Production and design studio 1/29 Films recently completed an iconic, design-driven brand spot for the University of Wisconsin - Madison. The signature spot will air nationally and be featured on the University's website and other online channels throughout the next two years.
The brand spot, written, concepted and executed by 1/29 Films employs a compelling message of change as the sweeping focal point of UW's campus experience. Beloved elements of the university, its fabled lore, architecture, sporting life and academic achievement, are presented with painstaking authenticity via a blueprint pastiche bathed in the school's signature Badger red. The spot also highlights accomplished alumni including Frank Lloyd Wright, Joyce Carol Oates, John Muir and others, as visionaries who paved the road for change through innovation. The spot reminds viewers that college is not strictly about academic growth. In order to get the full collegiate experience one has to "Major in Change."
Creative Director/Founder Nick Seuser, who heads the 1/29 Films team, chose to realize the brand spot using design and animation to take viewers on an otherwise impossible visual journey rich in history, emotion and style. Using motion design, the spot honors the university's preeminence in research and teaching while communicating the key values and experiences revered by the institution's students, faculty and alumni.
The spot was designed and animated by the 1/29 Films using the Adobe suite and Maxon's Cinema 4D. Seuser, who worked for ILM commercials and ESC Entertainment before launching 1/29 Films, reached out to former colleagues at Skywalker Sound for the audio finish. Color grading was completed at Colorflow at the famous Saul Zaentz Media Center, formerly the renowned Fantasy Records building.
"The University of Wisconsin - Madison is unlike any other institution and we wanted to match its quality of life and accomplishments with an approach that would fittingly stand apart from typical university brand spots. Pure motion design allowed us to explore uncharted territory in this collegiate genre," noted Nick Seuser. "We had amazing partners throughout, from the UW marketing department to the post studios involved. Together, we created a piece that truly captures the UW spirit."