Write a short summary of what happens in the film.

Grill’d launches its first major brand campaign, taking aim at evil with the help of a righteous burger vigilante. This protagonist boldly sticks up for what is right in an industry of unsustainable, unnatural and unhealthy food practices. Presented in a retro superhero style to embody the greats before him, this animated hero takes on an evil scientist in his quest to make the world a better place. The use of 2D cel-animation creates a reality within which our vigilante contains no limits to what is possible - stopping the said scientist’s plan to unjustly inject grotesque hormones within cattle.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

To understand the context of this piece, one must understand what ‘Grill’d’ is. Grill’d is a ‘gourmet’ burger, food-chain in Australia. Their restaurants are very hip and are considered widely to be a healthy burger alternative to fast-food chains such as McDonald’s, Hungry Jacks and KFC. This is because of the quality of the ingredients they use - priding themselves on fresh, natural and sustainable produce.

Tell the jury about the animation used and summarise any relevant challenges or techniques.

It was important for everyone working on this project that, despite being a laborious technique, we use traditional cel animation (TV Paint) for the entire campaign and compositing in After Effects. The main challenge was working out the comedic timing and creating the rich depth and fluidity desired. Such a result can only be achieved with a painstaking eye for detail, despite consistent deadline pressure. At the start of the project, all the scripts were briefed in at 15 seconds, but everyone saw the need to put in the extra work to really make the story shine. We had a lot of fun with the creatives working on how to make these as entertaining as possible. And even though it was the height of summer in France and the crew had been locked up for a year, everyone was super excited about the project and there is no doubt it.