Sydney-based digital production company Animal Logic has won the Gold World Medal for 'Most Innovative Music Video' at the New York Festivals' 2007 International Television Programming and Promotions Awards.
Watch the video…

…and then listen to the Director's Commentary.

Animal Logic received the award for the music video it produced for Telemetry Orchestra's single 'Under the Cherry Tree'. The awards ceremony was held on February 2 at New York City’s Downtown Auditorium.

The video clip is a four-minute allegory that explores the obstacles of love. With a stylized “cardboard cut-out” look, two characters travel on two different trains in parallel worlds – the boy from a dirty city, and the girl from a beautiful cherry tree orchard. They end up crossing into each other’s worlds and desperately try to stop their trains so they can be together, but end up where the other began. The concept for the video was conceived and directed by Animal Logic’s Dael Oates and involved a team of 3D and 2D artists at Animal Logic. Illustrator Matt Boug came on board to collaborate with Dael on the storyboard and design illustrations of the characters and environments.

The digital environments were constructed and lit as if it were a cardboard model. 2D camera moves were used to move through the spaces inhabited by the characters and to link the two worlds. Various materials, including bits of vintage wallpaper and other surfaces, were applied to the digital models to achieve a ‘tactile look’, as if someone had touched each item and placed them where they appear in the scene. This placement of real world elements into the digital environments contributed to the unique look constructed for the music clip.

“We feel very honoured to receive this award for ‘Cherry Tree’, especially knowing it was chosen amongst videos from all over the world,” said Oates, on behalf of the crew at Animal Logic. “This project was a real labour of love and it’s been really exciting to see everyone’s reaction to it.”

The New York Festivals (NYF) oversees five international awards competitions: TV Programming & Promotion; Advertising; Film & Video; Interactive & Alternative Media; and Radio Programming & Promotion. Entries to each of the competitions are judged around the world by panels of peers in their respective industries.

Credits
Client: Telemetry Orchestra / Undercover Music
Prod Co: Animal Logic
Producer: Victoria Taplin Kendall
Director: Dael Oates
Illustrator: Matt Boug

3D Lead: Feargal Stewart
Compositors AfterFx: Dael Oates, Peter Jeffs
Compositor Flame: Nick Ponzoni