Version2’s new motion and design division created the sponsor sequence for the 15th Annual AICP Show, The Art & Technique of the American Commercial, which debuted last night at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. “First and foremost, we wanted to make this feel like an art piece in its own right, something appropriate for the MoMA and AICP,” said motion graphics and design head of production Lydia Holness. “On another level, this sends the message that there’s a new motion graphics company on the street in NY, a company quite worthy of its peers.”

Like the invitations that went out to thousands of attendees, the sponsor sequence opens with a 3D paper foldout that reads “LEADERS.” From this point on, the piece offers a series of objects made of paper: origami art, pop-up books, and cutouts flowing seamlessly into a string of creatively executed sponsor cards. Some of the imagery includes trains, dragons, spiders, angels, and more, for a total count of 40 different characters representative of each sponsor. “As you watch the branding images flow from one in and around the next, it could be stop motion, photography, 3D, 2D, or hand drawing ‘ it’s hard to tell,” said Version2’s Federico Saenz, who art directed the sequence. “Our only constraint was time to create and implement interconnection between sponsors and motion,” he explained. “This has been a truly engaging process from start to finish.”
A team of artists worked for seven weeks to complete the project. “We presented several ideas to the AICP, and they selected the most difficult to execute,” Saenz recalled with a laugh. “They showed tremendous faith in us, and were supportive throughout. While the origami theme is prominent in the piece, Version2 was well aware that an ‘origami-only’ design would not work within practical constraints. The consensus was to focus on fluidity and imagination.
“People know V2 for its editorial work,” said Managing Director Linda Rafoss. “We wanted to take this opportunity to expose our skills as a conceptual motion design and graphics shop.” As always, the assignment was highly coveted among design and effects companies, and the team at Version2 is well aware of their audience. “With every top creative in the country seeing this piece, what better forum is there to show everyone who we are,” Rafoss concluded.
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