Lucas Cuenca was born in Ushuaia, Argentina, one of the southernmost cities in the world and a last stop for boats on their way to Antarctica. He made his way to Buenos Aires to study multimedia design, and that was where he first saw “The Lord of The Rings” in a theater.
The collective behind Argentina-based Playful Studios collaborates on a wide range of creative campaigns for clients all over the world.
John Robson has spent nearly 20 years creating award-winning content for top brands, film, TV and games. A Southern California native, he left Late Lunch, the studio he founded in 2005, behind two years ago to take on a director job at HouseSpecial in Portland, Oregon.
When Huawei approached the WPP Team Huawei agency about creating a promotional short showcasing some of the ways in which technology improves quality of life, they tapped Warsaw-based design and animation studio Ars Thanea to be the creative production lead on the project.
When the Finnish mobile video game giant Supercell needed a fast and funny animated trailer to introduce a new feature in its hugely popular “Clash Royale,” the company turned to a longtime collaborator, Squeeze Animation Studios.
COVID-19 forced the world into lockdown last year, and that changed the way people work. Handshakes are out, facemasks are in, and many in-person meetings have been replaced by Zoom conferences. Even as some head back into the office, Zoom’s gridwork of postage-stamp-sized avatars of friends and colleagues remains a big part of a lot of people’s workdays.
Belgian-based Studio Plankton’s team of 3D artists and animators are skilled at telling brand stories of all sorts. One of their many clients is Ressence, a modern watchmaking start-up that has relied on the studio to transform highly technical specifications into meticulously detailed visuals with clear messaging and contemporary branding since 2015.
When COVID-19 shut down live-action production last year, unforeseen opportunities opened up for many 3D artists, including Los Angeles-based motion designer Jan Sladecko
New York City-based director Saad Moosajee has always found Renaissance art interesting because “it evokes God and seems to have a holy quality whether there are literally angels or just dark, moody figures,” he explains. Even so, it’s an aesthetic he hasn’t found much use for until recently, when Japanese singer-songwriter, Joji, contacted him about directing a music video for “777”, a track from the artist’s latest album, Nectar.
Toronto-based director/animator Nick DenBoer has been collaborating with electronic music producer and musician Joel Zimmerman (aka Deadmau5) for years. It’s an odd pairing in some ways—Deadmau5 (pronounced dead mouse) is internationally recognized for his original, well-engineered sound and straight-talking demeanor. DenBoer (aka Smearballs) is known for being uniquely talented at making super weird stuff, including some surreal branding for KFC.