The scene opens in an airport lobby where a young couple is embracing before the woman departs on a professional trip. When her lover isn’t looking, she removes a representation of her heart from her chest. While giving him one last ‘good-bye’ kiss, she places her ‘heart’ in his coat pocket. Obviously in love, he watches her fly away. When she arrives at her destination it’s clear she has a hole where her ‘heart’ was. She delivers a well-received  presentation on her work to a packed house. Afterwards while walking alone near a courtyard fountain, she sees a small bird perched on it’s edge. As she reaches out to it, it flies straight through the hole where her heart was. Her eyes follow it’s flight up into the sky which segues into the scene of her flying home to her loved one where he’s waiting with her ‘heart’ in his hand.

beauty and practicality

The piece is beautiful – both in its design and its technical execution. And, in a very subtle way, United Airlines’ marketing message is irresistibly delivered to its market. Known for his ability to emotionally connect with an audience, Jamie and his creative team went to work on developing a magical story line filled with love, longing, and triumph. The result? A truly elegant work of art that just happens to be an advertisement.

the rise of stop motion animation

Director Jamie Caliri has a reputation for his amazing creativity when using stop-motion animation. Caliri rocketed to the forefront in 2004 for his title design created for Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. Since then, he has created two Annie Award winning ads for United Airlines. The first, Dragon, rapidly rose in popularity in the hearts of viewers, bringing United Airlines to a favorable position in the market, and contributing the upsurge we have witnessed in stop motion animation.

Stop motion animation has a long history in film. It was one of the earliest forms of animation ever created. Albert E. Smith and J. Stuart Blackton are credited for being the first to utilize the stop motion technique in their production of The Humpty Dumpty Circus (1898) – a story in which a toy circus of acrobats and animals comes to life. In the 1960s and 70s, we witnessed a rise in stop motion animation in the form of claymation, which went on to became a very popular animation technique.

By the 1980s, major motion pictures including Star Wars and Indiana Jones were utilizing stop motion animation as a technique. Industrial Light & Magic used stop motion to create the chess sequence in Star Wars, and the Tauntauns and AT-AT walkers in The Empire Strikes Back. They went on to use the technique in a variety of other scenes in mainstream movies.

And probably very few of us were even aware that they were using this as a technique.

the art of stop motion

Whether you are a 2D or 3D animator – the technique you use is just that – a technique. You may bill yourself as a Flash animator creating broadcast network animation, or a stop motion animator creating title design – but knowing the tool is only the first step. You could know Flash inside and out, but it’s the art of the animation created that brings it to life. This is what distinguishes ‘forgettable’ animation from animation that makes an indelible imprint in the viewer’s mind.

And that’s where Jamie Caliri excels. First and foremost, Caliri is an artist. Through his work, people experience the art of animation. Through his art, he connects with his audience on an emotional level. Jamie Caliri inspires.

bring on the annies

We’re not the only ones who have been inspired. Each year, animation industry notables gather in Los Angeles for the annual Annie Awards. This past January, ASIFA-Hollywood awarded prizes for 2008’s best animation, including projects from film, television, commercials, video games, and short subjects. It was a night of animation giants, with amazing presenters and presentees such as Henry Selick, Nick Park and John Lasseter.

Among the 2008 Annie Award winners? Jamie Caliri. Caliri now adds another award of distinction to his name: the 2008 Annie Award for Best Animated Television Commercial for the spot titled “Heart” created for United Airlines. This is the second Annie win for Caliri, who previously won in 2006 for “Dragon,” also for United Airlines.

Kudos to Jamie Caliri from motion.tv for his remarkable achievements.

about heart

‘Heart‘ was shot using Dragon Stop Motion 1.0 with both Canon and Nikon DSLRs.

Directed by Jamie Caliri, “Heart,” was produced by Duck Studios in Los Angeles. Caliri worked with an incredible team, including character designs by Alex Juhasz, paper sculpting by Megan Brain and background designs by Jared Purrington. The lead animators were Scott Kravitz and Eileene Kohlhepp. Yorico Murakami multi-tasked as animator and puppet fabricator along with art department/puppet-maker man, Jeremy “The Beard” Bronson. David Candelaria took on the rigging duties and Huy Vu and Pablo Grande were the fearless art department leaders. For a complete credit list,  visit Caliri’s website.

speaking at motion09
Jamie Caliri is one of the ‘rock stars’ at motion09

10.11 – 10.14 2009 | abq | nm
motion | experience inspiration

………………………………..
author: Elaine Montoya
motion producer
………………………………..
copyright: © 2008 – 09
motion.tv

The New York Times called it “…the best bit of animation to originate in a DreamWorks film yet.”

Jamie Caliri is a storytelling genius with one goal: to make an emotional connection with his audience and give them something special.

animation is in his blood

“there’s a childlike point of view in a lot of my work”

In 2004, Caliri directed the brilliant end titles for Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events. This moody masterpiece combines paper cutouts and a perfect score to transport us to a dizzying world on the edge of looming disaster.

“I never let go of my ultimate goal. I wanted to make an enchanting, inviting piece that not only held true to the sentiment of the Lemony Snicket books, but also paid tribute to the amazing talent listed in the end credits,” said Caliri.

he succeeded

The Boston Globe describes the sequence as the “purest example of visual elegance on the big screen.”

“getting to entertain people is a luxury, and it’s fun”
In 2006 Caliri directed the Annie Award winning commercial Dragon for United Airlines. This :60 spot first shown at the 2006 Super Bowl tells a magical story of a father who after tucking his son into bed, travels to a different world on the back of a giant ‘paper’ bird. There, he meets with the knights of the round table before they head off to defeat a fire-breathing dragon. All to return to his son with a ‘miniature’ dragon in hand.

This masterpiece was shot on miniature sets, one frame at a time using digital stills and Dragon – a stop-motion software application that Jamie and his brother developed.

With absolutely no words, the story unfolds and effectively enters the hearts and minds of viewers purely through animation. Dragon will go down as one of the most elegant animated spots in the history of advertising.

“it’s a dream job for me”

Jamie is currently working on The Sun And The Seed, a personal 4 minute short. Dragon software is being used now by many top stop-motion studios including Cuppa Coffee.

speaking at motion09
Jamie Caliri will be one of the ‘rock stars’ at motion09

10.11 – 10.14 2009 | abq | nm
motion | experience inspiration

………………………………..
author: elaine montoya
motion09 producer
………………………………..
copyright: © 2008 – 09
motion.tv

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