Nickelodeon Entertainment Lab created a virtual reality experience to promote the reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle prequel. They set up a booth at Comic-Con where the interviewer was able to put on the VR headset and become a part of the cartoon’s world. Once there, they could talk with characters Donatello and Michelangelo in real time. The production took many weeks of finding the technology that could make this experience possible and weaving it all together into a comprehensive, well thought out system.

            The creators used a variety of tech including Adobe Character Animator, a TriCaster system, MIDI controllers, Unreal Engine and NewTek products to pull it all together. The project put gaming, film, broadcast, and animation together simultaneously to produce the interviews while they were happening.

The Ninja Turtle’s show environment was put into a video game engine and the interviewer was keyed into the world with green screen. They used live-action cameras to film and combined that with gaming footage to create a mixed reality video. Since the whole video was being broadcasted and edited at the moment it was happening, the team was able to hand the interviewer a flash-drive with the footage, ready to publish, as soon as they were finished.

            As for the future of film, VR is predicted to play a large part in it. Gaming and film are becoming more intertwined as movies use video game engines to create special effects. Chris Young, Senior Vice President of the Nickelodeon Entertainment Lab, said “The days of QuickTime and 2D video will fall away. I think the idea of immersing yourself into your entertainment is an idea that’s coming at us like a runaway train. That’s why we’re trying to understand that world with so much energy and effort.” Using this Comic-Con experience was a great way to promote Nickelodeon’s new series and also push the front of what can be done in virtual reality.

Pixar released a new short film called Purl in order to promote their new streaming service Disney+. The short follows a ball of yarn named Purl that begins a new job in an all-male office. The other characters have stereotypical white male personalities. They are aggressive, do not include Purl in their conversations and look down on her, they all look the similar, and get excited about going out for drinks and wings. Purl changes herself to fit in, realizing that she gave up who she was when another ball of yarn starts working there and reminds her of who she was. The film ends with Purl going back to her old self and the men working together with many more balls of yarn. The message of the video was to bring up the diversity, expectations, and challenges working women face. It takes a look at “Bro culture” with the company Purl works for even being named “B.R.O. Capital”.

            This film reminded me of the Gillette ad we discussed recently by the way the men are portrayed and the stories Gillette and Pixar are trying to tell. They both are recognizing the behaviors that society has accepted and challenging them. Purl seems to be getting more praise so far for their take on the issue than Gillette has. Many women have resonated with the story and have commented saying that it described their career experiences accurately.

            Videos have the power to convey messages in ways that sometimes words can not. Dove does this in their Evolution campaign which was a huge success and widely praised. Creating this short film was a good way to call attention to issues in society and the Disney/Pixar brand. It brings people into a conversation and spreads their name.

https://nofilmschool.com/New-Pixar-Short-Purl