SANTA MONICA — State Design (www.statedesign.tv) was recently commissioned by the organizers of The Motion Conference to create the open for its 8th annual event, which took place in Albuquerque, NM, from August 15th through 18th. The open builds on the conference tagline, “Feed Your Creative Brain,” and uses a mix of media, including 2D, 3D, and stop-motion, to inspire attendees.
“Because of the tight deadline, we weren't able to see the final piece until the afternoon before Motion 2014 began,” recalls Elaine Montoya, chief imagination officer at Motion.tv and The Motion Conference. “It was love at first sight!”
“‘Change the way you see things’ has always been a creative mantra for me and the company,” remarks State partner/creative director Marcel Ziul. “It’s the primary way I ‘feed my creative brain’ – to borrow from the Motion tagline. The collaboration gave us a long-awaited opportunity to envision something so fundamental to our own process while exciting and inspiring others.”
The State team decided to use the senses of sight, sound and taste to shape the visual narrative. This included shooting practical elements in-house, such as hands, balloon shapes, food products, and a model tree. They then used Adobe After Effects to put everything together with the 3D elements. In the end, the :90 piece was created from 26 completely different shots.
“This idea of seeing design everywhere really resonated with us,” explains Joe Nash, State partner/executive producer. “We’re bombarded with everything life throws at us that we need to exercise our creative muscles and truly try to see things from a new perspective. It’s what we’re constantly being asked to do as artists.”
State partnered with Hobo Audio in the early stages to make sure the soundtrack matched the inspiring visuals.
“We really wanted this piece to be a collaboration of everyone involved,” says Nash. “It takes a team of people to create something great, and everyone’s input is invaluable. We love learning new techniques, tackling new challenges and always pushing ourselves to create better work.”
Hobo credits include lead sound designer/mixer Max Holland, sound designer/composer Diego Jimenez, and composer Stephen Davies.