CRABS

TitleCRABS
BrandTMALL
Product / ServiceTMALL
CategoryB02. Colour Correction / Grading
EntrantOGILVY Shanghai, CHINA
Idea Creation OGILVY Shanghai, CHINA
Production KEY POINT PRODUCTION Shanghai, CHINA

Credits

Name Company Position
Reed Collins Ogilvy Asia Pacific Chief Creative Officer
Thomas Zhu Ogilvy Shanghai Idea creation
Joe Wu Ogilvy Shanghai Idea creation
Yaya Wu Ogilvy Shanghai Idea creation, visual desgin
Zoe Fang Ogilvy Shanghai Idea creation, copywriting
Hefeng Shangguan Ogilvy Shanghai Idea creation, copywriting
Yong Yuan Ogilvy Shanghai Idea creation
Cicy Chen Ogilvy Shanghai Idea creation, project implementation and project management
Evelyn Xu Ogilvy Shanghai Planning, project implementation
Chris Lu Ogilvy Shanghai Video production
Xiaoyang Fan TMALL Idea creation, project management

Write a short summary of what happens in the film.

The story begins with an excerpt from the legendary tale. In ancient times, the pinchers (later became crabs) were thought to be a vast, rampant, destructive force. The fear of this unknown creature was at odds with the reality. Many misunderstood it, naively fearing it.... There were even rumors that one bite could lead to mutation! As the pinchers emerge from the water, fear grows. Thankfully, Baron Pax Xie is sent in to deal with the crisis. Nevertheless, the villagers take the fight to this frightening foe, killing and wounding the pinchers with fire in a devastating onslaught. But the villagers are still afraid. To dispel the fear of the unknown, Pax Xie bravely picks up a dead pincher and tastes it. The pinchers go from being a terrifying unknown to delicacies on the dining table. The heroic Pax Xie, then becomes known as “The first man to eat crab".

Cultural / Context information for the jury

"The first man to eat crab" is a Chinese saying. We use it to describe people who are brave enough to try new things. The story of "The first man to eat crab" originates from The Classic of Mountains and Seas, an ancient Chinese literary work. In honor of Pak Xie’s bravery, people named the crab “Xie” — the same pronunciation as his name. The name merges two Chinese characters together — the top part is Pak Xie’s name character, and the bottom part is a character called “Chong” (the symbol for strange creature in Chinese).

Tell the jury about the colour grading.

The film imitated Akira Kurosawa's signature filmmaking techniques, using black, white and grey retro tone processing, to bring this artistic conception of an ancient legend to life. The original creative was inspired by the ancient Chinese mythological masterpiece The Classic of Mountains and Seas. This approach to visual language and colour grading immersed the audience in the world of ancient Chinese mythology.