When you want to find a way to celebrate the best moments of each week's AFL games, without simply running through the playback footage, what do you do?
One Green Bean approached us with the challenge: produce weekly illustrated flipbooks recreating the most memorable plays from this year's AFL season for Toyota Australia's social media.
Our answer? Jeremy Ley.
Having never done anything like this before, we worked with Jeremy and One Green Bean to develop a process that would work with tight turnarounds between each AFL game and when the corresponding flipbook would be ready to post.
Jeremy experimented with simplifying his style to focus on the most important action occurring in each frame and to quickly churn out the vast number of frames needed to complete each flipbook.
He adapted his illustrative style to suit the function of each frame; wide angled shots held less detail than shots that focused in on the action. He used fast, loose lines to convey movement and pace. When players were slowing down, his forms became a little more structured.
A sequence of frames from right to left, top to bottom.
Each flipbook was made up of around 88 frames, which were then exported in an animated GIF format to test the timing and send off for client approval.
Because of the appropriative nature of the project, Jeremy was able to put Toyota's own spin on the events, which resulted in a playful effect that would have been lost had they simply shared the original footage.
Once the illustrations were approved in digital form, they were sent to print, and then bound to create the flipbooks that would be filmed and posted out to Toyota Australia's social media channels.
The flipbooks were received enthusiastically by Toyota's fans, garnering views, likes and comments across the board.
They even received comments asking where the flip books could be purchased!
Engagement data from Facebook nearly a month after the Grand Final aired.
Engagement data from Instagram nearly a month after the Grand Final aired.
Comments from Toyota Australia's Instagram account.
For the grand final, Toyota chose to do something a little different. Rather than a flipbook, Jeremy developed illustrations over the course of the game, so that they could be posted out by Toyota moments after the reimagined event had happened.
Jeremy bunkered down in his studio while the Grand Final aired and completed seven illustrations for Toyota of key moments throughout the game.
A photo of Jeremy's work station on the day of the Grand Final.
