Marc Smith and Alan Bibby, Creative Directors at MPC Creative’s NY studio, the boutique production arm of MPC, joined a lineup of internationally renowned designers, artists and creative icons at the three-day conference.
To kick-off the conference, MPC Creative worked directly with Semi-Permanent on the coveted opening titles. Marc directed the sequence, with VFX and animation by MPC and original music crafted by Nylon Studios’ composer Zac Colwell.
Marc, who has previously directed campaigns for brands including Microsoft and SF Motors as well as the opening titles for OFFSET’s 2018 conference, described his vision behind the film titled ‘A roller-coaster ride of emotions’: “There was a literal meaning that I wanted to create a sequence with levity - a fun and lively character piece and a wild spectrum of enthusiasm and emotion. It was a chance to follow my own advice: not to take myself too seriously and fall in love with design all over again, specifically character work, which is something I adore.”
The team built out the creature’s fun personality, detailing all of his quirks, textures, form and range of motion. To guide the process, Marc used a unique technique to share his vision with the team: “I made a curated playlist for the animation team, so that they would understand the tone I wanted to achieve. I even acted out all the scenes personally, so that they had a clear reference!”
Marc concluded: “My team and I laughed every day making the titles. It was a joy to craft this outrageous film, completely letting go and doing something we love for the sheer joy of it. My sincere thanks go to my team of collaborators at MPC, and to Nylon for working on the music.”
The theme of emotion in design was also a core part of their presentation. The pair discussed their take on the current media landscape, their emotions and experiences, and the unique perspective that their background has given them, from their roles as creative generalists to the need to return to optimism.
Credits:
Production Company: MPC Creative
Director: Marc Smith
Executive Producer: Nick Haynes
Producers: Lindsey Krehel & Chris Connolly
Bangalore Line Producer: Sanchit Soi
Bangalore Production Coordinator: Salil Thapa
Storyboards & Illustrations:
Roger Hom, Tyler Gibb
Motion Design: Adam Rozanski
CG Lead & VFX Supervisor: Chris Bernier
Bangalore CG Supervisor: Mark Robinson
Modeling: Jemmy Molero
Rigging: Wesley Schneider
Animation: Mike Lombardo, Grae Revell, Madeline Jackson, Jacob Fradkin, D. Venkatesan, Shiny Rajan, Debasish Raha
Lighting & Lookdev: Chris Bernier, Roberto Maki, Lucy Choi, Vadim Turchin, Chris Ribar, Francisco Fraga, Monica Manalo, Ashley Yee, Mike Lombardo
FX: Helen Kwok
2D Lead: Tobey Lindbäck
Bangalore 2D Supervisor: Rashabh Bhutani
Compositors - Tobey Lindbäck, Giulia Bartra, Renato Carone, Mazyar Sharifian, Abhilash Aravindakshan, Dilshad Alam, Rajinikanth R., Geetesh Tari, Yashvardham Jain
Semi Permanent (Auckland) Director: Simon Velvin
Music + Sound: Nylon Studios
Creative Director/Composer: Zac Colwell
Sound Designer: Stuart St Vincent Welch
Sound Designer: Dave Robertson
