Special from Nathan Love: Murder, Sex, Greed and Flowers

Nepenthes Attenboroughii is a species of pitcher plant so large it can devour rodents. The Chinese Orchid self-fornicates to create offspring. Semper Augustus is a bulb so valuable that one specimen once sold for more than the price of a mansion. These fascinating factoids are combined with sharp lines and vivid animation in a titillating new :60 directed by Nathan Love’s Anca Risca to promote the American Floral Endowment’s research and education initiatives.

Nathan Love tapped its vast animation expertise to create the spot, seamlessly combining various techniques into a graphic, textural style. The studio built the characters in 3D to add more dimension and smoothness to the animation, and traditionally animated more complex elements, such as hands, or fluid elements like smoke and explosions, to have more control over the forms. To create fireworks in one scene, they mixed particles, 3D flowers and traditionally animated sparks and brush strokes.

“I think the mix of techniques, humor and the overarching design meshed together to create a very unique and elegant piece, with an edge,” notes Creative Director Joe Burrascano. “The dynamic integration of various techniques into a beautiful and simple design combined with a great sense of humor is becoming a hallmark of Anca’s work as a director.”

Ogilvy Washington selected Nathan Love for the project after viewing the studio’s 2D animated NBC peacock shorts, which evoked the same lighthearted mood with a similar palette of rich, dark colors. A true collaboration unfolded from there, with Risca and her team working from the agency’s script and mood board to develop a cast of characters and overall style. Ogilvy and Nathan Love worked closely from there to refine these visual ideas and plot out each scene.

“Due to an outstanding partnership with the agency, a great schedule, and a tight and eager team of talented artists, production on this project was seamless,” explains Risca. “The creative process was a fun collaboration, and we created a unique and beautiful piece that we are all proud of!”

Downloads:

Credits:

Client: American Floral Endowment
Title: Murder, Sex, Greed (:60)

Agency: Ogilvy Washington
Creative Producer: Carrie Pomerantz
Junior Media Planner/Studio Coordinator: Lauren Jennings
Vice President, Creative Strategist: Todd Metrokin

Production Company: Nathan Love
Executive Producer: James Braddock
Head of Production: Derrick Huang
Creative Director: Joe Burrascano
Director: Anca Risca
Designers: Seung Sung, Sigmund Lambrento, Jim McKenzie
Addition Designs: Jesse Aclin, Sebastian Iglesias
Storyboards: Sigmund Lambrento
3D Animation: Morr Meroz, Kyle Moy
2D Animation: Kristjan Zaklynsky, Jim McKenzie, Po-Chen Chia
Rigging: Eric Cunha
Additional Rigging: Hyungjin Ji
Modeling and Texturing: Seung Sung, Marcela Saenko, Adalynn Martinez
Lighting and Rendering: Marcela Saenko
Compositing: Anca Risca, Kristjan Zaklynsky, Marcela Saenko
Sound Design: Drew Skinner, Jim McKenzie
Music Composer: Peter Borotto

About Nathan Love:

NATHAN LOVE is an innovative animation, design, and development studio located in NYC. Driven by a passion to tell great stories and connect with audiences around the globe, Nathan Love develops memorable characters, imaginative worlds, and engaging narratives for television, film, Web, books and video games. Clients and collaborators include Kellogg’s Froot Loops, McGraw-Hill Education, Chips Ahoy, NBC-Universal, and Nickelodeon Studios.