Now more than ever, it’s important to stay together, even while we stay apart. So I wanted to take a moment to personally wish you safety, health, and courage and to let you know about some recent events on our planet that have left me with new perspectives and a whole lot of gratitude.

Last week, a long-planned, long-anticipated trip to Patagonia came to a sudden end for me and my wife. While backpacking through Argentina’s Glaciares National Park, a ranger found us deep in the wilderness (in the shadow of Mt. Fitzroy, to be exact) and told us to pack up our tent and get out. All Argentine National Parks were closed in response to COVID-19.

Thus began a harrowing journey back home.

It took us 10 miles to hike out, and when we emerged, we found a changed world. Luckily, and by complete happenstance, we heard that the Argentine border was closing in just a few hours, leaving us little time to drive 300 miles to get back into Chile, our only way back to the US. 

With barely any sleep, we packed up and drove through the early morning hours, hopeful that we would avoid one of the many checkpoints the Argentine police had set up to enforce quarantines on all foreigners. Eventually, we managed to find an obscure border crossing on a potholed dirt road. My heart pounded as we approached the border guards, but thankfully, we were allowed to cross. 

Had we not heard about the border closing we’d still be in Argentina under quarantine. Many from the US, Europe, and elsewhere are still caught there with limited options–including a Belgian family of four we befriended.

Once in Chile, we had to decide if it was even wise to return home, as the situation in South America is much less dire than in Europe and the US, with far fewer cases and limited community spread (so far). Ultimately, though, we did decide to return. The pull of home, of familiarity and community, outweighed the risk. And I wanted to be closer to the Planet Nutshell team during the crisis. 

However, by the time we’d made the decision to come home, we found most flights were cancelled. Somehow (again, a pure stroke of good look) we ended up on a flight to Sao Paulo, Brazil, and from there, we boarded one of the last flights to the States. 

All told, it took us six days to get home after the park ranger evicted us. And throughout it all, the Planet Nutshell team has shown incredible resiliency, courage, and kindness. They’ve shown me yet again what a special group we have managed to assemble. I am deeply grateful.

There is no way to know how this situation will resolve. The only thing that’s for sure is that we will be all surely changed by it. At Planet Nutshell, we know change — however frightening — will push us to grow, to discover, and to help. 

Our team continues to work remotely and we remain open for business. To all those in the Planet Nutshell orbit, I invite you to reach out and say hello. Let us know how you are in this trying time.

Stay safe and be well.

We just wrapped up a pair of new projects for Alloy Therapeutics, a biotech startup that’s working to democratize drug development by making access to research tools much easier. Alloy’s mission is to aid the curing of diseases, and that means making sure small firms (and not just the big pharma companies) can create and test new drugs quickly.

In addition to a short, animated video outlining their first product platform, the Gx Mouse, the Alloy team asked us to create a live action video featuring their founder and CEO, Errik Anderson titled “Hello World.”

You read that right. We’re talking real people. Filmed. With a camera. No animation.

Oh, and did we mention this video was going to be used as a launch video? As in the launch of their entire company? Yeah, no pressure.

For help with production, we turned to Bagamor Media, headed up by Dan Lovering. Dan is a super talented documentary filmmaker and journalist (and if you haven’t seen his short film, Motorcycle Man, you should). We learned a ton from Dan’s team during the production process, and his shooting, editing, and sound design skills were vital.

Obviously, over the course of this project, we found there are some differences between animation and live action. Mainly, we found that unlike animation, live action documentary production is a process of subtraction. You go through some pre-production with the client and establish the kinds of shots you will need to effectively tell this story, and you use your shoot days to capture as much usable footage as you can. The video doesn’t find its true shape until you get into the editing room, though, after several rounds of careful revisions.

By contrast, with animation, the editing happens in advance of the production. Because animation is so labor intensive, the “editing” happens first in the form of a precise script and storyboard. Only after those are approved do we move on to the production phase of the project.

At the end of the day, though, no matter the visuals — live action or animation — a great video is driven by story. And stories have always been what Plant Nutshell is all about.

So… did we pull it off? I think so. But take a look at both these videos and let me know what you think.

Once again, we owe a big thanks to Dan and his team for their support with “Hello World.” And of course, our animation team was expectedly amazing in the Gx video.

Stay tuned, though! Because we’ve got more live action projects in the works, and the next one actually combines live action and animation in a single package. Get excited! Because we sure are.

The holidays are here! And if you are anything like us, you love holiday movies! Here at Planet Nutshell, we have a strange annual tradition of watching Netflix’s The Christmas Prince together as we chip away at those end-of-year projects. 

We know what you’re thinking. “That’s a cheesy romantic comedy!” Well yes, yes it is. But it’s not completely terrible. As our art director Jen Sanchez points out, there’s a lot going on when it comes to color. 

Take it away, Jen…

Okay, guys, seriously. You gotta give this movie a chance, especially if you are interested in art or design. There is a surprising amount of thought given to the colors here and how they convey the main protagonist’s (Amber’s) emotional state as well as how they signify alliances and enemies.

Throughout the movie, Amber’s signature colors are bright blue and cranberry red. In contrast to the rest of the characters in Aldovia (yes, Aldovia — I KNOW), who veer towards neutrals and darker colors. This not only keeps our eyes on her — literally — as she moves through the scene, but reflects her individuality, an important point in the film.

If you pay close attention, too, you’ll be able to tell which characters are either allied with her or against her based on their wardrobes. For example, her father and her friends back in her hometown are usually seen wearing either blue or red, while her antagonistic boss wears a muted mustard yellow.

When we are first introduced to the royal family, we see them primarily in black, white or gray, and when Amber first makes the move to the palace, she purposefully mutes her wardrobe in order to fit in. However, as time goes on and she starts to feel comfortable, her signature colors return full-force. So much so that they begin to infect the wardrobe of those closest to her, the royal family in particular. It starts off with small accessories like a red brooch or a red tie, but by the end of the first movie, after she has gained the trust, friendship, and love of the royal family, they have fully adopted Amber’s vibrant color-scheme, not only symbolizing their newfound connection, but the color Amber has injected into their previously stuffy lives.

But wait! There’s a sequel! At the beginning of The Christmas Price: A Royal Wedding, Amber’s colors evolve from cranberry red and blue to a soft pink and blue. This signifies the palace staff’s attempt to change her and mold her into their ideal of a perfect Aldovian Queen. As a result, Amber feels as though she must suppress her personality in order to marry her beloved King Richard. 

When Amber is feeling particularly low — after she attempts to give her husband advice and is dismissed, for example — the filmmakers even go so far as to desaturate the scene itself, to emphasize her low self worth and loss of identity. As the film progresses, Amber is consoled by her allies, and in these moments, we get hits of her signature cranberry red. By the end of the movie her confidence appears to be restored but the royal wedding is still a mix between cranberry red and the former black and white. What’s the significance here? Perhaps teeing up the drama set to unfold in the third (YUP IT’S A TRILOGY) installment — The Christmas Prince: A Royal Baby. 

As of now I have yet to watch the third movie, but I certainly plan on doing so. And you should too! If you do end up watching it, I implore you to focus on the color story. If the first two movies are any indicator, they colors will play a huge role in understanding what is going on between the characters as well as foreshadowing the film’s ending.

Are there any movies that you love? Do they have color stories? If so, what are their color stories and what do those colors symbolize? If your life were a movie, what color story would you want to have?