Bonfire and Phoenix Editorial Create Short Film for IDEO's 'Living Climate Change' Initiative

Project Profile: Page (1) of 1 - 10/20/09

Bonfire and Phoenix Editorial Create Short Film for IDEO's 'Living Climate Change' Initiative Sister Companies Contribute Conceptualization, Live-Action Production, Animation, Visual Effects, Editorial and Sound Design Sister companies Bonfire and Phoenix Editorial announced that they have collaborated with global innovation and design firm IDEO on the welcome video for the Living Climate Change website: www.livingclimatechange.com, an initiative developed by IDEO. In the short, directed by IDEO design director and associate partner Roshi Givechi, company CEO Tim Brown asks what role design can play in the challenges we face with climate change.

IDEO found it attractive to have the combined resources of Bonfire and Phoenix Editorial, where conceptualization, live-action production, visual effects, animation, editorial, finishing and sound design could be completed all under one roof.

IDEO's Living Climate Change website aims to host a conversation around the most defining challenge of our time. As climate change touches every aspect of our lives, how will it change us? How will we adapt? The Living Climate Change site invites design thinkers to participate in imagining what life will be like in 20 or 30 years as we move along the path toward reduced carbon emissions. Which behaviors will change and which will be preserved? LivingClimateChange.com is a place to contribute fresh thinking and share provocative ideas about the future.

"Because the welcome film asks designers to contribute their films, art and other media to the site, we proposed to render the film in an eclectic style, mixing 3D, animation, live-action, hand drawing and rotoscoping, without favoring one style or another," said Bonfire Creative Director Matt Silverman. "We wanted contributors to join in the conversation with their own style. The experience working with IDEO was amazing -- Roshi was a pleasure to work with. She's whip-smart, has a keen design and conceptual eye and really pushed us creatively."

Our Invitation To You from IDEO on Vimeo.

The production schedule from shooting to finishing spanned only nine days, during which time Silverman led a team of six designers from Bonfire and one editor, Jim Farber from Phoenix Editorial. Working closely with director Roshi Givechi, Silverman oversaw a live-action shoot at IDEO's San Francisco office. Back at Bonfire, this material was hand-rotoscoped using Adobe After Effects and in a time-consuming process, traced frame by frame in an illustrative style. Autodesk Maya was used to create additional 3D elements such as the globe, farming building, construction site and cornfields. Hand-drawn typography was also rendered in Adobe After Effects. The film is viewable at www.livingclimatechange.com and as a downloadable video for the iPhone.

About Bonfire Labs

Bonfire specializes in designing moving images combined with compelling narratives for any medium - from TV and feature film, to high-definition LED screens and mobile devices. The company taps into a wealth of talent, including creative directors, graphic designers and visual effects artists, to deliver work for clients that have included HBO's "True Blood," Bank of America, Microsoft, Adobe and other Silicon Valley companies. Bonfire launched in 2009 as the sister company to San Francisco mainstay Phoenix Editorial. For more information about Bonfire, please visit www.bonfirelabs.com.

About Phoenix Editorial

Phoenix has been a mainstay in the San Francisco post-production and design community since 1991. The company's award-winning roster of editors works with creatively-driven advertising agencies, including Organic, Venables, Bell & Partners, Goody, Silverstein & Partners, Publicis & Hal Riney, Heat, AKQA and McCann-Erickson on campaigns and brand initiatives for Apple, Microsoft, Audi, PG&E, Palm, HP, Adobe, AT&T, Sega, EA, HBO and Sprite. In 2009, Phoenix Editorial re-launched its motion graphics and visual effects division Bonfire. For more information about Phoenix Editorial: www.phoenixeditorial.com

PRODUCTION CREDITS:

Client: IDEO

Launch Date: Sept. 29, 2009

Client Director and IDEO Design Director: Roshi Givechi

Design, Animation, Visual Effects: Bonfire

Creative Director: Matt Silverman

Associate Creative Director: Phil Spitler

Executive Producer: Lisa Hinman

Rotoscope Artist: Marco Salsiccia

2D Animator: Jason Coursey

Illustrator: Coco Tardiff

3D Animator: Bobby Van Dyke