Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/8034
Blur Studios Hooks Audiences with Animated Goldfi sh Campaign I f you missed the third season fi nal episode of the Goldfi sh crackers animated commercial series, Gilbert is gone. The unfortunate cracker character was sucked up by a vacuum cleaner. But Gilbert’s loss turned out to be Blur Studios’ gain. The Venice, California-based production company designed, developed, produced, and fi nished the follow-on 10-spot series of commercials for Pepperidge Farm Goldfi sh crackers and ad agency Young & Rubicam. The Season 4 series featured the familiar cast of adventurous the multi-season campaign in which the Goldfi sh characters explored environments outside their world “under the bed.” In Season 4, they engage in action-packed antics that included fl ying down a staircase, going for a spin on a cuckoo clock, and playing chase with a hound dog. Blur’s animation team worked on the campaign for a year, which included three months of preproduction and nine months of animation. Young & Rubicam, New York selected Blur after a multi- vendor proposal/test process. Having completed multiple fi lm, television, commercial, and game proj- ects, Blur’s animation team was well versed in char- acter animation and ready to dive into this project. Content producer Salima Millott says, “We select- ed Blur for Season 4 because we wanted an entire season of episodic spots with a cinematic look and feel. Blur delivered and treated our commer- cials as they would a fi lm or television project, with fi lm-quality animation, environments, and nuanced performances.” According to art director/CG supervisor Dan Rice, to help defi ne the characters’ world view, Blur created what the crew termed “the Goldfi sh Perspective.” “We asked ourselves, ‘How does the everyday world look from a cracker’s point of view?’ We used a variety of editorial tricks to draw the audience into each adventure. Micro lens photography brought the audience up close and personal to the characters, and building an entirely CG world gave us great fl exibility and allowed our cameras to get into the nooks and crannies of this large world, which created a totally new experience for audiences.” Santos adds, “We packed an incredible amount of Blur created a series of animated television commercials that follow the CG Goldfi sh on exciting, colorful out-of-bowl experiences. animated Goldfi sh characters (plus a few new friends), but it marked the fi rst time the campaign presented a progressive story arc spanning 10 commercials: the search for Gilbert. Directed by Blur’s Leo Santos and executive produced by Blur’s Al Shier, the series debuted in mid-November, with new spots revealing twists in the Goldfi sh mystery every six weeks. The fi rst spot, “Blast Off,” took the Goldfi sh gang on a paper airplane ride in search of their lost friend. It was the fi rst time in 10 USER FOCUS: ANIMATION March 2010 action into each tale. We pushed our camera work to convey how large and exciting a regular living room would be for characters as small as ours.” Rice notes that color and light also helped drive the story throughout. “Rich textures, realistic materials, and environ- ments made the fi nal sophisticated touches to give top-notch production value to the whole campaign. We wanted audienc- es to feel the fuzziness of a rug, the textures of a couch … that kind of thing, to give them the sense that they’re right there.” With familiar, compelling characters at the heart of the series, reinforcing the Goldfi sh characters’ personalities and relation- ships was a key component of the project. “As a group, these