Led by 5 Creative Directors across the US Framestore offices ’Coalesce’ was made for the opening film for OFFF Barcelona 2023. The appraoch of the film was to explore the creative process and collaberation being at the heart of the peice, with the tag line for the festival ‘Made for Curious’.

Given a completely open brief, each artist was tasked to create something that would excite and inspire them using any style or technique of their choice and therefore letting go of control and to let creativity thrive being given an open brief.

I came into the job a little later, after a designer had come up with a large amount of style frames (below) and asked to see how I could push this further.

I decided I would push this sections further by creating it’s own storyline (albeit very short).

Narrative
Initially, we see a group of spheres who are ‘stuck’ in a monotonour/ rigid, military world- animating only linear along a grid system, to a beat. The style starts very flat and 2D.

One of the spheres seperates from the pack, being drawn towards a break of light in the distance.

Upon entering the light, the sphere is given life, a personality and dimension allowing it to roam freely (off any grid system). Now, in a completely 3D world, the sphere drops down a level. On the bounce, the sphere and it's shadow split, becoming seperate beings. Trying the get away from it’s shadow, the sphere darts off.

Our sphere moves across our 3D landscape, dropping down different levels of shapes whilst being chased by it’s shadow.

The shapes across the landscape are drawn closer like a magnetic pull as the sphere races past.

The sphere finds itself boxed in by the landscape forcing the shadow to engulf the sphere.

Now that the shadow and sphere have merged back togther, any colour and dimension has disappeared and we are back to the grid system/ 2D world.

Directors: Brian Drucker, Jake Cuddihy, Christopher Friesen, Lawrence Jones, Timothy Williams

Director of Photography: Jonathan Pears

Gaffer: Steve Kagan

Key Grip: Craig Lerner

Assistant Camera: Ivan Acero

Production Designer: T. Hunter McCann

Art Director: Ben R. Voutour

Art Director: Ingrid Houghton

On-Set Dresser: Massimo D'Emilia

Talent: Alissa Nunley

Editor: Timothy Williams

Additional Editorial: Jacob Sadowsky Pedram Torbati

EVP / Executive Producer: Krystina Wilson

Head of Production: Cat Pavitt

Producer: Samantha Wong

Production Coordinator: Kaitlyn Gorman

Designers: Luke Abraham Ryan DeCarlo Veronica Ferrari Delphin Jack Field Antara Ghosh Justin Harder Dongxin Jiang Yujung Lee Daniel Moore Andrew Niven Caleb Ollivant Daniel Petersen Kevin Sanchez Ben H. Shapiro Adam Thompson Ilya Tselyutin Frank Vedvik Yiyang Ye Coy Yuan Nathan Zankich

Compositors: Nasser Mandavisobi Meg McGuire Joe Taylor

Online Editor: Jacob Sadowsky Johnny Kachenmeister

Data Services: Jordan Freese Pam Atadero Alex Janiuk

Music and Post Production Sound Provided: Yessian Music

Partner/CCO: Brian Yessian

Partner/Head of Production: Michael Yessian

Production Coordinator: Josie Palmer

Composer: Mark Chu

Sound Design: Ben Lantz

Color: Company3

Senior Color Producer: Chris Anthony

Colorist: Dominic Phipps