Keep Calm and Unwind is the sixth compilation album in the hugely successful Keep Calm series. The team at Sony music commissioned this TV spot to advertise the album's release.

Our Process

Inspired by the album artwork, our first step was to decide on a visual device that would compliment the album's famous soundtrack. The beautiful folded forms of origami sculptures instantly appealed to us as the perfect visual accompaniment. The style decided, we moved on to storyboard the commercial using handmade origami placeholders to represent what would later become animating 3D objects.

Working in collaboration with our clients, we locked down the Keep Calm and Unwind ad's structure and began modelling its 3D origami objects. Each model stayed true to a real origami form, creating realism in all of the elements. In addition, we replicated this realism when rigging the 3D models. Making sure movement pivoted and bent in the same way a handmade paper form would behave. Once all of the elements were built, we transported them into a 3D world.

The next step was to design a camera-move that smoothly transitioned between each setting. When planning this journey, we also used the music track to shape the flow. Here's a clip of our first WIP wire-frame render.

After finessing the camera's journey, it was time to animate the individual objects, breathing life into the folded forms and creating movement within each scene. Finally, we added lighting and paper texturing, giving the whole commercial a sense of a real handmade sequence. With this, the 3D world transformed into one of handmade tactility, perfectly complimenting the emotion of the album.