenborg, Dustin Mellum, Jade Smrz, Joe Paniagua, Jose Limon,  Josh Dyer, Jun Kim, Mike Di Nocco, Scott Nishiki, Joey Bettinardi, Joseph Chiechi, Michael Bettinardi, Mike Di Nocco, 3D artists; Kevin Stokes, John Valle, Chris Riley, online editors; Niki Goodwin, sr. producer; Shane Hoffman, production coordinator; Stacy Kessler-Aungst, head of production; Michael Steinmann, head of CG production; Patrick Nugent, Kim Christensen, exec producers; Jennifer Sofio Hall, managing director. (Toolbox: Flame, Maya, Vray, SpeedTree, Houdini, Nuke, Photoshop, Substance Painter, Marvelous Designer). Color Primary Daniel de  Vue, colorist; Corey Martinez, Dylan Bursick, color assistants; Jenny Bright, color producer; Jessica Clark, color coordinator; Thatcher Peterson, exec producer. Editorial Outsider Editorial Michael Barker, editor; Kerstin Juby, assistant editor; Denise Shearer, exec producer; Kayan Choi, producer; Inna Gertsberg, concept artist. Audio Vapor Music Ted Rosnik, music director; Ryan Chalmers, final mix; Lindsey Bates, audio producer. Music “Book of Dreams” by Daniel Tashian.

5:  Olympian Simone Biles Combats Online Trolls In SK-II Film From WPP, Passion Pictures

Client SK-II Agency WPP Agencies (Grey and Mediacom, lead creative unit; HUGE, VaynerMedia, Mano, Hogarth Worldwide, partners) Leo Savage, San Takashima, Graham Drew, executive creative directors; Danni Mohammed, executive creative strategy director; Nihar Das, WPP team lead; Katie Mulligan, creative strategist & copywriter; Nathan Wilson, integration lead; Stuart Harkness, Shane Lester, creative consultants; Ashley Chen, Ken Mitani, Sudhir Pasumarty, creative directors; Hiroko Matsuo, strategy director; Yukika Anan, sr. copywriter; Yoichai Inamura, sr. art director; Amanda Ang, designer; Miwako Yasukouchi, Shoko Akutagawa, sr. producers; Hayato Chaki, producer; Jerry Li, art director. Music John Legend, singer/songwriter. Music Studio Eclectic Sounds, Simon Elms. Production Passion Pictures Jon Saunders, director & character design, concept art, matte/background painting; Debbie Crossup, Mike Turoff, Luiza Cruz-Flade, EPs; Rick Bland, producer; Jason Nicholas, head of CG; Dave Walker, VFX supervisor; Christian Mills, CG supervisor; Aldo Gagliardi, CG animation supervisor; Jisoo Kim, Saskia Milledge, character design; Patricia Beteo, background design; Samuel Klughertz, Ronnie Mitchel, Daniel Lambert, concept art; Filipe Alcada, 2D animation; Francois Pons, lookdev; Javi Recio, Katie Smith, Barry Reynolds, boardomatic/animatic; Eoin Coughlan, previz; Daniel Budin, Kinsgley Bailey, editing; David Burtle, Idris Honnor, layout; Mattias Bjurstrom, Christian Johnson, Leo Viti, modeling; Ian Brown, Mark Ardisson, Sophie Blayrat, Shaun Rogers, character modeling; James Nardelli, Jakub Gryglicki, surface texturing; Kimon Matara, David Jurine, Sarah Forest, rigging; Jordi Girones, Conor Ryan, George Rigby, Karin Mattsson, Lucas Pratdesaba, Camillie Jalabert, Oscar Malet, Stuart Doig, animation; Colin Perrett, Darlene Buttner, Nacho Doctor, David Berrocoso, Tyler Daniels, Kwai Ip, Jamie Moller, SFX & SIM; Ian Beresford, Quentin Camus, Maryka Laudet, Adrian Russell, Stu Hall, Christian Mills, lighting & rendering; Nick Herbert, Antoine Foulot, Matheus Lacava, Eric Venti, Johnny Still, Andre Bittencourt, compositing; Daniel Lambert, Jakub Gryglicki, matte/background painting; Tim King, Olivia Bohac, Christina Conradi, assistant editors. (Toolbox: Maya, Nuke, Houdini, Photoshop, After Effects, Flame, Adobe Premiere) Live-Action Production Anh Vu, live-action director; Greg Babiuk, live-action exec producer; James Youngs, live-action producer. Editorial, Live-Action Trim Editing, London Ed Hanbury, editor.  Postproduction Unit, London Denny Cooper, colorist; Isabella Wakley, grade producer. Casting Gambit Postproduction Hogarth Singapore, Daryl Bryan Lim, post producer

6:  Wunderman Thompson Singapore, Director Ralph Karam Team On LUX Animated Spot In Support of Olympic Athlete Caster Semenya

Client Unilever/LUX Agency Wunderman Thompson Singapore Marco Versolato, chief creative officer, Unilever/Wunderman Thompson; Ricardo Tronquini, Ai-Lin Tan, creative directors; Sixin Wu, art director; Gerri Hamill, head of integrated production; Sharmaine Ng, production coordinator; Hafiza Yussani, postproduction coordintor; Hidayah Asari, producer; Luis Calvo, Benjamin Low, online editors; Zakee Talib, production coordinator. Production/Animation Final Frontier (FF), Madrid (production house); Le Cube (LC), Madrid (animation studio) Ralph Karam, director; Chris Colman (FF), Fer Soma (LC), Gus Karam (FF/LC), JuanMa Freire (LC), Julieta Zajaczkowski (FF), Ryan Shanholtzer (FF), exec producers; Agustina Kröl, project manager; Veronica Miramontes, Gabriel Murgue, producers; Evelin Unfer, Constanza Oroza, Juan Barabani, Lucas Andreu, Matías Basla, Mariano Albano, Patricio Delpeche, Rodrigo Miguel “Numecaniq,” art development; Federico Radero, animation director; Cintia Czeszczewik, Bruno Brasil, Daniel Cuervo, Diego Cristófano, Emanuel Zampalo, Guadalupe Vyleta, Leandro Vargas, Leo Campasso, Jose Luis Rosado, Tamás Pázmány, Carlos Caraya (Catarata), Sixtine James, Louis Holmes, Victoria Pellet, Agathe Simoulin, Vincent Coudroy de Lille, animators; Laura Desmery, clean-up & color supervisor; Antonella Cuozzo, Augusto Cortegoso, Clara Riavec, Cynthia Perez Daubert, Jose Ignacio Ovando, Juan Pablo “Brujo” Barbieri, Juan Natch, Julieta Culaciati, Juliana Gorgati, Julieta Soloaga, Laura Desmery, Leandro Vargas, Melisa Pighin, Rocío Saavedra, Sofía Díaz, Sofía Fernandez Vallejo, Sofía Ruocco, tie down, clean-up & color; Fernando La Mattina, 3D animation artist; Adrián Mirandeborde, compositing artist.  (Toolbox: Photoshop, Illustrator, Animate, Toonboom, TV Paint, Cinema 4D, After Effects) Audio Production DaHouse Audio GmbH Lucas Mayer, Lucas Campello, composers; Giovanna Moraes, singer; Lucas Mayer, Wonder Bettin, Silvio Erne, music producers; Lucas Mayer, Rodrigo Deltoro & Niper Boaventura, mix & sound design; Cassiano Derenji,  Lari Miranda, audio exec producers.

7:  BLINKINK’s Katy Wang Directs Illustrative 2D Film For Eileen Fisher, NY Times

Client Eileen Fisher Agency New York Times Adam Loeb, creative director; Deanna Urciuoli, executive producer. Production BLINKINK, London Katy Wang, director; Bart Yates, exec producer; Rosanna Morley, producer; Will Kay, production assistant; Gabriel de Bruin, script development; Jacob Merrick Wolf, storyboard; Sheetal Thankey, Hannah Lau-Walker, Bianca Beneduci, 2D animators; Kat Michaelides, Lois de Silva, 2D animation assist; Tom Fisher, compositor. (Toolbox: Adobe Animate, Photoshop). Voiceover Kemah Bob, recorded at Wave Studios, London Sound Cypher John Black, creative direction, sound design & mix; John Poon, music composition

 

8:  Naked Juice, Cramer-Krasselt Enlist The Gondrys To Strip Away Life’s Hassles

Client Naked Juice Agency Cramer-Krasselt, Chicago Marshall Ross, chief creative officer; G. Andrew Meyer, executive creative director; Christina Calvit, group creative director; Jim Bernardin, Andres Schiling, associate creative directors; Tom Cronin, producer; Lizzie Bartek, planning director; Audrey Williams, sr. campaign manager. Production Company Partizan Olivier Gondry, director; Michel Gondry, creative direction; Amanda Clark Altham, line producer; Lisa Tauscher, exec producer. Editorial Whitehouse Post Marin Leroy, editor; Melanie Klein, producer. VFX Fell Visual Effects, Los Angeles Olivier Gondry, Russell Fell, VFX lead artists; Rachel Koch, exec producer; Andre Steyn, VFX supervisor. (Toolbox: Flame, Maya, Photoshop) Music & Sound Design Sonixphere Audio Wave Studios, Chris Afzal, sound designer & mixer; Eleni Giannopoulos, producer.

9:  Hooray Agency, Psyop “Stay Fabulous” In Oscar Spot For Resorts World Las Vegas

Client Resorts World Las Vegas Agency Hooray Agency, Orange County, Calif. Eric Stein, chief creative officer; Christopher Leon, creative director; Kevin Johnson, creative producer; Ted Trautwein, creative director/copywriter; Angela Casteneda, producer. Production Company Psyop, bicoastal Marco Spier, director/founding partner; Justin Booth-Clibborn, chief executive producer; Noah Goldsmith, exec producer; Andrea Panda, head of production; Saul Germaine, line producer; Matthew Jensen, DP; Scott Harris, 1st assistant director; Kevan Dirinpour, production supervisor; Phoenix Lawton, production coordinator; Kim Seko, talent coorindator; Jeffrey Higinbotham, production designer; Mike Martella, art director; Nick Nevlin, art coordinator; Cris Araujo, costume designer; Andrea Peraza, key costumer; Stella Tzanidakis, key makeup; Justin St. Clair, key makeup (Celine); Deanna Amore Marti, key hair (Celine); Pepe Munoz, key costumer (Celine); Melissa Schleicher, key makeup (Carrie); Emma Trask, key costumer (Carrie); Jesus Guerrereo, key hair (Katy); Michael Anthony, key makeup (Katy); Heathre Picchiottino, key costumer (Katy); Paula Turner, groomer (Luke); Lee Moore, key costumer (Luke); Jaime Maloney, groomer (Zedd); Jodi Jraushar, post/editorial producer; Lawrence Jones, virtual production supervisor; Kristin Carey, technical producer; Pakorn Bupphavesa, CG supervisor; Sang Lee, 2D lead; Brandon Sanders, Flame artist; Loren Christiansen, editor; Marla Colour, color; Fernando Lui, grading colorist. (Toolbox: Maya, Unreal Engine, Nuke, Flame) Virtual Partner & Stage Nant Studios Gary Marshall, director of virtual production; Juan Nader, supervisor of virtual production engineering; Fernando Rabello, vitual production TD; Julia Lou, unreal developer; Bryan Brown, real time content lead; Adolfo Sanchez, stage mgr; Keaton Heinrichs, operations director.  Unreal Engine Workflow Optimization and Creative Services Extended Reality Group Evan Glantz, exec producer; Zack Kingdon, producer; Patrick Beery, CG supervisor; Darron Granieri, sr. tech artist. Music & Sound Design Squeak E. Clean Studios Zac Colwell, creative director, composer; Josh Hoisington, composer; Stuart St Vincent Welch, sound designer, final mix engineer & additional recording; Nicholas Doering, Danielle Toporoff, producers.

 

10:  The Best Work You May Never See: Animation Studio Brigade, Director Sean Broughton Team On PSAs Tackling Distracted and Drunk Driving

Client New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) Agency RK Venture, Albuquerque, NM Richard Kuhn, principal/executive creative director; Nick Tauro Jr., broadcast creative director. Production Company Halflife Digital, Albuquerque, NM Sean Broughton, director; David Garcia, Nikelle Garcia, producers. Animation Studio Brigade, New York David Dimeola, managing director; Leomar Esteves, lead 3D; Masa Nakamura, lead cel animator; Mark Pecoraro, 2D animation; Dennis Moore, design & illustration. (Toolbox: PSD, After Effects, Cinema 4D, Cloud rendering)  Editorial Halflife Digital