Director Raman Djafari of the Blinkink studio curated an international team of 15 artists to craft an animated odyssey for Coldplay’s latest single, “feelslikeimfallinginlove.”
This is a story about two souls finding each other repeatedly in many different forms. Using several animation styles (stop motion, 2D, 3D, digital painting, oil pastels on paper, watercolor, laser cut felt!), the pair travel between worlds in a three-part narrative: Longing, Searching, and Finding.
The music video was a huge global collaboration involving contributors from Switzerland, the U.S., France, Germany, the U.K., Sweden, the Netherlands, and South Korea. Each artist had their own segment to animate, showcasing an incredible breadth of international talent.
A narrative framework was created that allowed each animator to express their unique style with seamless transitions that take the audience through newly constructed worlds.
The transitions required meticulous planning, demonstrating the team’s incredible attention to detail. Each animator initially created the start and end of their scenes, enabling the creation of 16 bespoke transitions that smoothly shift from a pencil-drawn 2D section to a stop-motion sequence of two crabs slow-dancing.
“Animation is so capable of speaking in the language of our thoughts and emotions,” said Djafari. “That is, fluently transcending between feelings, changing perspectives, reflecting the way we as people experience the world or even our dreams. I wanted to make a video that expresses this through the many forms of animation.”
CreditsClient/Artist Coldplay; Sam Seager, commissioner. Production Company Blinkink Raman Djafari, director; Josef Byrne, exec producer; Alex Haley, head of production; Alexander Handschuh, producer; Jon Mealing, co-producer. Animation Collaborators Tokay (whose team included DOP Marco Jorger, and Konstantin Rosshoff and Julia Estrada for set/props), Dante Zabella (Louis Fourell for additional animation; and thanks to Pauline Guitton and Rodrigo Goulao de Sousa), Martin Robic, KINEMUS (team included Toby Auberg and Michelle Brand), Jack Zhang (with Alejandro Edger as additional animator), Nike Lindroth von Bahr (Nicklas Nilsson, set; Johanna Schubert, animation; Nicolas Maurice 3D print), Moera.cf (Thierno Bam, assist animator), Gaia Esther Maria, Aaron Fisher, Karlotta Freier (Pauline Guitton, Marion Boisrond, animators), Isabel Garrett (Cat Johnston, art director; Rachael Olga Lloyd, modelmaker; Ronnie McQuilla, DOP; Andy Biddle and Mai Nguyen, animators; Robin Jackson, rigging; Hannah Cooper, prop assist; Claphan Road Studios), Hannah van der Weide, Kohanna Wilson, Ram Han (MyeongJun Kim, clean up/character). Postproduction John Malcolm, lead compositor; Rob Ward, Simon Lucas Howe, Simone Ghilardotti, compositors; Maria Cecilia Tedemalm, comp assist; Jacob M Wolf, Joe Totti, storyboard artists; James Barber, animatic editor; Calum O’Toole, edit assist; Andi Chu, colorist; George Blomiley, color producer.
The Best Work You May Never See: Ad Council, U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, GSD&M, Director Andre Muir Show Us “The Bravest Thing”
As Suicide Prevention Month begins, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Ad Council teamed with agency GSD&M to roll out PSAs for their national campaign: “Don’t Wait. Reach Out.” The initiative, which started in 2021, urges Veterans who are facing challenges to visit VA.gov/REACH, a comprehensive website that helps them access the many resources available.
The PSAs, including this one titled “The Bravest Thing,” were directed by Andre Muir of production house SMUGGLER. “The Bravest Thing” acknowledges that it can be hard for Veterans to reach out if they’re struggling--but in the eyes of their loved ones, seeking help is an act of bravery. By featuring Veterans alongside their friends and family, the film encourages Veterans to open up if they’re struggling and reminds everyone that they can play a role in supporting Veterans in their lives.
“When a Veteran is ready to reach out, VA is ready to provide services and support. One of the bravest things Veterans can do is ask for help,” said Dr. Matthew Miller, executive director, VA Office of Suicide Prevention. “These new messages are powerful and compassionate additions to the ‘Don’t Wait. Reach Out.’ campaign that features the voices of loved ones, underscoring the vital role that family and friends play in supporting Veterans. We all play a role in suicide prevention and this call to action engages community and connections, which are crucial in preventing Veteran suicide. Through this campaign, we can spread hope that Veterans, and all of us, can overcome crises and difficult life challenges.”
6,392 Veterans lost their lives to suicide in 2021, according to the latest data from the 2023 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report.... Read More