It's increasingly hard for campaigning creative pieces to cut through the noise and make an impact, but the WWF has impressed with the innovative animation in a new video highlighting the urgent issue of fossil fuel consumption.
To coincide with the ongoing COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, the video aims to put pressure on participating nations to reach an agreement to phase out fossil fuels. It uses a technically impressive stop-motion animation technique, real smoke and beautiful lighting to deliver its devastating message (see our pick of the best video editing software and best animation software).
Named Up in Smoke, the WWF's short film tells the story of a young girl in a frightening smokey world. It was produced by the London-based animation production company NOMINT and directed by Yannis Konstantinidis, who has created innovative work for the WWF before, including an animation made entirely of ice.
A year in the making, the new film was shot entirely in camera over a month Stop-motion animation with 3D-printed sculptures and real smoke creates a unique and powerful atmosphere. Some 700 hand-painted sculptures of the girl and various animals were used and posed to make the animation (see the behind-the-scenes video below).
Adding to the overall eerie atmosphere of the video is the soundtrack, which Billie Eilish's When the Party’s Over as performed by the Social Singing Choir from Margate, UK.
Once again NOMINT has really made an impact with its combination of an unusual, eye-catching approach to animation, technically perfect execution and a powerfully emotive story. The piece also shows just how useful and versatile some of the best 3D printers can be.
