TV / Film / Animation Archives | Page 13 of 15

Ecosurety has announced the first round recipients of the Exploration Fund. The Ecosurety Exploration Fund invests £1 million in projects that aim to reduce environmental impact of packaging, batteries or WEEE through innovation or research.

Reuse Network, Impact Recyling, Impact Solutions and London Waste and Recycling Board share a £500k boost to its UK projects in the first round of the fund.

Skylark is proud to have partnered with the fund to create four films promoting its winners. We travelled to Scotland, London and Newcastle to meet the innovators behind the projects. This is just one step closer to moving our society to a more greener, sustainable future.

Fit for reuse, Reuse Network

The Fit for reuse project will help tackle the growing mountain of old or unused electricals being recycled or landfilled. And this provides more high quality, repaired electrical goods to the people that really need them.

Led by the Reuse Network, this project is set to move significantly more EEE up the waste hierarchy.

BOSS 2D, Impact Recycling

Led by Impact Recycling, the BOSS 2D project is building on proven innovation used to sort rigid plastics. In doing so, it vastly improves the recycling of flexible plastic film.

If plastic film can be accurately and efficiently sorted into uncontaminated, material-specific waste streams, they can be recycled instead of incinerated.

BOSS 2D will enable that to happen for the first time.

Maximising recycling from purpose-built flats

The Maximising recycling from purpose-built flats project is working to address an age-old problem. How to increase capture and quality of recyclable materials from households that don’t have standard kerbside collections?

Led by the London Waste and Recycling Board, this project will trial new interventions and infrastructure.

CellMine, Impact Solutions

Lithium-ion battery technology is likely to be the keystone in moving our society to a greener, more sustainable future. But without effective recycling technology in place, we are fast approaching a significant problem. This is due to the scarcity of raw materials and destructive mining techniques.

Led by Impact Solutions, CellMine could prove to be the Holy Grail solution.

Congrats to the first round of Exploration Fund Winners! Find out more about the Ecosurety Exploration Fund.

This year, we decided to break tradition here at Proctor + Stevenson, and instead of creating our annual staff Christmas video, we donated our services to a worthy cause, producing a film for a local charity instead. After researching many of the wonderful charitable institutions that operate in our home city, we selected Caring In Bristol, a charity dedicated to eradicating homelessness in Bristol for good. They work in imaginative and creative ways with people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness, as well as public and community partners, to bring about lasting change in Bristol and beyond.

We were blown away by the extensive work they do, and so created and donated a film for Caring in Bristol, engaging people in this urgent cause and encouraging people to donate via their website. You can watch the video here.

Shockingly, nearly 3,000 people in our great city will be experiencing homelessness this Christmas. This Over the winter, a donation of just £21 could provide food, mental health and wellbeing support, care and compassion for those experiencing homelessness at an acutely difficult time of year. You can donate here.

Currently there are around 895 homeless ‘households’ in Bristol; that’s families who are trapped in temporary and emergency accommodation over the winter months. And in March, the number of rough sleepers in Bristol had reached its highest level in a decade, despite there being a national drop.

Unfortunately, the homelessness crisis is set to worsen, as Generation Rent estimates that 17% of renters have fallen into arrears since the beginning of the pandemic, and the number of families at risk of eviction due to late or missed rent payments is triple that of last year. Centrepoint, a homeless charity supporting under-25s in England, has seen a 36% increase in people seeking support since lockdown began.

Caring in Bristol runs Bristol’s flagship winter homelessness project, Caring at Christmas, and 2020 will see the 31st year of the Christmas project. Last year, over the days that Caring at Christmas 2019 ran, it provided day support to 429 homeless and vulnerable people in Bristol and served over 2,500 hot meals.

This year, the charity is warning of a potential increase in clients who are homeless needing access to emergency support and has adapted the project to become COVID-safe. Caring in Bristol will be delivering over 900 meals each day to those in temporary accommodation and 100 meals daily to those currently sleeping rough throughout December. Alongside this, the project provides medical care, mental health support, entertainment, wellbeing, specialist housing and money advice, resources like clothing, compassion and friendship at an acutely difficult time of year.

So please donate what you can this Christmas, and do your part to empower Bristol into becoming the first city to end homelessness, for good.

JonesMillbank, Bristol-based video production company, conceptualised, produced and directed a music video for Bristol-based Keir’s latest release, Say Love, dropping yesterday.

Managed by Bristol-based Crosstown Concerts and signed to Vertigo Berlin, a division of Universal Music, Keir’s latest single features on the EP A Thorn With A Face.

Rob French, Senior Creative at JonesMillbank and Director of the music video, worked with the team and Keir on the concept and messaging of the video.

“There is a consistent awareness of others around us but it’s never something we dwell on. Walking through streets, everyone has stories. Stories of love, loss, compassion, remorse, lust, an endless list.”

“Say Love leans into this observation and positions our lead storyteller (Keir) on his own journey, balancing on his own path while others are woven around him. This ensemble collectively represent connections we all have with people through our lives, know matter how brief or long, but ultimately fade away as we continue to move forward on our own journey for love, whatever that may mean to that individual.”

One of JonesMillbank’s largest productions to date, the video was shot on-location at Ashton Avenue Bridge, spanning Bristol’s New Cut, with 30 extras, 15 crew, 5 security, and, last but absolutely not least, 1 coffee van.

“Utilising Ashton Avenue Bridge in Bristol was entirely intentional for Say Love.

“The symmetrical, brutal structure enveloping all the action was the perfect pairing to offset the tenderness and vulnerability in the song.

“A hopeful symphony between the architecture and the natural light danced with those emotions as we travel through the uniformed light and shade that floods the bridge in the mornings.”

Full road closure was granted by Bristol City Council with permits from Bristol Film Office, with the concept adapted and the production managed safely and appropriately during national lockdown.

The commission follows the release of two music videos and album content for Bristol-based and Mercury-nominated IDLES.

They work exclusively in-house with a talented team of multi-disciplined creatives, all the while telling authentic stories long before it was cool for a range of clients such as University of Bristol, Battersea, The Royal Mint and Above & Beyond.

Although 2020 has not been a great year for shooting on location, particularly for branded content or commercials, Bristol filmmaker & writer Gavin Knight got round this problem… By crafting a brilliant script & sourcing rare footage from Bordeaux documentaries, the film was made during the first lockdown & released in April. It promotes a new concept in wine by Viniv – you can blend your own barrel of wine (240 bottles!) under the auspices of Chateau Lynch-Bages.

The Evcom London Film Awards normally take place at the BFI, but sadly this November it was a virtual ceremony. The film can be viewed on Gavin’s website here:

We all love compelling stories that capture our emotions. The characters in these stories have complex arcs that can relate to us in our daily lives. 2D animation videos make the audience associate with the characters and their message. Brand messaging can be delivered with precision and impact through 2D animation and explainer videos to the audience. The characters in 2D animation videos and explainer animation videos display the intrinsic human value of your service.

2D animation videos express the brand purpose to the client through moving objects and figure. This has the ability to capture the attention and increase the quality of engagement of the audience. The target audience is given a flowing account of the business services in a creative way.

Benefits of 2D Animation videos

Product promotion through 2D videos is the simplest way to display the working of the product. The characters in the 2D video can be scripted according to your marketing needs. This leads to an easy understanding of the benefits of your products in the market.

Explainer videos are brief animated videos which focus on elucidating the core business idea in an easy, engaging and persuasive way. Explainer videos have clear and compact language. Their attractive visuals appeal to the attention of the viewer.

Explainer videos skyrocket the visibility of your brand and have a strong effect on the marketing strategy.

Explainer videos are the perfect way to capture the attention of the audience and get them to stay hooked on to the brand. Incorporation of the explainer video on the homepage of your website will enhance the visit time of the viewer by 2 minutes.

Google takes note of the amount of time spent by the visitor on your website. The greater the time, the higher are the chances of your website getting a top ranking in the search results. Video marketing is given a great boost by YouTube which multiplies the probability of getting the optimalvisibility your product is in need of.

The catchy and appealing nature of explainer videos makes them a compelling watch for prospective clients. The end perception of the explainer video stays much longer in the working memory of the individual than a few lines of sentences.

The fun factor in the explainer videosincreases the retention of the information about the brand product and leads to an exponential growth in conversions.

Animation videos don’t need moody actors and costly locales. This will help you save a lot of money and time. On the other hand, live-action videos tend to be more expensive with the added requirement of the ability for high-quality editing.

There are lots of good animation agencies who can deliver the best output for complex products. Animation studios have skilled creative employees who can simplify abstract business ideas and bring them to life.

We are a top-notch 2D explainer video animation agency with a high degree of specialization in the creation of 2D animation explainer videos for our corporate clients. We have cutting-edge experience in the creation of motion graphics, explainer videos andinfographics that will present a visually energetic and engaging representation of your business to the customer.

Our commitment to improving your search engine rankings is unparalleled through the creation of amazing videos. We are the top animation studio to generate unique creative ways to bring your business idea to life.

This week marks Skylark Media’s 15th birthday. Although it’s a bit of a weird time to celebrate we wanted to say thanks to the fab clients, partners, colleagues and friends who’ve crossed our paths over the years. Without you we wouldn’t be here.

It feels like yesterday that Jo Haywood, fresh from making climate change documentaries for the Beeb and Discovery Channel, mustered up the courage to set up her own video production company.

Running a creative business isn’t always easy (especially in 2020!), as our peers in the creative industry will agree. Now more than ever, it’s vital to support each other and take collaboration to another level. Over Lockdown, 92% of independent agencies have either collaborated with another agency to take a brief, or are willing to. That’s fantastic news – and we hope that in our partners we’re able to fill skill gaps, deliver great client service and aid creativity where we can. We are looking to expand our network of creatives and agencies, so please get in touch if you’d like to partner at [email protected]

As we enter another Lockdown, we wanted to reassure everyone that it’s business as usual, and we’ll continue to film according to APA guidelines. If you’ve got a few minutes, we’ve launched our new website this week at www.skylarkmedia.co.uk and Jo has a few words to say herself: https://bit.ly/3kQOxkH

This month I’ve been stunned by two different films that come from popular mobile brands, Samsung & Orange.

Although the films are very different, they have some telling things in common. Neither of the films feature any product or service whatsoever, apart from the logo at the end. How refreshing…it’s as if the Covid crisis has forced many brands to have more of a conscience. Both these films support an idea that benefits humanity. Brands are beginning to realise that unless they put their money where their morals lie, unless they can actively demonstrate they are purpose-led, as well as creative in their communications, consumers will just switch off.

SAMSUNG’s film – ‘Inspired by a True Photo’ – is really inspired by an original photo, a simple sack of ‘Onions’, taken by a real person called Scott Anders. But we don’t see Scott take the photo, instead Director Sam Hibbard of Somesuch imagines a story behind the photo that sees a boy meet a girl for the first time – but full of comedy, pathos and using a surreal style. At its heart, the film is about connection – the hope & expectation of the boy’s journey.

Samsung have realised that it’s not the quality of camera that is important but the way people use images to communicate with each other. Samsung claim that when we take and share our images, they take on a life of their own. The shot becomes the conversation. The beauty of Sam’s film is that it avoids all the brand’s technology to tell a fun story using great characters, images & original music.

Connection & communication that is funny & uplifting in the time of Covid has never been more important.

The ORANGE film – ‘The Toy’ – takes a more direct approach to saving humanity by encouraging us to recycle our old phones. Millions of old phones are to be found hibernating in long-forgotten draws & these phones are wasting our planet’s precious resources.

The film is directed by Frédéric Planchon of Iconoclast, aimed at a European rather than UK market. It shows the relationship a little girl has with one of her first toys, the famous ‘Fisher-Price’ rolling phone. We see the girl become an adult & then rediscover her old toy in the attic with her own child. The recycling parable is clear.

Like the Samsung film, ‘The Toy’ uses great images & music to tell a life-affirming story with emotion.

“Wolfie’s walking to work, like he always does. But today is his birthday. Surely something should be different??”

This experimental interactive short by filmmaker Ru Howe is one of the first films crafted with trailblazing technology from Bristol based start up stornaway.io which lets filmmakers create story game experiences easily and creatively without coding. Released at Immersive Encounters this week, you can watch it here.

Part funny vlog, part game, the viewer gets to follow Wolfie all over Bristol, on multiple paths through the city – encountering and re-encountering memorable characters across two timelines.

Behind Howe’s signature jump cut editing and Wolfie’s wide eyed vlogging are layered some wonderfully meditative moments and conversations.

Life Moves Pretty Fast was made hand in hand with the creation of Stornaway.io itself. Originally mapped out on Howe’s kitchen wall with pieces of paper, he and producer Kate Dimbleby used the creative production process to design and prototype an authoring tool which would put the creative process at the heart of stornaway.io‘s revolutionary drag and drop vision.

The film was shot in 2 days with a cast and crew of professional friends on a minimal budget.

But wait! This is interactive, how long will it take to play?

Life Moves Pretty Fast is designed to be watched and replayed multiple times – there are over 40 minutes of gameplay (if you find all the secret paths!) but allow yourself 15-20 minutes to take Wolfie through 2-3 different journeys of discovery.

The short film was made for Viniv Wine during lockdown & released in April. It was written & created by Bristol freelancer, Gavin Knight. The film is made entirely from existing footage, either shot by Viniv themselves or sourced from rare films about Bordeaux. It is voiced by Hugh Bonneville, who recorded the script in his ‘garden shed’ studio at home!

Viniv have developed as a new luxury concept in wine, where customers are allowed to blend their own barrel of wine (240 bottles!) under the guidance of the experts at Chateau Lynch-Bages. They decided to create a promotional film to extend their reach, particularly in the American & UK markets.

Evcom is one of the largest and most prestigious film festivals in Europe for brand films & usually takes place at the BFI in November. The full shortlist can be seen here:

Above & Beyond, the official charity for Bristol city centre hospitals, has launched its Bristol Against Cancer campaign to “talk about the other ‘C’ word.”

JonesMillbank, a Bristol-based video production company, have been working with the charity to create a series of films highlighting the personal stories of those affected by cancer and working in cancer care.

“We met such inspiring individuals and had the privilege of hearing honestly and openly about their journeys and the amazing people who helped them along the way” said Emma Baker, Producer at JonesMillbank.

“From Simon, who was alerted by his vet and went on to beat the disease, to Jonathan, a radiologist at Bristol Royal Infirmary who was asked by a 7-year-old if he would remember him before sadly passing away, we hope the films highlight the strength, struggles and dedication of their stories.”

One in two of us will be affected by cancer in our lifetime, and today, like every day, 2,500 new patients will take their first steps through the doors of one of Bristol city centre hospitals.

Benefits of 2D Animation videos

“Wolfie’s walking to work, like he always does. But today is his birthday. Surely something should be different??”

But wait! This is interactive, how long will it take to play?