SAFELY FEEL THE REAL WORLD

Short List
TitleSAFELY FEEL THE REAL WORLD
BrandDUREX
Product / ServiceDUREX
CategoryB05. Visual Effects
EntrantAMBER CHINA Shanghai, CHINA
Idea Creation AMBER CHINA Shanghai, CHINA
Production PAFASSION LAB Shanghai, CHINA
Post Production PAFASSION LAB Shanghai, CHINA

Credits

Name Company Position
Hongyu Bai Amber China Copywriter
Colin Chen Amber China Senior Copywriter
Simon Chen Amber China Strategic Director
Amber Liu Amber China Chief Executive Officer
Amber Liu Amber China Chief Creative Officer
Jessie Lu Amber China Account Director
Maureen Nan Amber China Account Director
Can Shi Amber China Group Head
Lisa Song Amber China Account Director
Tom Tang Amber China Senior Art Director
Cherry Wang Amber China Creative Director
Ken Wang Amber China Executive Producer
Jody Xiong The Nine Sh Director
Willow Yang Amber China Creative Director
Aska Yao Amber China Account Director
Chris Zhang Amber China Strategic Director
Kidd Zhang Amber China Group Creative Director
Zack Zhou Amber China Senior Art Director

Write a short summary of what happens in the film.

The short film tells the story of a couple who wakeup from a VR simulated dream and drive their Volvo XC40 to a safe reality on '001 Island.' The animation depicts a virtual world of the future, an expansive air shuttle, and mechanical figures including an active gorilla. The gorilla's stomach features a glass racetrack full of action, while 001 Island's invisible forcefield has a sheen quality similar to the actual Durex 001 product. In the visual narrative between the two brands, 「safety」is a sexy and apparent benefit, one that allows us to approach intimacy and embrace reality.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

In China, condom ads have many restrictions: no products can appear, nor can “association elements” such as beds. To convey Durex 001 on film, we designed symbolic motifs—an invisible forcefield protecting "001 Island” and animal pairs with sexual connotations in Chinese folklore. Additionally, Volvo’s brand perception has more instantly recognizable safety associations in the Chinese market.

Tell the jury about the visual effects and summarise any relevant challenges or techniques.

The 5-minute fully CGI animated film reflects creative collaborations across diverse skillsets, including brand planning, story, design, animation, and music production. Perfecting minute details of dynamic character capture, we altered the light and shadow quality frame-by-frame. Throughout several stages of completion, many versions of the film were projected on theater screens to ensure top cinematic quality. During the five-month production time, the pandemic brought on challenges in coordinating teams of nearly 100 people in three locations while abiding by safety guidelines.

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