iXL Digital Video Group has finished promos for Nickelodeons mock presidential election for kids. Anastasia Kedroe, Nickelodeons director, producer and writer, said, "We started with the idea of doing something with the American flag, something complex and unique. We wanted to avoid being too cutsey but have kids be a key part of the spot. Going in we had no idea how complex it would be." Flame artist Frank Nemis and Smoke artist Chris Kreynus molded kids interviews about their hopes for the next president into a tile puzzle game design. Using Discreet Logics Flame, Nemis and Kreynus placed the childrens faces on red, white and blue squares that slide side-by-side and up-and-down, finally forming the image of the American flag. Kreynus commented, "All the movements of the squares had to sync to the audio, which turned out to be the most challenging aspect of the job. Smoke allowed us to sort the timings out, while in Flame we handled compositing and flew in the logo at the close." Nemis added, "Graphically we wanted to depict multiple images in a condensed time period. The final effect created the feeling of a multitude of kids who represent the electorate of the 21st Century."
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
