September's Motion Monthly.

BBC Two Rolls Out Six New Idents

Following the launch of the first rebrand for BBC Two in 20 years, which saw 16 initial idents, the channel has added six new animations which bosses hope showcase “commitment to specialism, challenging and complex programming.” Branding consultancy Superunion collaborated with a team of animators that features established motion studios such as FutureDeluxe, Buck Design, Weareseventeen and More & More. Although the now 22 idents each possess a whole different approach and vision, they all feel collectively as one.

Check out the full case study here.

Lunch Break by Animade

London-based animation studio Animade is not afraid to spend time on passion projects, as they regularly challenge and test their animation skills whenever they get a chance. Their latest short is “Lunch Break”, which explores how some team members spend that precious hour in between work hours. Animade is known for its character animation and “believe in the power of character to bring a story to life.” I think it’s such a good and inspiring philosophy for a studio that excels in an area of animation to strive to be even better by challenging themselves with personal projects such as this one. 

Check out the film below and take a look at some stills for the process here.

School Climate Strike by Alex Grigg

For the Global Climate Strike on 20th September, Australian animation director Alex Grigg collaborated with student organisers of Greta Thunberg’s School Strike for Climate and international animators to create a short campaign. The result is simple but the simplicity is what makes it so strong. Grigg explains “Because this was unfunded and had a really tight deadline, that simplicity helped us focus on story, character and energy rather than big technical hurdles.” Also, while the character design drew inspiration from Eleven from Stranger Things, Grigg says the style also alluded to “my teenage years of watching late night anime.”

Check out the short here.

Buck Narrows “The Gap” for Google Cloud

Notorious motion design studio Buck has teamed up with Google Cloud to demonstrate the benefits of the service. The short film is a well-crafted story that has turned a fairly dry subject and statistics into a surprisingly emotional brand film. The style and direction of the video is very similar to the Lunch Break short by Animade. It’s something we are starting to see a lot of in the industry, with subtle colour palettes and elegant character illustrations.

Check it out here.