Click 3X Builds with LEGO Systems for Stop-Motion Spot

files/pictures/picture-35.jpgPress Release from Click 3X

New York-based Click 3X and its interactive division, ClickFire Media, has produced an integrated, stop-motion animated campaign to help LEGO Systems, Inc. launch a new online experience for consumers. The creative is constructed from the toy brand's iconic building blocks.

LEGO Systems' in-house creative agency approached Click to help produce the playful :30 second TV/cinema spot Build Together, along with all post-production and sound design for the ad. The task of erecting eight stop-motion scenes from LEGO® bricks was handled by Click 3X lead creative, Mark Szumski, and the company's Connecticut-based model builders.

The eight-day shoot greatly benefited from a streamlined production approach that enabled the stop-motion team to input the Canon 5D-shot footage directly into Szumski's suite so he could create test composites and generate immediate feedback.

"Because we have a stage in-house, the Flame is literally 20 feet from where the stop-motion was being shot, so we were able to make the process very seamless," Szumski said.

The efficient workflow allowed the team to re-shoot, re-work creative ideas and revise shooting techniques on the fly. The use of CGI was kept to an absolute minimum so that the ad maintained a tangible, tactile charm.

Click 3X's new audio division, Sounds Like Click, composed the original music and sound design for the spot, and its interactive division, ClickFire Media, took assets from the spot to create the Flash banners used to drive traffic to the micro-site.

"More than ever before, this was a one-stop shop job," added Click 3X managing director, Jason Mayo. "We were thrilled to execute our client's vision using our full spectrum of in-house resources."

"Click 3X was a great creative fit for our campaign needs," said Keith Malone, creative director at LEGO Systems. "As one of the most beloved children's brands in the world, we needed a studio that could quickly understand our values and insert them to the communication. We have an experienced in-house agency and it's not always easy to find a studio like Click 3X that's comfortable dealing with a client that has an educated creative opinion, but from the beginning, Jason Mayo assembled a sharp team who listened to our input and then made the communication better."

Credits:
Spots Title: Build Together
Air Date: November 2010

Agency: LEGO In-House Agency
CD: Keith Malone
Creative Manager: Roger Cameron
Lead AD/New Media: Scott Decoteau
Account Manager: Jordyn Curtis
Model Designer: Paul Chrzan
Marketing Director: Ethan Sack
Assistant Brand Manager: Patrick O'Neil

Prod/Post Co: Click 3X
Creative Director/Flame Artist: Mark Szumski
Director/ DP: Peter Corbett
EP: Jason Mayo
Producer: Steve Holiner
Line Producer: Rob Mackler
Stop Motion Supervisor/Animator: Eileen Kohlhepp
Stop Motion Rigger/Assistant: Elise Ferguson
3D Animator: Spyro Serbos
Nuke/Flame Artist: Liz Berndt
After Effects/CGI: Mark Rubbo

Online Ad Units: ClickFire Media
Senior Interactive Producer: Ephraim Kehlmann

Music/Sound: Sounds Like Click
Sound Designer/Mixer: Brian Scibinico
Composer: Andre Fratto

About Click 3X:
Click 3X and its interactive division ClickFire Media create engaging film, TV and web content. Positioned at the intersection of entertainment, advertising, and technology, the studios work in tandem or autonomously. Click 3X shoots, edits, designs, animates and creates VFX, while ClickFire brings those disciplines into the interactive space. Click operates a full service, 11,000 square foot state of the art studio in Manhattan outfitted with 50 fulltime staffers. In 2010 audio post-production division, Sounds Like Click was launched to provide sound design, mixing and original music services.