Fresh From The Field – ‘You All Good?’ by Fox & Co Design
Fresh from the Field is a weekly article series sharing the fresh and inspiring work of our Design Assembly community.
Fox & Co share with us their design thinking behind the project, ‘You All Good?’, a 2D animated video for The Ministry of Youth Development NZ with the aim of motivating young Māori and Pasifika New Zealanders to take a break from social media, and get out on an adventure with their friends and whānau.
Inspired by the fantastical style of Studio Ghibli, the team at Fox & Co worked in collaboration with Tikipunk Studio to create this action-packed animation
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The Brief
In an effort to encourage young people of NZ to look after their wellbeing, Fox & Co collaborated with Tikipunk Studios to produce a 2D animated video, motivating young Māori and Pasifika New Zealanders to take a break from social media, and get out on an adventure with their friends and whānau.
The 2-minute animation was created in 8 weeks – from script, concept and storyboards, to the final composite and delivery.
This being the second animation project for The Ministry of Youth Development NZ and Tikipunk Studios, our creative process was relatively familiar, but not without its own challenges.
With a whole new, action-packed script and an important social message, we worked to create a visually appealing, dynamic animated video that would resonate with audiences across Aotearoa.
The Design Response
Studio Ghibli was a source of inspiration for the team. We’re all huge fans of the studio’s work and their ability to allow the viewer to become fully immersed in the fantastical, visually-stunning worlds, while also carrying a beautiful and poignant narrative. Our wellbeing-focused story speaks to the highly imaginative and creative minds of young individuals, and their ability to turn any mundane or everyday activity into a fantastical adventure.
We see Ina, Selena and Hawaiki riding scooters and crocodile bikes along a waterfront; however in their imaginations, they’re speeding through the clouds on high-tech, futuristic hoverboards, racing each other to the finish line. With the use of 2D cel animation, our team was able to seamlessly blur the lines between reality and fantasy in these sequences.
The action-packed 2D animation was created in Adobe Animate, After Effects and cel animation in Toon Boom Harmony. Cel animation, also known as Traditional Animation, is the technique of using frame-by-frame, hand drawn stills, that are presented in quick succession to create a moving piece, as seen in the fast-paced, punchy fight sequences. Although cel animation is a lengthy process, it provides a unique and distinctive work of art that is also used in visually stunning pieces like ‘Spirited Away’ and ‘Ponyo’ by Ghibli.
Studio/Designer’s Team
Fox & Co Design
Jacob Luamanuvae Su’a – Creative Director
Nico Speziali – Creative Director
Phyo Thu – Creative Consultant
Freddie Hottinger – Art Director
Ange Thorne – Head of Production
Addison Andrews – Assistant Producer
Hamish Palmer – Lead Animator
Sissi Nguyen – 2D Animator
Guillaume Martel – 2D Animator
Fernando Hinojosa – Environments Artist
Lincoln Moa – Concept Artist
IG: @foxandcodesign
Twitter: @foxandco_design
FB: foxandcodesign
Client
Tikipunk Studio
IG: @tikipunkstudios
