For this series of spots, we were called upon to collaborate with the creative team at HalRiney and documentary director Chris Wilcha (well known for his work on the Showtime TV series This American Life), featured here as a montage edit.

The live action was shot over the course of two separate shoots in a large studio in NYC with two Arri Alexas and a number of beautiful and very natural-feeling sets. Between the two cameras we were able to get a good combination of talking head and tabletop coverage to allow room for exploration in the editing and animation phases.

Although we went into the shoot with most of the elements designed and roughly storyboarded, many of the details and specifics of composition were intentionally left open until after we got a rough cut of the footage. This approach allowed the performances and personalities of the talent to dictate (to some extent) how the animation would play out in each scene.

Although all the animated elements are CG, we wanted them to have hand-made charm. We eventually got what we wanted by establishing a palette that consisted of everyday materials like cardboard, construction paper, balsa wood, balloons, plasticine, string, and wire.