July 13, 2004
Atlanta- You may have already seen some the colorful animated commercials for the Flint Riverquarium, but they are more than just mere cartoons.
It's cute, eye-catching, and full of fish. Fish that talk.
"We're just trying to get some awareness going. So, we knew that the animals were there, hence the concept that went forward. It was all about the critters of the river, and who better than the experts to say hey, you've got to see this kind of thing," says Tom Moore.
For that, advertising partners Tom Moore and Andy Abend headed to Atlanta-based children's multimedia company, CYKE.
"This is the easy part," laughs story board artist and director Ted Boone Thanakit.
Boone Thanakit created all the animated characters. He says they are all based on aquatic life native to the Flint, even though they may remind you of another popular animated fish named Nemo.
"I think we've managed to come up with a very distinctive style and personality, but at the same time, I don't have any problem with people making that comparison, because kids loved Nemo, and so they will love our fish as well."
Once they were sketched, modelers added texture, color and most importantly their 3-diminsional characteristics, while voice-over actors gave them the gift of gab. Next stop animation.
"Once we get the audio in there just take the characters and move the bones and make them start talking, and make then start moving through environments," says animator Julian Herring.
Environments that sound as fun and zany as Elevation sound designer, John Lambret could make them.
"We created sound in the background of fish talking to each other," he says as he plays the sound effects on his keyboard. "Then obviously your river sounds."
The final product, one that creators are excited about and hope will convince viewers they've gotta see the place all the fish are making a splash about.
In addition to the 30-second commercial, 11 billboards for the Riverquarium were designed and placed around the county.
Posted at 3:50 PM by elaine.armstrong@walb.com
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