Ducks Unlimited
Biodiversity PSA
The Challenge
Ducks Unlimited is the world’s leader in wetland and waterfowl conservation. Best known among the hunting community, they teamed up with MABU to reach a new audience and introduce them to their work in biodiversity. The client had their sights set on young adults who care about environmental sustainability or outdoor enthusiasts that want to protect their playground.
MABU previously developed campaigns for Ducks Unlimited that centered around explainer animations. This time, we urged the client to consider what would truly resonate with this audience, creating a meaningful connection to a complex scientific concept.
Our Solution
We leaned into our creative strategy process. Through consumer research, we identified a problem and solution to inform the creative concept and our path forward.
Consumer Problem: It’s hard to support environmental initiatives that come at a cost to people, industries and economies.
Insight: It’s easy to get behind win-win solutions.
Solution: Show that the biodiversity work at Ducks Unlimited directly benefits both the planet and people.
With a solid creative brief based on this insight, we got to work.
Story development
By sharing multiple iterations of the script, along with a character sheet, storyboard, animatics, and block tests, we collaborated with the client throughout the pre-production process. We balanced their input and subject-matter expertise with our strategic and creative goals to craft a story that would connect with the audience.
Production
After tossing around several animation styles, the team landed on origami – an art form that is both transformative and harmonious with nature. All assets were custom designed and modeled in 3D. Each rig was meticulously animated, both manually and through motion capture to efficiently bring the characters and scenes to life. Close attention to scale, shallow depth of field, unique shaders and lighting brought realism and polish to each scene.
Post-Production
A robust render farm and weeks of rendering time was needed to execute a project of this size and complexity. With rendered frames in-hand, the team pulled the final production together through extensive compositing, color correction, and meticulous sound design. Ambient tree noise, bird chirps, and underwater sound effects created an immersive experience where audio stepped up to play a lead role.
This project exemplified the power of collaboration and creative compromise. We met the clients’ objectives by focusing on the consumers’ needs. We turned a complex narrative into a compelling story. And we blended traditional animation principles with innovative techniques to craft a memorable experience. Check it out!