The New Blank is proud of its family members and their fantastic creative ideas. To empower them to keep exploring and express their thoughts, the production company “obsessed with making beauty that stands apart from the crowd while delivering well-crafted messaging” poured the foundation of a structure, where creative directors, animators, and producers are encouraged to let their ideas flow (and maybe inspire others to let their imagination roam free).
The Looper Projects emerged, an initiative that, as its name suggests, presents scenes that take place in a loop. The rules of the “game” are simple: Everyone who participates has to create a piece that fits a given theme; the projects have to be relatively short, between 5 and 15 seconds; and they should reflect the techniques used by the artists. The pressure is even more challenging, as the creatives need to keep it under 20 hours of work, start to finish.
“When TNB was just a glint in our eyes, one of the things Sevrin and I were keen on was creating a space for creative thought and expression,” says Bobby Hougham, Co-Founder of The New Blank. “Whether that expression was through animation, design, music, sculpture or film making didn’t matter. It was all about the ideation, concept, story, and expression.”
The Seattle-based company refers to the current pandemic crisis as a tunnel. But, as with most tunnels, there is the other side, the one where we will eventually come out. “We have seen leaders attempt to guide their nations, states, and cities through this experience with wildly varying levels of success. Some are spinning false hope or making light of the issue ignoring the pain this is causing. Others are recognizing how bad it is while encouraging the population to remain vigilant to the cause and not losing sight of their hope in the future,” says the agency on its page.
Their focus is on the latter scenario, seeking to reach the other side of the tunnel in the not-too-distant future. This is how the “Emergence” theme was born, which can address whatever the artist chooses, from COVID-19 recovery to a butterfly escaping from its cocoon.
The first film, “Galactic,” is imagined by Director / Creative Director Eric Edwards. Set in outer space, the action features an astronaut who emerges from his planet, embarking on an exploration of the universe. He is then absorbed by the same planet from which he “escaped,” and the action repeats. For his creation, the director was inspired by the comic book illustrations of Alexis Ziritt and Jack Kirby.
Having spent this summer in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Marcus Kulik documented police brutality and street life in the heart of the CHOP. His story is narrated through a window. His ideas can be seen in “Rear Window,” a scene where locals come together to breathe life into their environment, only to find out that it is ephemeral.
“TNB has a culture of artistic freedom as well as constant refinement,” adds Co-Founder Sevrin Daniels. “We love it when one of ours goes out on a bizarre tangent, and we also love getting together to figure out how to make that wild form better. It’s a process that bonds and unites the team, especially while working remotely.”
Are you ready to immerse yourselves in these cosmic and urban environments and experience art on a loop?
Credits:
Galactic
Director: Eric Edwards
Design: Eric Edwards
Illustration: Eric Edwards, Lena Lee
Animation: Eric Edwards, Ben Strickland
Color: Eric Edwards
Rear Window
Design/Animation: Marcus Kulik
Modelling: Marcus Kulik, Ryan Davies
Story: Marcus Kulik, Eric Edwards, Bobby Hougham
Sound Design: Dave Hummel
Color: Marcus Kulik