We created a series of tiny worlds with big impact for Mackenzie Investments, showing that anything is possible with commitment and perseverance.
Directed by Device and featuring art direction by the Serial Cut studio, the latest video campaign titled 'Be Invested' for Mackenzie brings their vision to life: a series of tiny worlds of big achievements, focusing on stories of relentless focus, effort, and perseverance.
Our goal was to offer the brand a strong storytelling device and a striking visual identity that would make them stand out in a sea of financial uniformity. “We worked with 2 real-life examples of investment and success and transformed them into a mini-series of compelling and memorable short videos”, explains Guille Comín, Device director.
The short videos follow Thomas Edison and Amelia Earhart, as their discoveries and invention change the world, using perspective shifts and seamless, consistent structures to help their message come across.
We approached the project focusing on an immersive, relatable visual experience that, in turn, supported the narrative structure. We wanted to represent these iconic stories of success and commitment in a way that was true to fact – to offer a real, almost tangible depiction of these examples, that could transcend their visual, digital look and elevate their message.
And what better way to do that than through a digital diorama? We all love looking at these miniature worlds, capturing reality in such vivid detail and, fortunately, our brief contained just that. They spark feelings of affection and manage to transport us into a unique world where we can witness something magical about to happen: like the discovery of the light bulb or the first flight across the Atlantic. We wanted to plant a camera into these tiny worlds and explore them, zooming in and out to discover their enchanting, realistic details.
Our aesthetic direction focused on a type of approachable realism: our “animated model” concept blends a good deal of realism with a touch of charming imperfections to render the characters more relatable and create a connection with the audience.
Figures in a scale model can have some of their fingers seemingly stuck together, or stiff clothing, but this only adds to their lasting charm and personality. In fact, our character design explorations aimed for a recognizable figure, with realistic proportions and shapes, able to convey emotions and get closer to the viewer.
From a technical point of view, we used a photo-realistic 3D rendering to simulate and closely resemble real dioramas. Our goal was to achieve an authentic finish, almost like they were handcrafted miniatures – this way the audience could feel like they’re actually looking at a real model and be closer to the tiny world it represents.
In order to highlight the realism of these scenes and convey the image of a meticulously crafted model, we used a low frame rate technique, emulating the stop-motion style. We also added photorealistic lighting and played with the rigid, limited movements of our characters, to make them look and act just like real-life miniature figures.
While the 3D technique allowed us to construct and animate each piece in an immersive manner, the camera rotations and space movements captured the dioramas in a captivating way.
By combining all these narrative, technical and creative elements, we managed to breathe life into three different tiny worlds, each unique, all with one thing in common: a big idea turned into reality.
BOL
Head of Production : Victoria Ventura
Line Producer : Tamara Sefcovicova
Executive Producer : Marcello Buselli
DEVICE
Director : Guille Comín
Technical Director / 3D Supervisor : Raül Peix
2D Art Direction & Character Design : Eudald Salarich, Marc Stuart
Art Direction & Illustration : Eudald Salaric, Marc Stuart
2D Concept Art Illustration : Eudald Salarich, Marc Stuart, Rafael Emídia, Luke Etcheverry
2D Animation : Eduardo Altarriba
2D Compositing : Raul Peix
Music & Sound Design : Facundo Capece
SERIAL CUT
Project Manager : Susana Bilbao
3D Art Direction & Look Development : Sergio del Puerto, Sam Seoane, José Medina, Teresa Rofer, Brando Niebla, Mike Fernández
3D Animation : Craig Minchington, Jon Gallo, Marko Mrvic
ROCKET FRAMES
Producer : Xiomara Lopez
Character 3D Lead Animation : Edu Lasierra
Character 3D Modeling : Africa Trillo, Nastia Sibiratkina, Snezhana Golubeva, Daniel Chen
Character 3D Animation : Fernando Franco, Jordi Galarza, David Rubio, Carles Vallbona
COMPANY : Mackenzie Investments
Brand SVP : Fate Saghir
Brand Lead : Melanie Smith
Brand Supervisor : Kim Munro
Executive Creative Dir : Sean Davison
Sr. Writer : Samina Dagger
Sr. Art Director : Sonia Segat_Ayala
Head of Production : Ali Watson
Sr. Acct person : Joel Vitorino
Production Lead : Pat Crawford
Production Manager : Caroline Puttock
