Showreel : Animation and Corporate Movies

Case study 01 : Corporate Identity in Animation Movie

Analysis of the Corporate Identity:

The first step in my composition process is to analyze the existing corporate identity. Many of the companies I work with are already well-established and often have already produced some audiovisual materials. This material gives me the context for my composition sketches.

In this particular case, Geistlich requested a composition for a row of promotional video. The videos aimed to promote a new line of dental products. Geistlich is a brand with different branches throughout Europe and America, and this commission came from its European branch.

Here is the information I have gathered so far:

  • Geistlich is a medical company specialized in regeneration technology.
  • The requested video will be for their dental division.
  • The video will be illustrative and will be used on their website.

Analysis of the chosen Image Aesthetic:

In this case, the client’s request was accompanied by a series of new videos produced by the company Quaint. Therefore, the quality and characteristics of the images represented a significant source of information.

The color palette of an image influences the choice of instruments used in the composition.

The animation and narration speed set the tempo that needs to be considered during the composition process.

In this particular case, the goal was to simplify the technical explanation of the product. Additionally, I aimed to make the objects in the pictures appear less harsh and more approachable.

First orientation with 3 music sketches:

In this case, there was no specific advice given for the sound aesthetic to use. As a result, I created three different music sketches using the limited information I had.

Medical Company > I aimed for a clean and non-aggressive sound.

Illustrative video > I created music that could be used in conjunction with a voice-over.

Illustrative video for the website > I made sure the music embedded few parts to support the narrative development of the video.

These three short sketches allowed me to better understand the aesthetic direction for the final composition. Typically, one of the three sketches is chosen for the final stage of production. However, sometimes a fourth sketch is created based on feedback received from the first three compositions.

Final Result:

 

Case study 02 : Composition Process starting from a Script

Analysis of the text from the Choreographer:

To prepare the music for “Floating in dancing lights” Denise Lampart wrote a text in order to inspire the whole team during the creation process.

The Title of the text “Journey” already suggests an adventure with a lot of emotionale changes inbetween.

My soul breaks free and dance and it feels like flying, everything in resonance with the sacred spirit, inside of all living creatures that shares with us the experience. Time is limitless.

This is the first image which I used to compose the music. Here there is a connection between body of the dancer and nature, through this connection we get out of the normal dimension of time. The dance piece happens in a dimension “out of time”, where the spirit dances and create a connection to all the living creatures.

The pulse is getting stronger, elevating my being into the universe. There is no more forms or patterns. Even sounds are fading out. Only light is here and shines everywhere, infinite, without ending or beginning.

Here I expressed  this connection to the infinite universe. The music embeds this endless aim for elevation.

 

And it is pure consciousness, since forever, bounded with the universe in a cosmic dance where we are all its viewers, and the Master of Ceremonies is the creator that gave us consciousness to be its reflection, like the water of the ocean where the stars of the firmament shine peacefully.

In the last sketch I depicted this connection to the cosmic realm as a floating force with blurry boundries.

From three Sketches to final product:

For the pre-production of “Floating and Dancing Lights,” I created three different tracks that included as many images from Denise’s text as possible.

Each of the three tracks expresses a different point of view of the same event. Denise and I then edited the audio material during the rehearsal and created the final soundtrack. In this case, the music needed to be finished well in advance of the actual performance, as it was the foundation for the programming timeline of the helium drones.

 

Final Result [trailer]:

Case study 03 : Composition for Interactive Media

Narration’s Analysis:

“Matières Noires” is a comic book by author Silvain Monney. The story plays on the French adjective “Noire”.

In this dark tale, we follow a business man with an unusual obsession: vacuum cleaners. Without his extensive collection of vacuum cleaners, his life would be meaningless.

When a young lady buys the last model before him, he becomes obsessed with obtaining it. He elaborates a plan to kill the lady and acquire the missing machine for his collection.

The entire story revolves around three main characters: the Businessman, the Young Lady, and the Hunter’s Son. Each character is fully described with their own obsessions: the first with his vacuum cleaner, the second with her search for a wealthy businessman-husband, and the third with his father’s memory.

Obsession, compulsion, weirdness and humor were the guideline for my music composition.

Picture Analysis:

Silvain established his style with matieres noire. Everything is drawn in black and white, while colours would appear only on the extra layer of augmented reality.

All the figures appear then really defined in a really abstract surrounding.

The music tend to contrast this bi dimensional appearance, adding some organic depth through sampled instruments and electronic noises.

The main character also reminded me of a Hitchcock’s character, for this reason I implemented few elements out of the Hermann’s score for Vertigo.

The search Motive for the main character take some inspiration from the Habanera motive from Vertigo, this motive appears when the Vertigo’s protagonist search for his beloved one.

Dealing with an interactive media:

The music produced for Matieres Noire was intended to be embedded in a mobile application. The sound would play as soon as the camera recognized the page it was facing. However, with such a system, there was no way to control how long the music would last or how quickly the reader would turn the page. To overcome this, I created a different loop for every two pages of the book. In order to maintain a seamless experience, I avoided any harmonic or melodic development within a single loop. The music instead developed between loops, rather than inside a single loop.

Extended Demo: