stop-motion Archives - Trunk | Animation Production Company
Trunk has created a charming short for Cisco systems Inc.
On 23, Jan 2018 | In Press | By Pip
Armed with scalpels, scissors, crazy glue, building blocks, straws, and card Trunk has created decades of office technology in a matter of days for their latest short.
Technology giant Cisco has a wide range of services that can benefit small businesses. Yet, when your name alone can be daunting due to your scale, explaining how your secure networking, telecommunications and cloud security can help a business grow is a challenge. So how do you connect to small and medium businesses when you are one of the world’s largest tech firms? The answer was provided by MRM Meteorite and delivered by Trunk animation.
MRM chose to explain the tech giant’s services by telling the story of a company’s growth around the setting of a desk, something very relatable to all of us, as it seems we spend 90% of the time sitting in front of one! This warm approach also needed an animation style that was equally engaging and what better medium than using beautifully hand crafted miniature models. Having seen the work created by Trunk for the Paediatric Brain Tumour Foundation MRM meteorite bought them in to realise their vision.
The shorts action centres on an office desk, lovingly made by retired boat builder Dave Perrin, which evolves over the decades as new technology comes and goes. We see a typewriter replaced with a series of computers, then phones and fax machines flick through different models, and even the staff in the company photos grow over time. In total nearly a hundred props were made by Trunk’s 3D model makers, Jock Mooney, Layla Atkinson, John Harmer and Adrian Leak as well as brilliant intern Stephanie Martin. Layla designed the whole set to spin as each period of time changed, so as the business grows, we get a fleeting glimpse of the buildings outside, before re-entering in a new decade, driving the story on.
DOP maestro Pete Ellmore beautifully lit the tiny set to ensure that all the textures and personality of the props were captured. He also altered the lighting over the shoot, bathing the set in morning, afternoon and evening light to reiterate that passing of time. Animator John Harmer painstakingly moved and replaced each element to create the fantastic time-lapse effect, whilst Rok Predin built additional CG elements to weave in alongside the hand built models. Overall the piece has a wide range of textures and materials, which reflect Layla’s short film ‘Aftermath’, and which allows the film to have a sense of place, and a relatable feel.
Composer Ivan Arnold built on the theme of ‘retro to contemporary’, by composing a track that in a way feels timeless, with a mix of acoustic and electric guitar, and a driving bass, it really drives the narrative forward. The formidable Barnaby Templer and Chris Swain @ Fonic created the sound design, and Lorraine Hodgson beautifully voiced the narrative.
Producer Richard Barnett says of the short “We pushed the boat out on this project, looking to achieve that hand made feel that gives the warmth of the narrative, balanced with a high end production value that reflects the sophisticated nature of Cisco’s products. With a turnaround of just 5 weeks from start to finish, it meant that everyone had to pull together and really work hard. We had such amazing support from everyone working on the project from, crew, to agency, to client. That really makes the difference!’
The short will be used by Cisco on their small business homepage, showcasing their solutions and promotions dedicated to small business customers.
Click below for press coverage :-
Credits :-
Director- Layla Atkinson
Producer- Richard Barnett
DOP- Pete Ellmore
Animation- John Harmer, Layla Atkinson
Art Department- Dave Perrin, Jock Mooney, John Harmer, Layla Atkinson, Adrian Leak, Stephanie Martin
CG and Compositing- Rok Predin, Pete Mellor
Gaffer: Jonathan Yates
Motion Control- Max Halstead
Composer- Ivan Arnold
Sound Design and Mix- Barnaby Templer, Chris Swaine @ Fonic
Lighting: Panalux
Motion Control Rig: Clapham Rd Studios
Senior Account Director- Chris Willocks
Agency- MRM Meteorite
Client- CISCO Systems Inc
Filth
On 09, Oct 2017 | In news / blog | By Layla
After three weeks it’s getting a bit awkward waiting for that RASCAL John Harmer to wash his palette
Modern technology
On 04, Oct 2017 | In news / blog | By Layla
Rich made this complicated and intricate piece of technology for our Radiation shoot….it didn’t work
The Imaginary Friend Society Presents: Radiation
On 29, Sep 2017 | In news / blog | By Layla
We were beyond thrilled when the guys from RPA got in touch and asked us to make a film for their “Imaginary Friends Society” project for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.
The project was aimed at children and their families facing a brain tumour diagnosis. In total twenty films were made, each one explaining a different aspect of cancer treatment and what could be expected. Our film “Radiation” explains how radiation treatment works.
We threw ourselves head first into this and completed this film in seven weeks flat. There were a lot of late nights and long weekends but we are really pleased with the end result.
When we were planning the film we decided to try out several different animation techniques….it seemed like a decent idea until we realised there were sets to be built, cars to be sculpted, balls to be wrangled and a few THOUSAND frames of artwork to be individually cut out.
There was also music to be composed, 2d animation to be drawn, props to be sourced, two voice records, a three day shoot that turned into a seven day shoot, a tonne of compositing…. let’s just say it was hard.
Once again we got to work with the excellent Julian Rhind-Tutt who provides the voice of Walter and we were thrilled to work with Jane Horrocks who, it turns out, does an excellent pig.
So many people and businesses kindly donated their time and energy into this project, we couldn’t have done it without them.
We felt honoured to be asked to participate in this project for such a great cause and alongside some of our favourite animation companies from all across the world including Psyop, Hornet, The Mill, Not To Scale, Lobo, Gentleman Scholar, Giant Ant, Strange Beast… among many others. Check out the other films here
Land Rover
On 21, May 2013 | No Comments | In news / blog | By Layla
We are thrilled to finally be able to show you this lovely film made by Alasdair and Jock to celebrate Land Rover USA reaching their one millionth fan on Facebook. This was created using photos sent in by Land Rover fans. Working closely with Wunderman New York, the guys created a storyline from this content and used a variety of techniques, stop motion, CG and digital montage, pixillation to put the film together. This features cameos from Layla’s wrist, Richard’s tiny face, Fran’s hand and who is that in the bridesmaid’s dress? (clue: it’s a man)
Land Rover | 1 Million Fans
On 21, May 2013 | No Comments | In Alasdair + Jock, clip, Commercials, Director Page, directors, Films | By Richard
Directors: Alasdair Brotherston and Jock Mooney
Producer: Richard Barnett
3D Animators: Mark Lindner and Luca Paulli
Pixilation: Steven Edge
Design: Jock Mooney
Compositing: Alasdair Brotherston
Sound Design: Barnaby Templer@Fonic
Composer: Ivan Arnold
Pixilation shot at Clapham Road Studio
DOP: Matt Day
Camera Assistant: Toby Goodyear
Time lapse Photography: Andy Hague
US Photography: Gary Griffiths
US Gaffer: Marc Mayer
US Grip: Jonathan Robinson
Texture Artist: Francesco Puerto Esteban
Production Company: Trunk Animation
Client: Land Rover USA
Agency: Wunderman NY
ACD Copywriter: Carrie Ingoglia
Senior Art Director: Saunak Shah
Senior Art Director: John McGill
Content Producer: Katie Camosy
Social Media Associate Account Director: Liz Dennebaum
Social Media Account Supervisor: Isabella Josefsberg
Social Media Strategist: Veronica Carvallo
it’s Nutella, soil and glue
On 19, Mar 2013 | No Comments | In news / blog | By Layla
There’s been some strangeness going on in the studio over the past few days as Alasdair and Jock have been preparing for a stop motion shoot. The shoot’s today and we’ll upload the final result in a week or two.
