The genre of motion design we call 3D Style (a type of CG magic realism) continues to grow exponentially, but the most exciting work still emerges from a fluid regimen of rigorous R&D, surgical curation, and emotional impact.
2022 was a particularly strong year for CG design and animation with a stellar mix of commissioned work and personal experiments demonstrating the media’s endless visual possibilities and the appeal of the finished films to both clients and the public.
All these films were published in The Stash Permanent Collection during 2022 and are listed here in chronological order by their issue of publication.
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“FOAM” Short Film
STASH 151
Alexandra Kotova, assistant producer at Media.Work in Moscow: “As a studio, we dedicate half of our time at the office to self-initiated projects.
“For the last few months, we studied different materials and their aesthetic and physical properties. Foam was one of them: each of our team members got their own direction from the art director and explored it for three weeks.”
“POWER JUNK” Short Film
STASH 152
Peter Tomaszewicz, director in Paphos, Cyprus: “‘POWER JUNK’ is a personal art project that analyses the endless transformational possibilities of an object’s initial state through unexpected and playful transitions.
“Each composition is observed within a minimal setting and colors are guiding the focus on prime elements.”
LOTTE E&C “KNOWLAUM” Brand film
STASH 152
CD Hong Isaac and the team at Seoul motion studio Bright Young Things express how “thoughts, occasions, and relationships gather, collide, and move with each other” in surprising ways with a vibrant CG brand film for Korean construction giant Lotte E&C and their new Knowledge Industry Center.”
MICROSOFT OFFICE “HUB 2.0” Brand film
STASH 153
Roberto Connolly, EP at NotReal in Buenos Aires: “The client was introducing Microsoft Office’s new Hub and needed an engaging full-CGI video to explain the UI updates and the product’s capabilities.
“The style references were aligned with the latest Microsoft visual language, something we had to keep in mind but also find a unique style and personality for this video.”
BANG & OLUFSEN, BALENCIAGA “SPEAKER BAG” TVC
STASH 155
ManvsMachine‘s recent run of CG head-turners (see their Magnum “Remix” spot in Stash 154 and Mini “Elements” in Stash 153) continues with this spot for a portable speaker/handbag manufactured by luxury audio brand Bang & Olufsen and unveiled as a catwalk accessory at Balenciaga’s 2022 couture show in Paris.
Limited to an edition of 20, each Speaker Bag is machined from a single block of aluminum to resemble the sculptural form of Balenciaga’s handbags and will only be available at select Balenciaga boutiques.
GOOGLE “MATERIAL DESIGN X SOMEFORM” Brand Film
STASH 156
Helge Kiehl and Matthias Winckelmann, co-founders and CDs at someform Studio in Berlin: “Our long-term collaborator Nando Costa, director of Google Design Outreach, got in touch with an intriguing proposal: A short but intense design phase that purely focuses on visual research and creative development.
“Our objective was tapping into new creative directions for Google’s outreach and finding an inspiring visual representation of the incredible UI work they have done in recent years.”
XKR_001 “PATCH” & XKR_002 “PROTECT” Short films x 2
STASH 156
Lukas Vojir, director at XK studio in London: “In our new research series, XKR, we wanted to explore the aesthetics of footwear and the phenomenon of a sneaker film from a new perspective.
“The creative challenge was in the tension between wanting to explore interesting silhouettes and shoe designs versus using an established silhouette and doing interesting things with it.”
GOOGLE “GENERATIVE BRAND EXPRESSIONS” Brand film
STASH 156
Zachary Corzine, 3D designer/director in Portland, Oregon: “This project is part of Nando Costa’s larger experimental development at Google exploring different expressions of the brand.
“We approached the concept as a series of different expressions, which ended up naturally expanding and evolving into the ten that we landed on.”
