Enzo’s Monday Motion #151: 2018 Shorts
The last edition of 2018 is traditionally dedicated to shorts. This year I had some help of five big brands who wanted to tell their vision through stories (luckily while keeping their own logo to the bare minimum). Sit back and enjoy shorts from Pixar style to mini-blockbusters with stars like Christian Slater.
Phil’s Unfinished Story
While many campaigns target on the distracted driver, this one instead focusses on the victim. American insurance company ‘Travelers’ portrays true stories of lives cut short by distracted driving, working closely together with the victims’ families to imagine what might have been. This specific episode is about nineteen-year-old Phil who dreamed of the Olympics in Rio.
The hard fact of nine people killed by distracted driving every day is portrayed nicely by Psyop and director Trevor Conrad. The style transition from live action to cel animation turns the dark vibe into a positive story. A smart and refreshing approach created by TBWAChiatDay.
One Small Step
Many people dream big but never have the perseverance. This story is about a Chinese American girl Luna, who dreams of becoming an astronaut.
Going for a repetitive scene construction emphasises the struggle and necessary perseverance and at the same time, it’s a smart vehicle for time transition. Nice strong and own animation style by TAIKO Studios, directed by Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pontillas.
Reinvent Security
If you’re a tech giant and want to promote your smart and safe products, you can sponsor the next James Bond or Jason Bourne. Or you can create your very own blockbuster short with a star cast. HP went for the latter. Since the film is 19 minutes long, I guess I better convince you with a teaser video first:
Brands like BMW and Campari seem to have paved the way for branded mini-blockbusters. With over decent budgets and strong writers, the stories are appealing while the sponsor is satisfied with some smartly chosen product placement. Good thing HP skipped Clive Owen and found Christian Slater and Breaking Bad star Jonathan Banks. Even though the latter had to make some cheesy promo cut downs, it’s still a very appealing short directed by Lance Acord.
If you got curious ánd have some spare time check out the full version. For the hardcore Slater fans, there’s also a 2017 edition.
Joy & Heron
Chinese retailer JD steps into the short scene with a Pixar look and feel short created by Kyra and Constantin.
The dog is actually the brand’s logo. Another smart move of the creators was to create a story without any dialogue. This way it’s instant a global (instead of a Chinese) campaign. Produced by Passion Pictures.
A Report Of Connected Events
Liberty Global is the largest broadband internet service provider outside the USA. PostPanic studio crafted a short that blurs the lines between our reality and some of our favourite films and tv shows.
Director Mischa Rozema must have felt like a child in a candy store. From his beloved architecture of Ricardo Bofill to classics such as Fargo and Fight Club. The execution level is extremely high but for me, the best way to end this year is with a quote of Margareth Atwood that inspired the director:
In the end, we all become stories.
Make sure yours will be the greatest ever told.
