Where the Buffalo Roam (WTBR) produced all five episodes of this animated docuseries for Google Marketing, pooling together artists and creative companies across four continents and seven time zones. WTBR wanted this series–titled Being Human Is–to feel like a collection of cinematic documentary fables–nonfiction comic books with subject matter firmly rooted in reality through the words of the participants, with a visual language reaching deep into the world of mythology and magic realism.
Oddfellows, Meister, Where the Buffalo Roam and Giant Ant served as animation studios on the series. Nico Carbonaro (who’s repped by Nonfiction Unlimited) and Tuesday McGowan via WTBR directed the series.
In this first episode–“On Silent Ice” for which Oddfellows was the animation studio–we are thrust into the world of deaf hockey.
WTBR took a bespoke approach to the music and sound, bringing a unique and nuanced soundscape to each story, including “On Silent Ice.” The music is cinematic and orchestral with the eclectic sounds of each participant’s home and culture mixed in. Here, they brought on a team of composers and sound designers, led by Space Lute’s JR Narrows, with one of the original compositions performed by a 53-piece orchestra in Budapest.
“On Silent Ice” also shows how the Live Transcribe feature on a deaf hockey player’s Android phone allows him to connect in real time with professional scouts who are looking for stellar rink talent.
Credits
Client Google Marketing Agency Where the Buffalo Roam, Oakland, Calif. Tim Pries, executive producer; Taraneh Golozar, producer. Production Where the Buffalo Roam, Oakland, Calif. Nico Carbonaro (represented by Nonfiction Unlimited), Tuesday McGowan, directors; Tim Pries, exec producer; Taraneh Golozar, producer; Eden Cooney, coordinator; Von Diaz, Elisheba Ittoop, story producer. Editorial Where the Buffalo Roam, Oakland, Calif. James Boger, editor. Animation Oddfellows, Portland, Ore. Erica Kelly, exec producer; Chris Kelly, executive creative director; Fabian Molina, creative director; Jan Szeto, producer; Oddfellows, illustration. (Toolbox Adobe Animate, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, After Effects; Maxon Cinema 4D; Flame, Maya, Sidefx Houdini. Music & Sound Design Space Lute JR Narrows, composer, audio director/sound supervisor, sound designer. Audio Post Machine, New York T. Terressa Tate, sound mixer; Alek Rost, sr. producer; Amanda Fuentes, sound assistant; Kyra Hendricks, audio producer.
NHS England, M&C Saatchi UK, Director Tom Tagholm Team On PSA Highlighting The Overlooked Signs Of A Stroke
National Health Service (NHS) England has unveiled a multichannel campaign, “Act FAST,” to raise awareness of the individual signs of a stroke and get people to call 999 as soon as they suspect they may be experiencing any one symptom. The push, which is part of the ongoing “Help Us, Help You” campaign, was developed in partnership with M&C Saatchi UK.
The campaign depicts everyday situations where everything might seem relatively normal, but where there’s the sign of someone experiencing a stroke.
A key component of the campaign is this :30--directed by Tom Tagholm of Various Films--which sets up the idea that initially, a stroke might not seem like much, highlighting key symptoms: from struggling to use a paint roller, to not being able to smile when watching TV, to slurring your speech when reading a story to your grandchild. The PSA emphasizes that time is critical, ending with the line: “Face or arm or speech, at the first sign, it’s time to call 999.”
Jo Bacon, Group CEO, M&C Saatchi UK, said, “We want to ensure people take action on the first symptom, rather than waiting for more conclusive signs. To help them understand that even when everything seems normal, something serious might be happening.”
Matt Lee, executive creative director, M&C Saatchi UK, commented: “This is important work. We wanted to explore that precise moment when your world shifts, quietly yet powerfully, off its axis during a stroke. We highlight how a tiny external moment can actually be seismic—an extraordinary gear change, framed in a really ordinary way.”
Director Tagholm shared, “My Dad suffered a stroke a few years ago and was saved from the worst by acting quickly, and by the work of the NHS. So there’s... Read More