The inspiration came from one of TAD’s core principles, 'Play & Explore' and the idea of entering a space where anything is possible. The nature of creating is to push new boundaries, but often things don't work out as planned. And that's ok.

So this sequence celebrates the playful mindset and leans into the failures, mistakes and unexpected outcomes.

It reflects the wide range of disciplines and experiences at the Festival, from VR, animation, drawing, character, 3d modelling - all fuel for staying curious and discovering new skills.

Rather than opt for one long narrative, we built a series of micro-stories. Each scene lasts between 4-8 seconds and is made using frame animation techniques - firstly in TVPaint as pencil animations and then built using shape layers in After-Effects.

The variety of scenarios gave us the freedom to explore a wider cast of characters and although they are designed to contrast with each other, they are built with the action in mind.

The opening character is bendy and fluid - perfect for hula-hooping. Whereas the closing character feels weighty - a nice balance to the organic inflatable 'idea' that takes over the frame.

The format also forced us to pare down the story arcs to a few key beats and we focused on the wonderful tension between trying and failing. It's a great source of humour because it's relatable and allows us to develop characters that audiences can feel greater empathy towards. 

We chose a simple design aesthetic, as both titles and movements needed to be easily read. This balances with the faster-paced music track and sound effects that add to the playful tone and bring greater depth to the story. Not only do they help drive the narrative forward but add to the overall sense of excitement.