We are a small, creatively led animation studio based in Auckland, New Zealand. We specialise in designing and crafting unique, high quality motion graphics and animation solutions for our clients in advertising, broadcasting and film.
Posted: March 16th, 2010 |
For the second year running DDB’s Matthias May & Steve Ogilvie, and DMG turn their razor wit and withering satire to bear on a touring cricket team. This time the unsuspecting victims were our old foes the Aussies, here for a summer tour of one-dayers.
The idea hangs on the premise that this years tourists are young, nieve and inexperienced, and therefore susceptible to a carefully orchestrated campaign of miss-information, cunningly disguised as helpful hints for first-time visitors to our fair shores.
Our brilliant plan worked beautifully – the team is clearly disorientated and bewildered – several players have been reported missing at Piha beach, one has been incarcerated by MAF, and several have been detained by airport customs officials pending a full body cavity search. Oh, and Ricky Ponting was admitted to Auckland hospital with acute kumera poisoning.
Nice chaps. We do hope they enjoyed their stay.
View the movies
Helpful hints: Introduction
Helpful hints: Kumera
Helpful hints: Wood Permit
Posted: October 27th, 2009 |
It took a while, but finally we can unveil our new animated spot for Sleepyhead Beds. Sanctuary is Sleepyhead’s new luxury bed range, and our job was to create a rich, sumptuous dream world you’ll want to return to every night. The ad features a magical landscape of mountains, meadows and waterfalls, populated by exotic flowers, fantails and even flamingos. The finished ad employs a combination of 2D and 2D animation techniques, along with live-action components and was written by Andrew Mitchell at Auckland agency Magnet, and Art Directed by Lorenz Perry of SplinterGroup. Animation and Direction duties were shared betwwn DMG’s Linds Redding and Dan Short.
Case Study: The making of Sanctuary
If you’d like to learn more about how we made the Sleepyhead Sanctary ad, we’ve written a detailed case history of the job discribing the entire production process and illustrated with storyboards, screen grabs and photos. Read it here…
Watch the video
Posted: October 8th, 2009 |
A series of 3D full page magazine illustrations for Nestle Australia, through our friends at Auckland Studio The Craft Shop. The scenes were modeled and built in Cinema4D and rendered with V-Ray.
Posted: July 13th, 2009 |
On Friday we delivered our first job to The United Arab Emirates. For Procter & Gamble’s global Ariel brand, commissioned through Saatchi & Saatchi in Dubai. The job was completed using our usual combination of 2D and 3D animation techniques. As we have discovered before, distance really was’nt a big issue – in spite of the 8 hour time difference. Communication with client and agency was excellent, feedback was timely and clear, and as a result the job was turned around comfortably inside the stipulated five working days from start to finish.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the caption says “Same Low Price”. Which only goes to show that advertising really is the same the world over…
Posted: July 13th, 2009 |
These 3D virtual sets were created for Saatchi & Saatchi’s Telecom NXT Network launch campaign, although regrettably never used. (We actually had nothing to do with the ads that eventually ran.) The environments were modeled in Cinema4D and rendered with V-Ray.
Posted: June 15th, 2009 |
We recently produced this simple but bold animated endframe sequence for Ink Energy drink, for Art Director Emanuel Bougneres at Colenso BBDO. The animated type was created by setting up our Canon EOS40D digital still camera under a back-lit sheet of glass, and dropping ink onto sheets of wet newsprint. The resulting inkblots were captured at 6fps, then sped up and layered in Adobe AfterEffects. You can watch the complete ad on Best Ads on TV or at www.absenceoffear.co.nz.
Posted: June 15th, 2009 |
The folks at SkyTV, no doubt mindful of the imminent arrival of TiVo on our shores, commissioned this energetic 60″ spot through DMG regulars DDB Auckland to explain the benefits of their fiendishly clever new MySky high definition receiver/recorder- which ironically, lets you fast-forward through the adverts amongst other things. Created by agency creative team Dave Brady and Joe Hawkins, and produced at break-neck speed, we were required to build all manner of elaborate 3D mechanisms including a fold-out cinema screen and a collapsible brass band. Our animation is complimented perfectly by brilliant sound design from Jon Cooper at Liquid Studios.
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Posted: April 14th, 2009 |
Vanitas – Unfinished Short Film
OK. Quick art history lesson. Vanitas paintings became popular in 14th and 15th century Europe as artistic expressions of the (Catholic) churches growing unease with the spread of trade and capitalism. The church took the position that the accumulation of wealth by profit was totally meaningless – mere vanity – sub specie acternitatus (in the face of death).
Claes Vanitas c.1630
Vanitas paintings, usually still life depicted the luxury goods which reflected the new consumer standards, and items illustrating the idle pastimes of the new merchant class. Exotic foods and luxury silverware, games and musical instruments. Mans (vain) attempts to understand and tame his dominion are represented by books of learning and scientific instruments. The beauty and sophistication of the paintings was always marred by the ominous presence of a skull to remind the viewer of the transience of all things, and the inevitability of well… the inevitable.
The iconography of these paintings was widely adopted, and understood by the viewer. The skull was obvious, but what of the burned book, or the broken string of beads? The carelessly overturned wine goblet, an hourglass or the lute with a broken string? Even a rotten apple on a fruit platter became a powerful warning of the dire consequences of straying from a life of pious obedience. The big guy will always get you in the end.
I’m not even a remotely religious person, but as a designer and graphic artist, I am keenly aware if the power of icons and there usefulness in communicating complex information. Vanitas, having started as a simple still-life modeling and lighting exercise grew into an exploration of the iconography and symbolism of these paintings. Some kind of elaborate mid life crisis? Perhaps. Or maybe I’m just worried about what might happen If I ever finish it…
View more production stills from Vanitas
Watch an exerpt from Vanitas
NOTE:The music for Vanitas is all taken from Mozart’s beautiful and terifying Reqiem Mass KV626. The piece in the exerpt is the Lacrimosa. Performed by the London Classical Players and the Shutz Choir of London and conducted by Roger Norrington. EMI: 7-54525-2
Posted: April 14th, 2009 |
A couple of years ago, we started to do some development work on an animated series featuring a character called Bastard Guide Dog. B.G.D. is a particularly evil little creation from the twisted mind our good friend, writer Sion Scott-Wilson.
He’s a psychotic, homicidal guide dog, who keeps trying to dispatch his unwitting blind owner in various creative and ingenious ways. Like most serial killers (BGD has already been through several owners in his short but murderous career), he is the victim of a troubled and abusive upbringing, having had his nose rubbed in another puppy’s poop in an unfortunate fecal misunderstanding that set him on the path to revenge and retribution.
Other than a few tantalising images, some scripts, and this short trailer, sightings of B.G.D have been few and far between recently. If you’re feeling flush yourself, or have a rich aunt who has always harbored ambitions to be the executive producer of a hit animation series, then we’d love to hear from you…
View the B.G.D. trailer
Posted: March 17th, 2009 |
The latest of a series of three spots for Department regulars MickieDee’s goes to air this week. Penned by DDB’s Pete Thompson and Paul Hankinson and designed by DMG, the campaign’s quirky visual style is an eclectic mix of photography, illustration, montage and stop-motion animation.
Look out for a special guest appearance of the battery powered plastic bull (with evil glowing red eyes) which our producer Kiri – ever mindful of a budget blow-out – scored on TradeMe for $2. Most of the heavy lifting on this one was done by Dan, with modest contributions by Linds and DMG side-man Stafford Wilson. Audio by Liquid (as usual), voice by TeRadar, and of course sincere apologies to Auguste Rodin, who must be spinning in his grave, poor man…
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