Five Questions with… creative directors Mauricio Baiocchi and Asa Hammond

We just wrapped a couple weeks back on Carrie Underwood’s new video “So Small”. We're using this little breather to get back to the build out at the new location and our tans.

2. What have you found is the best tool or innovation that has come out
in the last year?

YouTube is not really new but as it continues to expand, it's become a staple for source material for everything we do. We use it now all the time. Just about any topic we need to visually burrow, we can find tons of stuff online: crash tests, natural phenomena, people getting punched in the face, family fights at weddings.

3. The project (film, television, commercial or music video) that most impressed you in the last year? Why?

Mauchi: I have very little spare time and a very short attention span. I record a lot of Aquateen Hunger Force. I can count all the cells on the show on my hand, the stories never really go anywhere, there's some kind of magic to what they do, it's very enjoyable and I'm not sure why.

Asa: OK… I'll play ball… those guys who put up the aqua teen hunger force lite-bright sculptures in Boston have to get some serious respect. It takes large ones to get screwed over by your corporate sponsor and your own government and still come out talking about hairstyles.

4. The best or favorite project that you worked on in the past year? And
why?

We shot a commercial for Ubisoft which was our first live action project we directed on. We got to play with some of the new digital cameras which was a breath of fresh air (if you've been on a set with no playback before…), everyone in the studio got to be an extra.

5. Name the top 4 artists on your iPod?

Mauchi: misfits, mr.bungle, joy division, smodcast.

Asa: I have not listened to my first generation iPod in a couple of years, I am waiting for the one that can be grafted under my skin, meanwhile I am listening to fela kuti, IAM, weezer and some random hindi music off my iTunes.

Animated, megalomaniacal germs voiced by Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry are just part of what drew creative boutique Assemble to the recent Domestos campaign. Charged with directing and producing spots for eleven markets, Assemble attacked the project with the intensity of the product advertised, albeit with an appropriate dose of humor. From the in-person pitch to Lowe Worldwide and Unilever, to production and delivery of the completed spots, the process was a sparkling success.

"The scope of the project was vast in part because the agency was willing to let us embellish and enhance the presentation, and to have fun with the execution," says Assemble Co-Director/Co-Creative Director Mauricio Baiocchi. "We all agreed that an epic style would be more entertaining to watch and, admittedly, to create."

In the spots the germs are Emperors, drunk with power and the desire to take over the world (as they know it) with Limescale and disease. But their devious plans are revealed to be foolhardy in the face of Domestos, which eliminates the germ force and its dirty minions. Working from the agency story boards, Assemble designed the 3D characters and environments bringing the vignettes to animated life. Additionally, Assemble directed the voice talent – the powerhouse duo of Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry.

"Honestly, there wasn't that much we had to do in the voice over session," laughs Assemble Co-Director/Co-Creative Director Asa Hammond. "These guys are such pros and so hilarious that we felt honored just to be the audience to their performance."

While the animation process was far more complex than the voice talent session, Berkeley-based Assemble and the agency in London benefited from their eight-hour time difference. Assemble posted work to view in the evening, and would have notes from the agency team by morning (pacific standard time). They would then provide changes by the time the agency returned to work the following day. In the end, Assemble delivered two high-end animated spots all via a virtual and timely collaboration.

"The nice thing about working with a small shop like ours is that the artists are close to the creative feedback. The person the client is talking to is likely the same one setting the keyframes or designing the look, so the conversation keeps closer to the work, with less translation, less in the abstract,"concludes Co-Director/Co-Creative Director Mauricio Baiocchi.

Client: Unilever / Domestos

Agency: Lowe Worldwide
Creative Director: Basil Mina
Global Communications Director: Helen Bell
Unilever Regional Business Director: William Dixon
Account Director: Eddie Gapper
Account Manager: Marc Horne Producer: Nick Peers
Production Assistants: Ben Roberts & Rory O'connell

Animation/VFX: Assemble
Executive Producer: Mark Medernach DUCK
Producer: Juan Bronson
Creative Directors: Mauricio Baiocchi and Asa Hammond

Artists: Austin Cable, Kate Choi, Steve Ferrera, Jonathan Lyons, Meats Meyer, Natalie Nolan, Dan Seneres, Alan Sperling, Zack Klinger

Sound Design: Go Girl Productions
Sound Designers: Paula Gallitano & Jimi Randolph

VO & Mix: Margarita Mix/Hollywood