Watts Creates Unique Animated “Thank you” for Amazon employees
Amazon Operations - Peak Animation
In a last-minute effort to replace a video that was slated for Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, Watts suggested an animated piece. Using a script drafted by Amazon, Watts gathered their entire animation team to create a unique and heartfelt employee appreciation video. Animators used a distinctive style while incorporating Amazon’s Peak 2020 design, created by Everyday Massive in Australia.
BUSINESS CHALLENGE | OPPORTUNITY
This particular video was to be the highlight of the Peak series, so when a conflict arose that prevented us from capturing Mr. Bezos, Watts wanted to find a strong replacement. Amazon liked the idea of an animated piece and originally wanted the animation to cover Covid-19 holiday safety measures. Due to internal repetitive messaging they shifted gears and landed on sending a “thank you” to their employees.
CREATIVE CHALLENGE
Watts had three weeks to create a 2-minute animation, utilizing three animators to construct one unified piece. This required several late nights and weekend commitments. And while it is animated, it did not excuse the characters from abiding Amazon’s COVID- 19 safety regulations. Last minute edits were made to be sure this video reflected those important guidelines.
OUR SOLUTION | CREATIVE PROCESS
Amazon wanted this animation to stand apart from other company animations, while at the same time remaining on brand. Due to the short timeline, we knew that we needed to get client feedback and sign off efficiently and quickly, so we focused on getting clear storyboards to the client in order to have a solid base to guide our animation. From there, we presented several different styles and were able to marry unique components of their top two choices. Within our style, we created a vocabulary of visual techniques (limited color palette, intentional line thickness, character design) that would carry throughout the animation to keep consistency and unification between each artist’s sections.
In order to achieve a harmonious balance between each animated segment, we met twice daily for two weeks. This helped us keep to a strict timeline without having to sacrifice any artistic standards.
