Hasta La Motion!

Publicis Groupe continues its tradition of sending an interactive online New Year greeting from chief executive Maurice Levy. This year’s “very Good Wishes” allows users to control the YouTube video on their desktop with their smartphone/tablet as the joystick. By syncing your device to “The Very Good Wishes”, users gain control of a carnival claw swinging around Mr. Lévy’s office as he gives his speech. The aim of the game is simple – agilely trap the stuffed animals around his office, helping Mr. Lévy wrap them up. With each catch, you’ll see the item slide seamlessly from the desktop to your mobile, wrapped up and ready to be shared on social media. After all, the more we work together, the better we do. Aim well, and you might accidentally catch Mr. Lévy’s personal belongings and other hidden items around his office –his beloved candy jar, lamp, phone, Cannes Lion or other items – unlocking extra surprises in the video. Move the claw too much or too far, or even catch the Maurice Lévy himself…and you will see what happens!

Try the experience for yourself at publicisgroupewishes2015.com/ or YouTube. Check out what others have caught by joining the conversation on Twitter & Facebook with the hashtag #TheVeryGoodWishes. We’ve included here a demo video provided by Publicis.

Maurice Levy finishes the experience tying the ribbons on gifts with a few words of affirmation and encouragement for interactive users to donate to the Make A Wish Foundation.

Greeting Trivia

DigitasLBi France tells us that this is the first YouTube video game controlled by a mobile/tablet device. The joystick functionality controlling the video uses the accelerometer feature on your smartphone. This experience is made up with 290 sub videos, creating the interactivity of the experience. A month of tests and engineering was necessary for the development and creation of the carnival claw. Mr. Lévy’s office was recreated in 3D to test the behavior of the clamp before the shooting. More than 1,000 stuffed animals were present during the shooting (none of them were harmed). The storm scene finally succeeded in messing up Maurice Lévy’s hair. The Cannes Lion present in the video is the real one awarded in 2013 for “The Human YouTube Player.” The musical signature of the wishes is the same used in “The More The Merrier,” re- orchestrated in a fun-fair style. This is the first ever Publicis Groupe wishes that is both an interactive video game and a charitable experience. here are a total of 30 items to catch in Mr. Lévy’s office, and nine hidden catches (you’ll see when you get one!).

Credits

The Publicis Greetings 2015 video was developed at DigitasLBi France and LostBoys by president Mathieu Morgensztern, executive creative director Laurent Nuyen, creative director Nicolas Thiboutot, creatives Frederick Lung and Philippe Pinel, art directors Chisato Tchisuya and Victor Miellin, graphic designer Emmanuel Azouvi, communications managers Amélie Cruchet and Sarah Coutin, head of interface development Alexandre Koch, interface development director Brice d’Annoville, technical project managers Branislav Popovski and Antoine Trebuchet, interface development coders Loup Rodolphe Thibault, Loic Lalevée and Gabriel Slama, third party manager Regis Despres, producers Louis Blaise and Olivier Dubocage, and motion director Jérémy Vissio.

Post production was done at Prodigious by president Pierre Marcus, executive producer Laurent Sequaris, producer Thierry Delesalle, production officer Charlène Plozner, production manager Matthieu Royer, animation/VFX producer Carine Cottereau and sound designer Fabien Cornec.

Photographer Erwin Olaf is marking the opening of his New York exhibition with a split screen video installation, a 50-minute film titled Waiting. The film, shot in a single take, shows a girl, waiting in a restaurant. Besides briefly touching her glass, opening the menu, she just sits and waits. Atypical for the real world, she is not constantly checking her phone or sending text messages. The film is a statement addressing the impatience and restlessness prevalent in today’s society.

Olaf, who is known to address social issues, taboos, and conservative conventions in a highly stylised and cunning mode of image making, emphasises with Waiting, the impact of our busy lives and the kinds of emotions ‘just waiting’ can trigger. The installation is part of “Waiting: Selections from Erwin Olaf: Volume I & II”, on display at the Hasted Kraeutler in New York from January 8 and running through February 28, 2015.

The following video is a 5-minute excerpt from the installation.

Sound designer and composer Sebastiaan Roestenburg, one of the founders of creative production company The Ambassadors, was tasked to compose 50 minutes of original music to work alongside Olaf’s film installation. The carefully composed piano piece takes the viewer through the sentiments of hopefulness, loneliness and depression, experienced while waiting. Depending on when one enters the installation, each visit represents a completely new experience.

As there is barely any visual action in the film, the music plays an important role in transporting the audience into the emotion of the character and conveying the message. Sebastiaan Roestenburg comments: “This was a very unusual project, primarily because of its length. As a commercial composer, I write a great deal of music but usually for a period of a few seconds to one or two minutes. Composing 50 minutes of music to accompany the personal work of a photographer is very challenging. It is a very subtle process in which every tone is considered impactful.”

Erwin Olaf and Sebastiaan Roestenburg have a long history of collaborating on different film projects. Erwin Olaf comments: “Sebastiaan Roestenburg adds the sound that I have in mind to my imagery. I never really know how to explain what I am looking for until I hear his music. Substantively and musically he surprises me every time. His special talent enriches my visual world.”

IKEA UK is running “The Joy of Storage’, an integrated advertising campaign featuring a flock of migrating t-shirts. The commercial at the heart of the campaign gives a nod to nature documentaries, following the flock flying across rivers and fields, mountains and seas in wintery conditions, before coming to rest in an IKEA PAX wardrobe. Nature scenes provide visual references to the way a flock of geese lands in water, a murmuration of starlings flies through the sky, and seagulls respond to a child’s pursuit. The campaign, part of IKEA’s “The Wonderful Everyday” focus, will include print, digital and outdoor elements and supported by PR, social and CRM.

Peter Wright, IKEA UK and Ireland Marketing Manager, said, “Storage has long been a very functional part of home improvements, but at IKEA we see things differently. Whether you have a detached house in the country or a one-bed flat in town, we know that there is joy and satisfaction in giving the things you love a home, whatever your storage needs are. The Joy of Storage is about the time saved and the stress reduced when you have things easily to hand, stored out of sight, or the freedom you get when things are in order.”

Credits

The IKEA Joy of Storage campaign was developed at Mother London.

Media was handled at Vizeum.

Filming was shot by director Dougal Wilson at Blink Productions with producer Ewen Brown, executive producer James Bland, production manager Lucy Jones, director of photography Lasse Frank.

Puppetry was by Jonny&Will (Jonny Sabbagh and Will Harper) at Blinkink. Editor was Joe Guest at Final Cut.

Visual effects were produced at MPC, London, by VFX supervisor Tom Harding, producer Julie Evans, CG artist Diarmid Harrison-Murray, lead animator Tim Van Hussen, lead lighter Fabian Frank, VFX Team Alessandro Granella, Aton Lerin, David Bryan, Emeric Larochette, Gisli Darri Halldorsson, Jon Park, Kiril Mirkov, Leanne Goymer, Marta Ampudia, Martin Blunden, Pauline Costantini, Simon Taylor, Steve Oakley, Thanos Topouzis, Andrew Roberts, Rod Norman, Alexander Kulikov, Emma White, Fabrizio Ghiso, Mike Cosgrave, Priya Bandodkar, Amresh Kumar, K. Gandhiraj, Monalisa Xess, Shaikh Abdul Adil & Shalwin Shaiju,
and colourist Jean-Clément Soret.

Music is “Strength of an Empire” written by Thomas Bergersen & Nick Phoenix.

San Francisco based, Encylopedia Pictura, has sprung back into music-video-making action! Last month, the collective released a live-action forrest romance for Metronomy. They’ve now followed that up with an all 3D world for Panda Bear. I loved seeing similar a visual motif expressed across two very different modes of filmmaking. As usual, Encyclopedia Pictura marries wildly imaginative vision with intricately… Read more »

Gordon Waltho updates.