Multi-disciplinary creative agency Monarchy won the Promax World Gold International for Best Animation in Los Angeles earlier this year for their We Tell the Best Stories campaign for M-Net Movies 1 HD on satellite pay-TV platform DStv.
“It was a pro-active project from us,’ explains Monarchy’s director and co-owner Delarey Hattingh. “We are lucky enough to have the maintenance contract and we do all the promos and marketing for the M-Net Movie channels. Helping to look after the strategy and marketing for this brand we thought that it was about time to have non-content specific branding execution that would cement M-Net Movies as the only and best place to get the most up to date movies, and the only HD movie channel in the country.
“Our creative director and co-owner Nicci Hattingh had for a long time wanted to do a brand piece that was based on the premise of We Tell the Best Stories, and have the treatment come from – where all stories start – a book.
“Having incredible and fantastic worlds unfold and unfurl from these pages, driven by an inspiring voiceover, producing these spots was as inspiring for us as it was successful for the brand.’
According to Hattingh they had custom music composed for the spots, which was performed and recorded by the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra for extra authenticity, cinematic feel and emotion.
He adds that, because of the intricacies of the project, they had to use Maya, 3D Max and Softimage XSI for 3D and fire simulation. “Our comping and design was done on Adobe’s Photoshop and After Effects,’ he explains.
The project took just over a month from sign-off to delivery. Notes Hattingh: “Technically, the biggest challenge must have been getting the thousands of pages to make the words, faces and characters we wanted in a structurally sound way that “feels’ like paper constructions.’
“This creative force was driven by Nicci Hattingh with her great team for execution. All of this couldn’t have been done without the great support of all at M-Net and M-Net Movies,’ he concludes.
