Cutting Edge Animation Blooms for Water Security

The latest “Water Security Survivors” animated commercial for Cairns Regional Council features a tropical garden paradise that blossoms into song, thanks to Australia’s Cutting Edge, via agency Redsuit. The spot centers on a floral diva named Ginger and her backup singers performing the Gloria Gaynor hit “I Will Survive,” and spreads the message that native plants can thrive without excessive watering.

To carry through the ’70s disco theme, Cutting Edge animation director Ian Anderson was tasked with designing a chorus line of performing plant characters. He decided on Alice in Wonderland as an artistic influence for the plants and their environment, blending storybook style with polished 3D animation.

“We wanted to design and develop vibrant and lively plant characters that would really stand out on screen and by embodying a stylised 3D look and feel, we could bring the fable-like flora into a new, more modern era,” Ian Anderson explained. “Our 3D VFX pipeline meant we were able to embellish the animation of the plants with the addition of camera moves that bring us deeper into the garden world undergrowth.”

Anderson used traditional background painting techniques within Maya and Photoshop to add warmth and texture to the spot. A vibrant color palette was used to highlight the unique North Queensland flora, while dappled sunlight illumination creates a disco effect shining through translucent leaves.

Watch “I Will Survive” online here.