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  • Work
  • About
  • Contact
  • Stories
  • More…
    • FAQ
    • Internships
    • For Teachers
      • Artsville
      • Climate Science
      • Early Learning Series
      • Fun with Physics
      • Math Shorts
      • NetSafe
      • Utah Futures
      • Yana & Egbert
    • Terms & Conditions
June 5, 2023

New Work: Say No to Plastic Oceans

  • Posted By : Sam Berliner/
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We recently worked on a set of animation sequences for Berkeley, CA-based singer/songwriter Don Arbor that helps raise awareness about plastic pollution in our oceans. The sequences were commissioned for inclusion in Don’s most recent music video, “Message in a Billion Bottles.” 

I’m super grateful to our designer/animator Songyi for her exquisite 3D modeling/animation and to Jen, our art director, for the superb character design and animation of the seal. 


May 15, 2023

A Look Back at Our Work for PBS

  • Posted By : Sam Berliner/
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At Planet Nutshell we have been super fortunate over the years to have worked for a lot of different Public Broadcasting affiliates and we thought it would be fun to look back at some of our favorites.

We’re super proud of Artsville, as it was one of the first series that we fully conceived on our own (with the invaluable guidance of our friends at Kentucky Educational Television, of course!).

Bluegrass music and animation go together like beans and cornbread, as we showed in this fun little ditty — also for KET. I promise it will put a smile on your face.

We also worked with KET to help spread the word about early childhood literacy and some easy ways to engage with kids, turning everyday life into learning opportunities to read, talk, count, play, move and connect.

Utah Education Network has been a partner for nearly as long as Planet Nutshell has been in existence. It was a natural fit then, when we created a broadcast identity package for them.

Every year, we create a broadcast holiday spot for UEN. Enjoy this recent one!

We worked with our friends at WNET in New York to produce an animated interpretation of an interview with Gloria Steinem. Steinem discusses her early perceptions of Marilyn Monroe and how those perceptions changed over time.

Our work for WNET continued with this video from a series we produced about physics topics. It seemed appropriate to use a rhinoceros when explaining the relationship between mass and force.

And what compilation of PBS work would be complete without a video for our hometown station, GBH Boston? Produced for Design Squad Latinx, this video explains how a pulley works. In this case, how to use a pulley to deliver lunch!

We are super proud of the work we have done for PBS over the years and look forward to all that’s to come!


April 18, 2023

Project Breakdown: Rockland Trust

  • Posted By : Sam Berliner/
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Have you heard about Ms. Money? She is a zany, accident-prone, enthusiastic teacher (think Ms. Frizzle) who introduces Kindergarten through 5th graders to financial literacy basics with her students Nick and Penny. They have been touring a live show for years around the Boston area complete with a lot of catchy songs. When we were approached by Rockland Trust Bank, where the real Ms. Money works, we were excited to dive into an animated version of the show.

Research & Moodboard

We familiarized ourselves with Ms. Money’s song catalog, repertoire (check out this video!), and existing assets and honed in on our design style.

Script

During the scripting process we had the idea for a School Supply Fair as the video scenario. Strong character profiles were a big focus: Penny is very careful with her money, Nick gets distracted by shiny, spinning things, and Ms. Money begins the discussion of needs, wants, spending, saving and sharing.

Storyboards

We started to bring the script to life in the Storyboard phase. Here’s where Nick gets distracted by a super cool rocket ship pen.

Animatic

To ensure we had the timing down right before diving into animation we added an Animatic stage to the process. This was extra fun since Sam and Josh got to be voiceover actors along with Ms. Money herself! Sam also did the sound effects and had an especially fun time “voicing” the breaking rocket ship pen. Then we replaced Sam and Josh with the real Nick and Penny and were ready for animation. Here’s a sneak peek at our internal animatic!

Design

For the design we had to get the characters just right as well as the world and the objects for sale at the School Supply Fair. We did some research on the YouTube to pinpoint what 5th and 6th graders wear these days (yes, this made us feel old) and saw a lot of oversized t-shirts, pajama pants, leggings and skinny jeans.

Here are some character designs and style frames– see how we snuck in an easter egg of the Planet Nutshell logo? 

Animation

We added in the full sound design and music and brought Ms. Money’s world to life!

Localization

We were also tasked with creating a Spanish version so we translated the script, recorded the new voiceover, re-timed the animation and updated the on-screen text to Spanish. Tada!

While we were at it, we were also asked to translate the songs into Spanish as well and we worked with the incredibly talented Amador Bilingual Voiceovers to deliver these super fun renditions in Spanish. Take a listen!

Can’t get enough Ms. Money? Head on over to her classroom! 


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Latest Entries
  • UN Features PN on World Refugee Day June 22,2023
  • New Work: Say No to Plastic Oceans June 5,2023
  • A Look Back at Our Work for PBS May 15,2023
  • Coming Soon on YouTube: A Humanities Series May 10,2023
  • Project Breakdown: Rockland Trust April 18,2023
  • Join Us March 18, 2023 in NYC for the Premiere of Azúcar February 9,2023
  • Azúcar Screens in São Paulo and Barcelona December 12,2022
  • Another Year, Another Stellar List of Projects December 6,2022
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