Circles vs squares: An ode to living in nature

This promo from Roger for the new season of History Channel’s “Mountain Men” starts off strong and then builds breathlessly from there. 

Full of inventive transitions and beautifully illustrated vignettes, the project adds a powerful new dimension to the voiceover by Eustace Conway, one of Mountain Men’s stars. Here, the ubiquitous circular motif seen in so many 2D projects serves a narrative purpose, underscoring a litany of natural phenomena:

The world of nature is all about the circle. And you look at the punchcard, time clock, plastic, cookie-cutter world of normal, modern America, and I think, “Do I want to be normal? Nuh-uh, there is a better way.”

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Links

Credits

Client: History

VP Brand Creative: Krista Liney
Senior Creative Director: Matt Neary
Project Manager: Kate Rosante

Animation & Postproduction Company: Roger

Executive Creative Director: Terry Lee
Creative Director: Dane Macbeth
Art Director: Jake Portman
Executive Producer: Josh Libitsky
Producer: Brian Wee
Designers: Yuki Yamada,  Belinda Rodriguez, Clarissa Tossin, Monica Grue
2D Animators: Jake Portman, Joseph Ahn, Adam Lawrence
Cel Animators: Matt Everton, Taik Lee, Jason Carpenter, Jahmad Rollings, Adam Lawrence, Connie Chan, Joseph Ahn
Dir. Bus. Dev: Drew Neujahr

Audio Company:
Composer: Mark Share / Easyfeel

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About the author

Justin Cone

/ justincone.com
Together with Carlos El Asmar, Justin co-founded Motionographer, F5 and The Motion Awards. He currently lives in Austin, Texas with is wife, son and fluffball of a dog. Before taking on Motionographer full-time, Justin worked in various capacities at Psyop, NBC-Universal, Apple, Adobe and SCAD.

2 Comments

Yeeeeeeeeezy

Really beautiful work. Not often I watch any promos all the way through anymore, but this one was done so well watched the whole thing. Outstanding from start to finish. As I type this on my square keyboard, on my square laptop from my square room in my square office building :)

Paul Rosser

Don’t disagree with the sentiment but think someone needs to explain to him what a square is.

Beds, doors, buildings, keyboards etc. Are rectangular.

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