Kiwi animator makes magic in land of Oz
Come in, take a pew, welcome to Export Figures, the first in a series of profiles of talented NZers living overseas and making a crust in the marcomms biz.
Glen Hunwick’s one of those Kiwis who’s been in Melbourne for years but we’ll still claim him as our own. He actually resides in the picturesque town of Torquay, gateway to the Great Ocean Rd on the surf coast. His animation company, Glen Art Productions, specialises in clay and stop-motion animation for the advertising industry and he’s enjoying wonderful success across the ditch.
About half of his clients are Aussie and the rest are Chinese, Korean, Singapore and Malaysian but he’s done plenty of work seen in NZ as well, including Cadbury ‘Wouldn’t it be nice’, CottonSofts and early V and Shell campaigns. His website has heaps of examples.
Hunwick is the director and animator behind our current TVC of the Week for the Singapore Health Promotion Board. It comes from an ongoing campaign all featuring gorgeous animal characters. Hunwick says, “The subject matter of mental health is challenging but this campaign has huge entertainment value so it cuts through beautifully.
“Each ad is animated in both English and Mandarin for the Singapore market. The budgets are very tight and deadline even more so (shot in just over a week) but that’s normal these days and we’ll always accommodate good fun ideas!”
Hunwick also created spots with ensemble casts in a cafe and in an aquarium.
The TVCs are also supported with a substantial print, outdoor and radio campaign using the same visuals.
Do animated ads always work, Glen? “Good question – do live-action ads always work? Animation will respond to a good idea as successfully as any other medium. Clay and stop-motion animation is always guaranteed cut-through with the audience for its tactileness and real qualities/textures etc. It will be in further demand with upcoming blockbuster films like Coraline (Laika Studios), The Fantastic Mr Fox (FOX Studios), Pinnochio (Henson’s) and Pirates (Aardman) amongst others.”
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