When Zimmerman Advertising approached Hinge Digital to bring the beloved Carfax Car Fox to life in CG, we jumped at the opportunity to apply our extensive experience in character development, animation, and visual effects to a national advertising campaign.

Building on a collaboration of several years on over 30 animated commercials, Zimmerman and Hinge began Car Fox’s character development in 2011. Working very closely with the agency and Carfax, Hinge created the spokes-character in CG to seamlessly integrate into the live-action. “We saw this as a unique collaborative opportunity—one that would give Carfax access to high-end vfx and allow Hinge to showcase its work in the national advertising arena.” said Roland Gauthier, Executive Producer.

Alex Tysowsky, Hinge Digital’s Animation Director, was intent on creating a digital version of Car Fox to perfectly match the live-action puppet previously used in the spots. To do so, he relied on his extensive film animation experience. He helped the rigging and animation teams accurately depict Car Fox’s physicality, personality and movements. “From the word ‘Action’ at the shoot, we knew we were going to be a part of something special,” said Tysowsky.

Michael Kuehn, Visual Effects Supervisor, guided the crew through asset creation, look development and live action integration of the digital Car Fox. Hinge’s asset development team modeled, shaded and lit the digital Car Fox using Autodesk’s Maya, groomed the fur with Shave and a Haircut, and made extensive use of Maya’s nCloth to design, define, and direct the properties of Car Fox’s clothes.  “developing CAR FOX’s new look in CG presented a great opportunity for our team to apply its feature-film expertise.”  said Kuehn.

Today launches the first phase of the campaign for Carfax, including national television spots, print, web and a very strong social media presence. For more of Hinge Digital’s work for film, TV, broadcast, digital and print, visit hingedigital.com or call Ramiro Gomez Head of  Business Development to discuss new business inquiries.

To see the rest of the work visit carfax at hinge’s website.

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It was a beautiful, and slightly cool Atlanta afternoon when I walked into the offices of PM Publicidad off of Peachtree St. for my lunch screening with the Hispanic agency. My first impression was – “Everyone is so friendly!”. Little did I know that this was only the beginning of what would become the highlight of my trip.

Julian Schieneman came out to greet me. This is the fellow whom I had been in contact with before my travels, and who helped me set up the screening. A bit of background on me, I am from Venezuela, born and raised, and my first language is Spanish, but enough about me back to the point. Julian came over and introduced himself with a firm handshake and a warm smile, all in Spanish of course . He quickly proceeded to take me on a tour of the agency, and led me back to Patricio Montalbetti’s(partner) office who was not there, so we went into the kitchen area while the conference room became available. My lunch order arrived, and so we quickly set it up and everyone began to pile into the room.

It is worth noting that I am never nervous before a screening, in fact I quite enjoy the thrill of the presentation. This instance was no different except as people began to settle in, get their food, and relax, I noticed that all we were speaking was Spanish, which don’t get me wrong is awesome, but odd because generally I deal with agencies where even though there are Hispanics, we tend to speak English. Nevertheless, I carried on chatting it up as I tend to do, and finally Julian said, “bueno Ramiro, vamos a darle!”(“ok Ramiro, let’s get the show on the road”).

I launched into my presentation and quickly become aware that I was doing the whole thing in Spanish, which while not odd, it certainly was new for me. Fortunately I love my job and know our work extremely well, and so I got thru it with flying colors. “Muy bien, Ramiro, excelente!” everyone was saying. The questions started coming, and the answers flew out of my mouth as easy as could be. Everyone seemed impressed with the work, and very appreciative of my time. Really, I was the one who was thankful for their time.

When all was said and done, Julian brought me back to Patricio’s office where I waited to meet the owner. This is definitely a rare moment for me since most of the time, or at least in my experience the owners are far to busy to meet with me. I waited for a bit, and looked at the pictures around his office of his family, and realized that I felt incredibly comfortable being there. As if I belonged. Finally Patricio walked in with Julian, I reached out my hand for a shake only to be met with a warm hug, and a smile. Right then and there I knew that we would work with this agency. Something special had just happened, and I felt great about the trip, and in particular about the screening with PM.

Long story short, as I was in the security line at Hartfield airport, getting ready to come home. My phone rang, and Julian’s friendly voice asked if I could bid out a job for them. I told him I would get on it, as soon as I got back to the office on Monday. We bid out the job, which we lost because Cox felt more comfortable using an existing vendor to do the work, Patricio also told me that our bid had won financially, which was great to know, but not so great for getting the work. Without hesitation, I told Patricio that we would do a test to prove that not only could we do the work as well if not better than our competitor, but clearly we could do it for less money as our bid had proven. We did the test yes… and since then we have completed 5 commercial spots for Cox Cable using the spokes-character “Digi”, and not only was it a blast for us to work on, but it was the beggining of an amazing relationship with a bunch of folks from across the country, that will endure the test of time.

For us at Hinge Digital, relationships are far more important than anything else, and the corner-stone of our culture at the studio. We love to share our talents with people, but when those talents transcend the work, and it truly becomes about relationships, and friendship, then and only then I believe the work takes on new heights.

Check out the work below, so you can judge for yourself, and see what a great relationship and passionate business partner can bring to your campaign.

We look forward to building that relationship with you.

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For Hinge Digital, creating the visual effects for Brightwood was a chance to bring Hollywood-caliber visual effects to an independent locally produced short film. Combining themes of childhood innocence and the search for home and family, the film juxtaposes a young girl’s real and imaginary lives. The film veterans at Hinge Digital helped bridge the gap between reality and fantasy.

Director L. Gabriel Gonda brought the film’s rough cut to Hinge Digital Executive Producer Roland Gauthier in November 2011 and presented the challenge: to bring to life a believable, feature-film quality digital mouse in eight live-action shots on a short-film budget. Playing a key role throughout the story, the diminutive digital character needed to perfectly match its live-action counterpart shown in the final sequence of the film. Gauthier saw this as a unique collaborative opportunity—one that would give a short film access to high-end vfx and allow Hinge to showcase its work in the independent film venues.

Alex Tysowsky, Hinge Digital’s Animation Director, was intent on creating a believable digital version to perfectly match the film’s live-action mouse. To do so, he took on a new team member, Hazel the Mouse, and filmed her exhaustively to help the rigging and animation teams accurately recreate the mouse’s physicality and movements in its digital twin.

Michael Kuehn, Hinge Digital’s Visual Effects Supervisor, guided the crew through asset creation, look development and integration of the digital mouse from initial model to final compositing. Using still images and footage of the real mouse as reference, Hinge’s asset development team modeled and shaded the digital mouse using Autodesk Maya, and groomed the fur with Shave and a Haircut.

Using NukeX’s 3D tracking and rig removal tools on the EPIC-M footage, the compositing team prepared the plates for integration with the 3D character. Bringing that camera tracking data into Maya, the modelers built proxy objects allowing the mouse to interact seamlessly with live-action elements—like the piano keys, the box of crackers and the boy’s pocket—casting shadows and reflections on them. The mouse was rendered with Mental Ray using Hinge’s in-house renderfarm and composited in NukeX.

Write this way productions will present Brightwood on the film festival circuit, including the Santa Fe Film Festival and Seattle International Film Festival. Visit brightwoodmovie.com to learn more about the film. For more of Hinge Digital’s work for film, TV, broadcast, digital and print, visit hingedigital.com or call Roland Gauthier to discuss new business inquiries.

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VFX Credits:

Roland Gauthier, Visual Effects Executive Producer
Michael Kuehn, Visual Effects Supervisor
Alex Tysowsky, Animation Dir​ector
Tiffany Navarro, Associate Production Manager
Josh Lafayette, Modeler/Character Rigging Artist
Tyler Kenworthy, Texture Paint Artist
Justin Mai, Character Animator/Matchmove Artist
Jonathan Beals, Look Development/Lighting Artist
Ramiro Gomez, Business Development

Click the image to see the work!

We hope this holiday season has been great for all of you, and the new year brings you joy and prosperity. We look forward to working with you in 2012.

The team @ Hinge

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The Blooper reel below is just for kicks. Enjoy it!

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“We approached development of the RotaTeq campaign as if we were creating a feature film -from ideation, to character development, to motion design, all the way to the quality of the animation team we brought on board. We conceptualized and executed a simple, engaging and beautiful narrative to deliver this global multi-channel campaign. The results speak for themselves,”

Robin Shapiro, Partner and Chief Creative Officer, CAHG.

Check out the spot below!

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Merck

“RotaTeq”

Agency: Corbett Accel Healthcare Group
Production Company: Blacklist
Visual Effects and Animation: Hinge Digital

Challenge:

To create a print, interactive and broadcast campaign with international appeal illustrating how RotaTeq (a pentavalent vaccine) helps protect babies from common rotaviruses better than the competition.

Solution:

Working with Blacklist director David Lobser, Hinge Digital developed a charming and whimsical series of prints featuring a family of Russian nesting dolls. We then brought these images to life in a 45 second animated commercial featuring the dolls interacting in a dimensional version of the illustrated world.

View the print campaign.

What’s it like to be so light? Josh Smith laces up the new adiZero Ghost to find out. As Josh showcases his athleticism on the court, Shihan, a spoken word artist, uses poetic verse to describe how Josh dominates on the court.

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Here is the :15 version of the spot as well…

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and finally a VFX breakdown so you can see how we made the magic happen! Enjoy, and let us know what you think.

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Hinge Shadow Program

Did you know what your career path would be in high school?  I know that I didn’t.  At the time, I was determined to become a famous Hollywood actor, complete with fast car, posh house, fame, and paparazzi entourage.

Not a lot of forethought went into that decision.  I didn’t know the statistics of breaking into the Hollywood Scene. And even if by some twist of fate my impressive talents were discovered, I had no idea what it took to become a Hollywood actor:  Finding the right agent, the long hours of patiently waiting on the set, the months of character study and rote memorization.  My decision was not very well informed.

But here in the greater Portland area there is a program whose purpose is to give students the opportunity to discover their career path.  The School to Work Job Shadow Program helps to connect High School students with workplaces in order to allow them exposure to real life work environments.

It was thanks to this program that on January 27 a very special guest visited Hinge Digital.  Jessephine, a junior at Hillsboro High School, arrived early for her appointment to tour the studio and job shadow our artists.  She visited with each department in order to get a feel for what was involved in daily life at a CG animation and visual effects studio.

I can only imagine that walking into a workplace where you know no one and the job descriptions of those within had yet to be defined would be daunting.  It takes a certain amount of bravery to take that first step into the unknown, and Jessephine handled it with great grace and initiative.

In the course of the tour we had discovered that Jessephine’s true passion lay more in the drawing and design elements of animation.  She asked pertinent questions and maintained an attentive, patient demeanor.

Throughout the tour, Jessephine was engaged and excited about the experience.  Her enthusiasm was apparent, especially during the interview.  We learned that she draws inspiration from Vincent Van Gogh, and she mentioned that she was hoping to attend art school here in Portland after graduating from high school exploring her opportunities at community college.

One of our core values at Hinge Digital is to help grow the animation production industry in Portland, and throughout Oregon. We do this through speaking engagements, studio tours, as guest lecturers at art school critiques and portfolio shows, and through the studio’s internship program. The School to Work Job Shadow Program allowed us to reach young aspiring artist, and help inform her career path.  Although we didn’t bust out the Nerf guns that we can occasionally use around here to release tension, we had a really good time.  What we got out of it was an opportunity to inspire, that good feeling that comes with opening the eyes of a bright young mind, and perhaps a little nostalgia for an artistic youth that could have been any of us a decade (or a few) ago.

by Marc Leuschner

If you would like more information on the Job Shadow Program, you can contact the Hillsboro School to Work Program at stw@hillchamber.org.

Coca Cola Seige Superbowl Commercial

Publicis Dallas and DVein of Barcelona have masterfully created a compelling series of ads that for us animation geeks really sell the brand and do it in a beautifully executed fashion that combines live action and 3D animation.

Terminix: Beams; Terminix: Kitchen; Terminix: Termites

Poker Wingman: Bunny

This one is just plain fun. Come on, a bunny with no feet and poker. Can it get any better?

BMW 5 Series 2011 Commercial: Refuel

Cool concept and nicely executed. Fun stuff!

Volkswagen Beetle 2011 Super Bowl XLV television commercial

Director Dante Ariola, agency Deutsch LA, and The Mill London created this realistic CG beetle and its insect friends. Very nicely done we must admit!

Full-service Studio Provides High-end Visual Effects and Animation for Global Campaign; Collaboratively Demonstrates Wide Range of Creative and Technical Prowess.

Utilizing advanced animation and camera projection techniques, Hinge Digital brings realism and energy to footwear, lighting effects and cityscapes in the newest Nike LunarGlide+ 2 campaign entitled “Dynamic Support Run Unleashed.”

Currently airing on Nike Online and in Nike resale stores across the globe, the 30 second spot features eight runners donning LunarGlide+ 2 shoes complete with Nike’s Dynamic Support technology. As each CG shoe hits the ground, rays of light uniquely expel from the soles, representing each runner’s distinct stride pattern. “Our goal with this project was to tell the story of Dynamic Support technology in a visually compelling way,” says the spot’s director Marshall Bex. “ I decided to use CG lighting effects to portray each individual runner’s unique stride, creating a striking and lively representation of what the LunarGlide+2 offers a runner’s gait. The visual effects provided by the Hinge Digital team certainly brought this vision to life and naturally depict the energy of the Nike Running campaign.”

Collaborating with Bex, and Producer Noah Stanik, from conception to project launch, Hinge Digital participated in all aspects of creative and technical development for “Dynamic Support Run Unleashed,” including previsualization, digital asset creation, on-site filming and animation. “We were able to implement many high-end CG practices for this project,” notes Alex Tysowsky, co-founder and animation director of Hinge Digital. “Our advanced level of key frame animation combined with complex camera projection techniques allowed this spot to come together in a very attractive and realistic way.”

To digitally emulate the perfected textures and colors of the LunarGlide+ 2, the Hinge Digital team utilized product reference and texture swatches to build a highly realistic 3D replica in Autodesk Maya. The CG shoes were then rigged in order to maintain realism in tight camera close-ups. Additional research and development of the eight different stride animations was necessary for physical and visual accuracy, and to illustrate the inherent performance properties of the shoe, while demonstrating the capabilities of the Dynamic Support technology.

To create the shot’s cityscape background, the Hinge Digital team employed camera projection techniques to build digital representations of environments utilizing live-action background plates designed and filmed by Bex. The use of the digital adaptation allowed more control and free movement of the camera around the scene.

“This project certainly highlights our ‘hands-on’ and versatile approach to visual effects and production,” explains Michael Kuehn, co-founder and visual effects supervisor of Hinge Digital. “Our ability to work in-house with Marshall Bex and Noah Stanik allowed us to flawlessly integrate our CG techniques into their overall production pipeline. This created a completely fluid workflow and allowed Hinge Digital to serve not only as an artistic resource, but as an extension of the technical team as well.”

Check out the finished spot below:

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