Marcel Vrieswijk at PlusOne in Amsterdam: “The anniversary is a milestone marking ten years of hard work, creative high points, and great memories. And the perfect moment to get the company’s core values and aspirations down on paper.
“As with every project, we did lots of research, drawing inspiration from a wide range of sources. Like Rembrandt’s ‘The Syndics of the Draper’s Guild’, in which the figures are looking up from their work, as though disturbed by the viewer’s arrival.
“We use this artistic device at the start of the film to immediately engage the viewer: a sleeping crash test dummy appears to be woken and stares directly at the viewer. The dummy has no facial features, yet the insinuative power of animation tells you they’re looking at you in surprise.
“Pretty well every scene has its little backstory. Some people will spot that the marching two-legged elephants are a tribute to the legendary elephant parade scene in Disney’s classic, Dumbo.
“It was a really enjoyable collaborative process. The script was written collectively, with everyone pitching ideas for scenes and only the strongest ones surviving through to the final cut.
“Once we had a first draft of the animation, we asked our friends at Six Feet High to join in on the sound department. As always, the guys took it to the next level, which in turn was inspiring for the designers and animators.”
Design and animation: PlusOne
Sound: Six Feet High