Want to gain professional experience in a production studio? Planet Nutshell is looking for a stellar intern to join our team.

At Planet Nutshell we’re all about telling great stories and creating animation with impact. We’re looking for someone who wants to learn and assist with our production process, from concept and storyboarding to designs and animation. Under the guidance of our team, you’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with other designers and animators while honing your artistic skill.

What you need:

• Positive attitude and willingness to learn
• A willingness to look at your own work with a critical eye, listen to feedback, and make changes accordingly
• Length of internship and daily hours are negotiable.
• You must have basic-level skill with After Effects and Adobe Illustrator.

What we offer:

• A casual and cozy atmosphere in Central Square in Cambridge, steps from the Red Line.
• Guidance and mentorship to help you build your portfolio and professional work experience.
• A flexible schedule
• Current students can earn credit, or if you’re just out of school you are eligible, as well.
• You will be paid for any client work you do.

To apply, please complete the Planet Nutshell Intern Questionnaire here.

Whenever our friends at Kentucky Educational Network (KET) call us with a new project, we know we’re in for a good time. I mean, just look at this music video we did for them back in 2017. Or how about this adorable throwback from 2015?

Their request this time did not disappoint. They wanted our help creating and launching a new web series for late middle and early high schoolers that taught them more about the various forms of art and (hopefully) inspired them to try one of these art forms for themselves. 

We pitched them several concepts, the winner of which was called “Artsville,” a town where anything and everything is possible, and creativity is celebrated each and every day.

The first episode of “Artsville” was all about the elements of dance, and our first challenge came in the scripting phase. KET had actually produced two live action videos on this exact subject in the past, but they wanted something that felt a little more engaging this time around. So not only did we have to condense the information delivered in those two videos — totaling nearly five minutes! — to just 150 words, we had to keep it interesting, digestible and fun. We were able to do this by thinking about how the VO and animation would work in tandem to deliver information through voice and supporting visuals or through visuals alone. 

Storyboard

With the script approved, it was time for storyboards, where we didn’t give the client one round of boards but three. We did this not in spite of the timeline or budget but because of it, making sure every part of a scene was to the client’s liking so we could save them time and money in the final and most labor-intensive phase of the project — animating the dang thing.

Style Frames

For the illustration style, we went with something that felt whimsical and portrayed the magic of our fictional town, while still being appropriate for our slightly older audience of late middle to early high school students.

Animation

And the end result? See for yourself:

Stay tuned for more! We’ve already got two more episodes in the works, and not to give too much away, but one involves dogs. Lots of dogs.

As always, a huge thanks to the team that made this one possible. You know what they say, it takes a planet, er, village.

Creative Director: Joshua Gunn
Scriptwriter: Liz Breen
Art Director: Jennifer Sanchez
Storyboard: Mollie Davis
Production Coordinator: Kharma Jones
Illustration: Ethan Barnowsky
Animation: Mollie Davis
Character Animation: Brad Schwab and Jennifer Sanchez
Sound Design: Taiko Sound

And also a big thanks to our client, KET, for partnering with us yet again. Check out their website — especially if you’re a teacher — because they have amazing resources for learners of all ages.

Two weeks. 33 custom animations. To run on some of the world’s most famous screens.

That was the challenge our friends at Adaptive Biotechnologies presented when they asked us to help them pull off a total Times Square “domination” experience. We’re talking animated videos (33 in total) running across four massive placements simultaneously — the Nasdaq tower and Marquee, the Reuters Tower, and the Walgreens Tower. Oh, and they only had 2 weeks until launch. No pressure, right?

A tight timeline meant we had to rely more than ever on our careful storyboarding process, especially because these screens were far from conventional, with crazy dimensions, curved screens and windows right in the middle of the unit. You can preview just some of these storyboards below, and if you want a deeper dive, you can view the complete boards for the Walgreens Tower here.

With the storyboards client-approved, we could move on to a complex set of After Effects templates provided by the panel vendors. We used the templates to set up and create all the animations.

These templates were our lifeline. Since there could be no previewing of animations before they were live (for tens of thousands of people to see – again, no pressure), the templates were a way visualize what the final product would be when viewed from the street.

These templates also allowed us to view multiple units at the same time. Because on top of everything else, we gave ourselves the challenge of synchronizing the animation between the Nasdaq and Reuters Towers, so that when one set of cells leaves the Nasdaq Tower it “jumps” across the street to the Reuters Tower, making for a more arresting viewer experience. You can see a preview of that below.

The previews for the actual production? Well those were much less exciting (below is what the Walgreens Tower looked like just before we shipped it). But the real exciting part was traveling down to NYC for the unveiling.

Fun fact: Before the campaign went live, the Planet Nutshell team got to ride the elevator to the top of the Walgreens tower where the New Years Eve ball resides.

Another fun fact: The floors above the first floor, which contains a Walgreens Drugstore, are completely empty. The building owner earns more money from the displays on the outside than from having tenants inside.

After a lot of hard work and diligent planning, it all went off without a hitch. And we thought the final result was better than any After Effects template. Here’s what the Nasdaq Tower looked like from my perspective, just an average guy on the street:

A huge thanks goes out to all the folks who worked on this:

Creative Director: Joshua Gunn
Art Director: Jennifer Sanchez
Storyboards: Jennifer Sanchez, Mollie Davis
Production Coordinator: Kharma Jones
Animation: Jennifer Sanchez, Mollie Davis, Brien Hopkins, Mac Wójcik, Ethan Barnowsky
Design & Illustration: Ana Hill, Natalia Brondani