Award-winning animation and visual effects studio Hinge Digital recently teamed up with BVK to create a clever series of advertisements for Carrington College. The integrated campaign includes two animated and live-action broadcast spots, as well as three online outtakes, 24 print ads, plush toys and more, which all showcase original character designs by Hinge Digital‘s talented team of artists. “Carrington College Squirrel,” the first :30 campaign promo, introduces new Carrington bird mascots, Goldie and Blue, and is now airing on TV, with a live-action spot to follow in September. nnnComedic outtakes from the project are also available to view online here.nnUnder the direction of Hinge Digital‘s Alex Tysowsky, a 30-person crew delivered multiple pieces of the campaign from concepting and storyboarding to character design and modeling, animation, VFX, editing and more – all within less than three months. The team faced a number of complex animation challenges throughout, especially in making the characters stand out without dialog and adapting design elements to ensure they would work across all facets of the campaign. nn”Truly unique, the first ad introduces Goldie and Blue for the first time without any dialog, so our animation really had to drive the story. The success of the entire campaign hinged on our ability to visually convey the story through our animation on this first spot,” said Alex Tysowsky, director, Hinge Digital. “Adding to the challenge, we had to carefully design the characters to work graphically across multiple platforms: TV, twitter, pens, plush animals, billboards.” nnIn “Carrington College Squirrel,” an amiable squirrel atop a tree sees three other squirrels on a neighboring tree indulging in acorns – representative of the student demographic. Intent on joining them, he edges out to the end of the branch, but one look down below petrifies him, and he returns to the base of the tree defeated. Goldie and Blue, symbolizing Carrington career counselors, appear and encourage him to take a leap of faith. After confiding in Goldie and Blue, he musters the courage to leap across – joining his friends. Outtakes of the spot, which started airing at the end of August on Carrington’s website, offer an uncut, insider’s look behind the shoot. nn”The creative process on this project ran smooth. BVK came up with the initial concept but gave us the freedom to design these characters and bring them to life in an interesting way that would translate across the campaign; it was pure magic,” said Hinge Digital VFX Supervisor Michael Kuehn. “When you run through dailies with a client and receive a genuine positive, passionate reaction to the characters you’ve worked so hard to create, that’s a great feeling.” nnBVK Art Director Ryan Smith shared, “Hinge Digital offers the right mix of creative talent, artistry and technology that this sort of campaign requires. They were there for us throughout the entire creative process and played an integral role in developing loveable, believable characters that carry this campaign.” nnHinge Digital leveraged a variety of technology throughout the project including proprietary plug-ins, Maya for 3D animation, Shave and a Haircut, Mari for 3D painting, Nuke for compositing, Mudbox and ZBrush for modeling, headus UVLayout, mental ray and SquidNet for rendering, as well as Shotgun, Revolver, Tweak RV and cineSync.nnProduction CreditsnCLIENT: Carrington CollegennAGENCY: BVKnProducer: Terri BurmesternArt Director: Ryan SmithnCopywriter: Seth GordonnCreative Director: Gary MuellernnAnimation/Visual Effects/Post:Hinge DigitalnDirector: Alex TysowskynVFX Supervisor: Michael KuehnnProducer: Laura SchultznExecutive Producer: Roland GauthiernEditor: JD DawsonnComp Supervisor: J BillsnLighting Supervisor: Frank RitlopnLive Action Director: Devon Lyon, Lyon FilmsnLive Action DP: Bryce FortnernnAbout Hinge Digital nBased in Portland, Oregon, Hinge Digital is an award-winning animation and visual effects studio providing comprehensive creative services across the film, television and commercial industries – from strategy, concept design and storyboarding through to animation, visual effects and more. Home to more than six decades of feature film and commercial talent from prestigious studios such as Walt Disney Feature Animation, Sony Pictures Imageworks, LAIKA Entertainment and Double Negative Visual Effects, Hinge Digital comprises an accomplished team of passionate creatives and solution-oriented technical artists, industry standard tools and a robust infrastructure.nnHinge Digital has collaborated with agencies like BVK, draftfcb, Doner, Razorfish, AKQA, CAHG, BooneOakley, and Zimmerman Advertising to deliver broadcast, interactive and print work for clients such as Carrington, Carfax, Nike, Merck, Adidas, Minute Maid, Microsoft, The UPS Store, COX Communications, Target and more. For more information, please visit www.hingedigital.com.nnFor Mid West Sales contact Mary Ida Bonadio, for everywhere else contact Ramiro Gomez.
Katie Adams Raz PR Contact Katie via email
Contact In The Desert Returns To Indian Wells, CA, May 29-June 2, 2025, Featuring Keynote Speaker Josh Gates of “Expedition Unknown”
The Contact In The Desert Conference (CITD) will take place May 29th - June 2nd, 2025, at the beautiful Renaissance Esmeralda Resort and Spa in Indian Wells, CA. The conference will feature over 120 lectures, workshops, intensives and panels presented by the world’s most prestigious experts in the fields of UFO/UAP, Government Disclosure, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Science, Ancient Civilizations, Space Exploration, Future of Technology and Space Travel, Non-human Intelligence, Spirituality, and more. This year’s conference, with the theme Event Horizon, will feature renowned keynote speaker Josh Gates, host of Discovery’s Expedition Unknown, as well as Dr. Diane Hennacy Powell, the leading expert on child autism and savant syndrome, who will be speaking about her telepathy project. Tickets are now available: CLICK HERE “We are thrilled to welcome Josh Gates and Dr. Diane Hennacy Powell to CITD 2025. They both bring unique insights and deep dedication to discovering the unknown,” said CITD Executive Producer Ron Janix. About Josh Gates Adventurer, television personality and author Josh Gates is the host and executive producer of the smash-hit Discovery Channel TV series, Expedition Unknown. Armed with a degree in archaeology, a quick wit and a hunger for adventure, Gates has traveled to the most remote corners of the world, participated in sub-sea archaeological excavations in the Mediterranean, and explored everywhere from sweltering African deserts to the icy shore of Antarctica. To date, he has set foot in more than one hundred countries, has scaled “the roof of Africa” on Mt.... Read More