Blacklist’s Pistachios: “The Story of Kakenya”

Top Blacklist director, Pistachios, has partnered with with co-director Aaron Kisner and the Vital Voices Global Partnership to bring us The Story of Kakenya. The piece chronicles the real-life and inspiring story of Kakenya Ntaiya: a young girl who —throughout her childhood— escaped dogmatic African traditions toward women by pursuing a higher education and fulfilling her dream of becoming a teacher.

The style does not deviate too far the signature Pistachios aesthetic. The look is abstract, graphic, and sparse, which recalls the emblematic patterns and geometric taste of African design that has become globally acknowledged.

Posted on Motionographer

Ro Rao: Nike Women

nike-ro-rao

Curious Pictures’ Ro Rao created an ambitious series of shorts for Nike Women’s “Be Transformed” campaign running in the Asia/Pacific region, masterminded by digital agency AKQA:

The series employs two distinct styles. For “Meteor,” “Punching Bag,” and “Bike,” Ro worked with Tampa-based Humoring The Fates to create anime mini-epics. To create the 3D neo-psychedlia of “Jump Rope,” Ro teamed up with Zoink Animation in Sweden.

In addition to jumping between the two styles of the athletes’ transformations, Ro did a great job developing a look for the live action. It’s polished stuff that feels like a departure from his Ro’s portfolilo to date, which is mostly a lo-fi blend of kitch and comedy. (You might remember this viral smash-hit he co-directed with Abraham Spear.)

I’m curious to see where Ro goes from here. (Ha! “Curious.” Curious Pictures. Get it? Okay, sorry.)

Posted on Motionographer

Ro Rao: Nike Women