The creative brains over at Australia’s vfx powerhouse Animal Logic earned major kudos at the 2006 Mobius Awards in L.A. this past Friday, taking home First Place in the Special Effects category for their fine digital craftsmanship on Big Ad for Carlton Draught, War of the Appliances for Toohey’s and No. 5 ‘ The Film for Chanel. The Mobius Jury also selected War of the Appliances for First Place in the Computer Animation category and Big Ad for the prestigious Best in Show Award.
The impressive First Place wins are a nice addition to the laundry list of accomplishments that Animal Logic will be celebrating during its 15th anniversary festivities this year. Mobius Chairman Lee Gluckman says of the company’s most recent feat, ‘Each commercial was competing against the other in the special effects category along with many other spots. The judges around the world found Animal Logic’s work to be so outstanding that each received the highest possible ranking and they decided to award each commercial a First Place Mobius Award. To our knowledge, this has never occurred before in the Mobius Awards Competition.’
Animal Logic’s executive producer Mary Strong accepted the honors on behalf of the company, thanking directors, production companies and agencies that contributed to the success of these outstanding commercials.
Shot in scenic New Zealand, The Carlton Draught Big Ad spot features large aerial crowd shots that the Animal Logic team created with 3D computer generated human extras that were processed in the Massive crowd simulation software. Director Paul Middledtich from Plaza Films worked closely with the Animal Logic crew to give Big Ad its stunning valley backgrounds and epic feel.
For War of the Appliances, which also earned second place in Animation Magazine‘s 2006 Anicomm Awards (check out the write up in the Television section of April issue #158), the creative crew took apart real appliances and studied how they were assembled to help them animate a vacuum cleaner, a pool cleaner and a washing machine going to blows over the last can of Toohey’s Extra Dry beer. The realistic battle for the bubbly was created under the direction of Graeme Burfoot.
Director Baz Luhrmann approached Animal Logic with the No. 5 ‘ The Film project, having collaborated with the inspired group on past ethereal works like Moulin Rouge. The timeless cinematic spot features elegant shots of Nicole Kidman that perfectly embody Chanel’s timeless fragrance.
For more information visit www.animallogic.com.
