Motionographer Holiday Catalog 2011 (Part 3)

In a wrap up of this year’s Motionographer Holiday Catalog (see Part 1 & Part 2), here’s the third and final post saluting story, tradition, history, and method.  Enjoy!

UPDATE 10/27/11: Added a last-minute arrival to the holiday scene.  See below!

FoxRetro X-mas from Váscolo.
Also, check out the process behind the party!

Yo Gabba Gabba ” To Give A Present” from Kirsten Lepore.

Christmas Card to Friends from Stephen Fitzgerald.

Singing Christmas Hedgehogs from Bird Box Studio.

National film Board of Canada’s Holiday Card 2011 from Malcolm Sutherland.

Share The Joy. Répandez la Joie. from Shed MTL.

O NIGHT DIVINE from Eliot Rausch + Phos Pictures.
A modern take on the age-old story.

These year end holidays are Grand Central to me – a time of genuflection for the greatest of toys, and consumption of the breadiest of puddings – but especially because I’m a hard-core sentimentalist.  I tend to look at history through really thick rose-colored glasses, willingly. So when there’s a massive thorn in one of those memories (such as when Santa didn’t bring my Christmas wish one year because one of these little bastards screwed up on the job), I try very hard to forgive and forget…and then white-wash it with purple prose.  Similarly, there’s a lesson here with this closing video: Let us be tolerant of others’ ineptitude.

And so, with a final sweeping festive gesture, please enjoy this touching holiday story:

Xmas 2011 from Elefant Studios AG.

Well, that’s it folks – we’ve turned the final page of the 2011 Motionographer Holiday Catalog.  Hopefully there was at least one item here to circle and put on your wishlist, or at the very least, get that general holiday blood flowing.

Along with the featured in this year’s series, I’d like to thank all those who submitted amazing holiday-inspired content to our offices.  When I was a kid, seemingly every commercial on TV around the winter holidays was celebratory in some way, which was really great. And so, while not everything makes it broadcast these days, it’s incredibly inspiring to see the continual effort put forth throughout the industry – personal and professional, across all media – for such a specific, narrow window each year.  Please keep up the great work, and tune in 2012 (assuming no worldwide cataclysm) for more festivities!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Special thanks to Justin Cone, Michelle Higa, Brandon Lori, Daniel Coutinho, Harm van Zon, Ryan Rothermel, Ash Thorp  + all the other Motionographer cast members for help this year!

Motionographer Holiday Catalog 2011 (Part 2)

In a continuation of last week’s post and Royale’s excellent holiday short, this is the second of Motionographer’s Holiday Catalog three-part series, which reviews some of 2011′s better winter holiday-themed ads, PSAs, cards and shorts. Enjoy!

CHOBANI’s “Snow Angels” from Yves Geleyn / Hornet.
Read more about the project, review full credits, and check out the process gallery!

Create and send a unique Christmas card from Onesize.

Beakus Christmas 2011 for BBC’s CBeebies from Matthias Hoegg / Beakus.

ORANGE “Noël” from The Glue Society / Wanda Productions + AKAMA STUDIO.

First Commonwealth Bank’s “Bailey and the Snowman” from Animal.

And finally, this spectacular PSA from Make Visual:

Child’s Play “Gifts From Above” from MAKE.
Check out the process shots here.

Tune in next week for the final installment of this series!

Special thanks this week to Motionographer’s Brandon Lori, Harm van Zon, Michelle Higa, and Ryan Rothermel for the help!

Motionographer Holiday Catalog 2011

Well, it’s that time of year again — car-top pine needles, spiked raw egg beverages, off-key caroling, fantastical sweaters, and of course, cheesy TV commercials.

When I was kid back in the Stone Age, we were pried away from our 19-inch black-and-white TV for one structured December night, when our family had an annual tradition of sitting around the dining room table with milk, cookies and mountains of department store Christmas catalogs* from which to peruse and highlight for The List. This would eventually be hand-delivered to the downtown department store’s walk-through holiday display — Santa’s Workshop — where you’d “mail” your letter, then follow it as it journeyed on a conveyor belt through a Mailroom, Toy Workshop, and other extensive dioramas where animatronic stuffed pantyhose elves were generally making a mess of things. Luckily, the “real” Santa was there waiting at the end, so you could reinforce your wishlist verbally.

Well, today, the Post Office is failing, that department store is gone, and those elves are probably hibernating in some back room leaking moldy stuffing, but commercialism definitely isn’t — it saturates our environment, via e-mail, phone, TV and here, at Motionographer!  So without further ado, let’s try and escape any more fluff and review some of the better holiday-themed digital moving picture ads in this first of three weekly Motionographer Holiday Catalog posts.

American Red Cross 2011 Holiday Giving with Fred, directed by Andy Hall / Elastic (Agency BBDO).  Also check out 2011 Resolve to Give from the same campaign.

John Lewis’ The Long Wait from Blink.

Herman Miller Holiday Video from dress code.

The Gift from BLR_VFX.

BT Vision Christmas 2011 from weareseventeen.

And lastly (but definitely not least), comes an ambitious hand-made interactive project from Peter Sluszka / Hornet for PNC:

PNC’s 12 Days of Christmas from Peter Sluszka / Hornet.

And don’t miss Hornet’s extensive behind-the-scenes process tour (+ credits)!

*As noted by a colleague, this Toy Catalog version might be more memorable for some of you.

Special thanks to Motionographer’s Brandon Lori and Daniel Coutinho for the help!

Sticky Monster Lab: The Loner

From Seoul’s Sticky Monster Lab comes The Loner, a story of isolation in isometry spotlit by an unexpected unconditional devotion.

CREDITS

Director, Writer, Animator: FLA
Designers: BOO, FLA
Music: The Freaks
Project Coodinator: Nana