http://www.freestylecollective.com/#/project/?category=view%20featured&id=94&pageStartNum=0NEW YORK - July 15th, 2009: Freestyle Collective recently completed an in-house animation project entitled "Lemon Drop Kiss".
The one and a half minute, adventure short was the collaborative brainchild of Art Director Brian Drucker and animators, Christina Sidoti, Damien Cho, and Entae Kim - under the Creative Direction of Freestyle Collective co-founder, Victor Newman.
The sheer amount of detail that went into creating the world of "Lemon Drop Kiss" is staggering. Drucker, who worked previously at Digital Domain and Sony, and served as the 3D Technical Director on Dreamwork's Shrek said, "It was an amazing opportunity to create a magical adventure - to follow a character through an imagined world, full of hidden details. I wanted the viewer to have to watch the animation multiple times in order to fully grasp everything that was going on."
The brief, animated piece documents the journey of a tiny traveler who flies, drives, and swims his way through a surreal world of unparallel complexity. Beginning in a serene, pastel garden, where flowers sway gently in the breeze and pollen floats idly by, a pod shoots up from inside one of the flowers, sprouts wings and begins fluttering towards a vast robotic metropolis, pulsating with activity. Landing gear descends, as the tiny capsule touches down and begins racing around the chaotic cityscape, zipping down a giant rocking-robot mountain, nearly careening out of control.
Next, it takes an Evel Knievel-inspired launch off a ramp and into the sea, where the tiny explorer trades in his wheels for a rudder and fins. Diving deeper and deeper, the miniature submarine propels itself through a vibrant, marine world, survives a near miss with a curious octopus, carefully navigates its way through a school of colorful jellyfish, and finally concludes its journey with a daring attempt to elude a hungry shark (and if you freeze the video at 1:18, you'll catch a little homage to the film, Jaws).
The project took about 3 months to complete. Lead Animator Entae Kim said the most difficult part was the sheer amount of models that had to be managed. "There were actually about three to four hundred flowers in the opening shot alone that we had to model and animate."
But the intricacy pays off, as the finished project speaks for itself. "We were able to showcase a level of complexity in the work that Freestyle hasn't seen before," added Drucker. "It was very exciting."
Creative Director, Victor Newman said he felt privileged to work with such a talented group of self motivated artists. "You always get far more than you expect working with this group."
"Lemon Drop Kiss" was created using the software programs Maya and After Effects. Chicago DJ and composer, Josephine "Jobot" Yang scored the animation and does a suburb job of capturing the essence of its playful journey. Additional sound design work was completed by Analogue Muse.
Freestyle Collective's: Lemon Drop Kiss
July 2009
1 min. 26 sec.
Creative Direction:
Victor Newman
Concept, Character Design, Technical and Art Direction and Compositing:
Brian Drucker
Additional Character Design:
Damien Cho
Additional Compositing:
Brian Finney
Lead Animator:
Entae Kim
Modeler, Animator, and Rigging:
Christina Sidoti
Senior Producer:
Tricia Chatterton
Producer:
Bruce Moreau
Music:
Josephine "Jobot" Yang
Sound Design:
Nick Cipriano of Analogue Muse
About Freestyle Collective:
Founded in 2001, Freestyle Collective is a collaborative design + production studio recognized for its unique artistic sensibility. Specializing in exploratory and experimental design, Freestyle Collective delivers creative advertising, promotion and branding solutions to a broad range of commercial, broadcast and corporate clients. Current clients include Cartoon Network, Fuse, Hallmark, and TBS. Freestyle Collective is headquartered in New York City.
http://www.freestylecollective.com
The project took about 3 months to complete. Lead Animator Entae Kim said the most difficult part was the sheer amount of models that had to be managed. "There were actually about three to four hundred flowers in the opening shot alone that we had to model and animate."
But the intricacy pays off, as the finished project speaks for itself. "We were able to showcase a level of complexity in the work that Freestyle hasn't seen before," added Drucker. "It was very exciting."
Creative Director, Victor Newman said he felt privileged to work with such a talented group of self motivated artists. "You always get far more than you expect working with this group."
"Lemon Drop Kiss" was created using the software programs Maya and After Effects. Chicago DJ and composer, Josephine "Jobot" Yang scored the animation and does a suburb job of capturing the essence of its playful journey. Additional sound design work was completed by Analogue Muse.
Freestyle Collective's: Lemon Drop Kiss
July 2009
1 min. 26 sec.
Creative Direction:
Victor Newman
Concept, Character Design, Technical and Art Direction and Compositing:
Brian Drucker
Additional Character Design:
Damien Cho
Additional Compositing:
Brian Finney
Lead Animator:
Entae Kim
Modeler, Animator, and Rigging:
Christina Sidoti
Senior Producer:
Tricia Chatterton
Producer:
Bruce Moreau
Music:
Josephine "Jobot" Yang
Sound Design:
Nick Cipriano of Analogue Muse
About Freestyle Collective:
Founded in 2001, Freestyle Collective is a collaborative design + production studio recognized for its unique artistic sensibility. Specializing in exploratory and experimental design, Freestyle Collective delivers creative advertising, promotion and branding solutions to a broad range of commercial, broadcast and corporate clients. Current clients include Cartoon Network, Fuse, Hallmark, and TBS. Freestyle Collective is headquartered in New York City.
http://www.freestylecollective.com
