Smith & Foulkes: “Paint It Black”
Paint It Black, from Nexus directors, Smith & Foulkes, is refreshingly witty. The color (or shade) black serves as the visual glue that binds the narrative of the piece together and creates a visual dialect that—like much of Smith & Foulkes work—is distinguished by character driven narratives and artful storytelling.
While the piece is entirely 3d, it maintains a graphical uniformity by limiting the palette and rendering each character with a soft finish. Evidently, the directors understand the nuances of great transitions and can intelligently craft a matrix of character subjects into one coherent aesthetic. As well, the ominous voice-over is playfully poetic and harks back to a kind of horror-esuqe delivery from a Boris Karloff or Vincent Price—making the piece filmic while still being commercially proper.
Credits:
Client: Panasonic
Title: Black
Length: 30”
Agency: The Campaign Palace
Creative Team: Nic Buckingham & Hywel James
Agency Producer: Katrina Maw
Production Company: Nexus
Director: Smith & Foulkes
Executive Producers: Julia Parfitt
Producer: Luke Youngman
Project Lead: Michael Greenwood
Illustrator / Designer: Mark Gmehling
Animation: Nexus
Compositing: Hugo Guerra
Sound Design: 750mph (London) / Nylon Studios (Sydney)
