Sizzles & UAC ads
Skills: After Effects/Premiere Pro
AnimeLab was a video-on-demand service that specialised in the online streaming and simulcasting of Japanese anime series, serving the Australian and New Zealand market. It featured thousands of episodes with new shows added regularly.
My role: AnimeLab, like all on-demand services, is about speed, excitement and servicing fans. My goal with these sizzle reels and UAC ads was to create content that catered directly to fans while producing endscreen, lower thirds and slate templates to streamline the process so we can keep up to date with the high volume of shows reaching the platform. I wanted to inform the public quickly and efficiently while creating an atmosphere of excitement and a sense that the platform "gets them" as anime fans.
AnimeLab retro sizzle
This project was aimed at an older demographic of anime fans. The goal was to drive more traffic to older series on the platform that had reached the 'golden years' of their life cycle. We also wanted to show these fans that AnimeLab was a natural home for older titles as much as the new ones.
The brief asked for an intro that provoked the nostalgia that classic anime fans have for their favourite classic animated shows.
The brief asked for an intro that provoked the nostalgia that classic anime fans have for their favourite classic animated shows.
Method:
Mapping the "AnimeLab Retro" label onto the video cassette was achieved by using After Effects to motion track the movement of the tape, then masking out the hand of the subject. Then I paired the text with the tracked movement to achieve it text moving naturally with the tape.
To produce the "vintage" effect over the AnimeLab title slate, I used a mix of static effect overlays, colour displacement to simulate phosphor-coated screens, distortion maps to displace the loo and repeatable strokes to give a scan-lines effect often caused by faulty and loose connections.
AnimeLab UAC ads
Over my time working with AnimeLab, I created many templates, reels and other motion video assets to be used across all kinds of media platforms. Because of the volume of titles on the platform, videos needed to be produced quickly and efficiently so as to provide a constant stream of awareness and content for consumers.
Phone animation template
AnimeLab wanted an animated end-screen produced to promote the use of any device for the purpose of viewing episodes on the streaming platform. I created this motion graphic end-card template for myself and other designers to use in UAC campaign videos.
The brief requested that the template be easy to use for graphic designers with limited motion graphics experience. The template allowed for any footage to be inserted and subsequently flow into the proceeding animation seamlessly.
Method:
Using After Effects, I wanted to nail down the motion of the phone zoom-out and subsequent drop first. This would inform the timing and composition of the animation so the messaging could follow.
Using After Effects, I wanted to nail down the motion of the phone zoom-out and subsequent drop first. This would inform the timing and composition of the animation so the messaging could follow.
The idea was to give this feel of cyclical motion while trying to avoid too much complexity to distract from the messaging.
General monthly sizzles
Every month the AnimeLab creative team would produce a sizzle real along with blog posts, EDMs and other media to inform fans of what new simulcast shows were going to be airing each month. The sizzle reels in particular needed to be vibrant and energetic - showing a good mix of fan-fare and dynamic action footage, while also ensuring we could overcome the difficult task of getting sign-off from the individual Japanese license holders of each title.
These are two examples of sizzles I produced for October 2020 and April 2021. The clips and music were selected by myself with approval from the brand and marketing team. Edited in Premiere Pro and using templates for end-screens and lower third supers.
These are two examples of sizzles I produced for October 2020 and April 2021. The clips and music were selected by myself with approval from the brand and marketing team. Edited in Premiere Pro and using templates for end-screens and lower third supers.
Naruto-vember campaign sizzle
To celebrate the animated show Naruto and all its iterations we wanted to produce a sizzle reel to promote that we had the whole series in all formats on the AnimeLab platform and generate some hype for the announcement.
Produced in 1:1, 9:16 & 6:9.
Produced in 1:1, 9:16 & 6:9.
Sony/Ghost of Tsushima Crossover
The brief: Sony wanted to leverage the AnimeLab platform to promote the (at the time) new game Ghost of Tsushima. They wanted to have a giveaway to drive engagement with fans and give a fun offering to AnimeLab viewers.
My part: I created many assets for this cross-over competition including static digital ads, social posts and videos.
