Taylor James has been a key part of the explosion of digital creativity in the UK, at the heart of the Shoreditch creativity hub and the rise of tech city bringing a multitude of new, innovative ways to create digital imagery. Now we’re continuing in the same vein across the pond in our NYC office too. Throughout this time, we’d like to think we’ve become pretty good at recognizing brilliant digital art. So it is with our pleasure to announce, that Glen Taylor, founder of Taylor James and overall head honcho is on the panel of judges for Lurzer’s 200 Best Digital Artists Special! Soon to be released, you’ll get to see the cream of the crop from across the globe. Upon viewing the mighty array of imaginative, extraordinarily creative work, Glen muses;

“Year on year the quality of digital submissions just keeps getting better. It’s so inspiring to see our industry grow and grow, as individuals and companies like ours just keep pushing the boundaries of the way we are using mixed media.”

This is a competition that focuses on digital creativity, who can create the most stunning pieces of digital art. It isn’t about who can airbrush out the permanent frown on Ann Widdecombe’s face or make Kim Kardashians bum look anymore enormous, it’s about creating a visual treat to the eyes. We’re really excited to see what hidden gems are going to be unearthed this year. To see the most talented people in the industry blossoming and getting quality recognition is what it’s all about!

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The shots Awards are behind us for another year and we saw some fantastic work yet again by everyone involved.  There were some very well deserved winners and of course some undeserved losers as well!

Creating work that will ultimately win awards is rarely the goal of agencies and production companies. Here at Taylor James we feel passionately about how awards shape creativity in the advertising world today and want to support this whenever possible.

For example, the previously mentioned Shots Awards! We particularly LOVE this award ceremony, an event that caters specifically to London based studios. Our nearest and dearest, the people and studios around us that really help sculpt our own work.

For the event we created our own bespoke photo booth designed to snap up your own drunken photos and memories of the night. Be sure to check them out here so you can see the embarrassing photos of yourself either A.) Having drunk to much B.) Sloppily getting with your co-worker C.) Slamming blue crystal meth in private D.) All of the above.

But we didn’t just sponsor the event so we could procure dubious photos of our competitors for blackmail purposes. We truly believe that awards help bolster everybody’s creativity as well.  Friendly competition between studios drives us as individuals to strive for better results.  A little competition never hurts anyone! Furthermore, going to these awards serves as great inspiration for the next season of Ads as well.

With all the talk about account planning, and integrated marketing, and flying under the radar, and “The New Media” it’s sometimes easy to forget what this business is about — exciting ads. We can’t forget that. And it’s why we’ll always need advertising award shows.

We live in a time where Ads are intrinsically interwoven with British culture. The John Lewis ads for example are becoming as much a staple of Christmas time as Turkey, Tinsel and re runs of Elf on channel 5.  The industry has evolved into contemporary storytellers rather than just selling people objects. Taylor James is really at the forefront of this massive metamorphosis.

We are living in the era of the ideas economy, and creativity matters.

Looking past Christmas time, towards the Grand National, we teamed up with Loaf to create something that really evokes the excitement, tradition and wonder that is The Great Race.  The film can be viewed here, which proves we’re not just all mouth and no trousers.  We’re making things that affect peoples base emotions. Of course, none of this would be possible without award ceremonies! The inspiration, competition and collaboration from others around us really boost our own work as well. Which of course brings us back to why we helped sponsor the Shots Awards.

With plenty of award ceremonies around the corner, don’t be afraid to come up to us for a chat. We’re always willing to collaborate, inspire and be inspired by the creative world around us. We’re really excited to show how we’ve been evolving, growing and blossoming and would love to share it with others. So keep an eye out for us, and watch this space!

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Taylor James last weekend helped direct, produce and shoot a new live action music video for the up and coming band; Amber Run.  The video itself revolved around the most brutish of blood sports, Bare Knuckle Fighting, and after looking at some of the raw footage the result is going to be as badass. It was such an energetic experience that had to be shared.

This was my first experience at being on a proper hands on full shoot. The commotion, noise and activity were contagious. Everyone was racing around, manically preparing the set.  When the extras and professional fighters finally arrived, these guys looked like they’d been lifted straight off a council estate in the not so trendy parts of the East End. They looked like they could down a fair few pints of Stellas; kick their staffie about before groping your girlfriend in front of you. They definitely looked the part.

It was a long day, with plenty of retakes. But nobody minded. The shots were beautiful and well composed, which was in stark opposition to the action within the shots. The quick animalistic movements, and the intensely loud noises really reinforced how bloody thirsty the competitors were.

This is the type of work you can be proud to be in. Something exciting, brash and to be honest, quite edgy.

It’s a thrilling time to be part of Taylor James, seeming them take on these more artistic and experimental briefs as they dare to take on briefs that many other established production companies are too scared to take.

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The calibre of commercials, animation, editing and direction presented gets better every year. We also noticed how well represented London is, the city is well deserving of the accolade of one of the world’s creative hubs.

Check out the shortlist and winners at www.shotsawards.com. Bravo all! We’re loved schmoozing and donning our finest amongst the well deserved and talented winners this year. Here’s to another year of the shots awards!

P.S  We’ll share some pics from the photo booth once they are published on Facebook. Watch out party goers!

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The reason why I find it so compelling is simple. It reminds me in the most cliche but sincere way  of my youth. Those thirty fences spaced over two circuits at Aintree were when I felt incredibly close to my father. The week before the race, year upon year I would speak to him about it exclusively. We really connected over the magic and thrill that anything could happen in the race.  Something about The Grand National separated itself from the generally negative views of gambling and horse racing. The Grand National had a sense of regality and legend.

We would pour over the back pages of the newspapers, looking at the colourfully weird jerseys reminiscent of medieval coats of arms where we would pick our knights for battle. I would invariably pick the most colourful jockeys, regardless of the odds. My father meticulously studying the stats, the backgrounds, consulting my grandfather if the the horse he picked matched his ‘system of success’ (an algorithm he had spent many years constructing to always predict the winner).

Jockey jerseys or a coat rack in a bar in Shoreditch?

Once we had chosen, we’d rush to the high street betting shop. Normally filled with odd balls and the hopeless, on the day of The Grand National the betting shop was buzzing with life. The video really touches on this. The nation becomes electrified by The National. From the jockeys to the £1 punters, the whole world is watching, 600 million in 140 countries across the globe in fact.

The video really shows the unpredictability of the race, the underdog or even the unheard of stand a chance of winning. Whether we won or lost, it was something me and my father enjoyed incredibly.

Moreover, the campaign wants to show how The Grand National isn’t just one day. You have The Grand Opening, Ladies Day and The Grand National. This isn’t just a few minutes shouting at a TV in William Hill, it’s a part of British culture, history and traditional. An event that isn’t just a piece of many of my own happy memories but probably yours as well.

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My first foray into the wonderful world of ‘networking’ with the delightfully interesting talk; Demystifying VFX at The Foundry, with Paul Simpson and Shervin Shogian. It  went exactly as I thought it would. Rife with anxiety and awkwardness on my side, fascinating knowledge on the other. But on the plus side, free canapés and beer, so it wasn’t all bad…

I was tasked earlier that day to go to The Foundry to listen to VFX experts Paul Simpson and Shervin Shoghian. It was my first day as the new intern and  I was to listen, learn, and importantly, network. I tried to do all three, mostly unsuccessfully, but I tried.

How I envisioned ‘Networking’

My first hurdle was the reception. Something that should, in theory, be pretty easy. But in practise was not. My name wasn’t on the list. Bollocks.  I thought the well kept receptionist behind the desk  would have demanded for me to leave, to get out, to stop trying to free load the ‘artisan’ fish and chips on a stick (which coincidently were quite tasty) but all she uttered was “oh, maybe you RSVP’d late, go in.”  Funnily enough it wasn’t such a big deal. Who knew. Most people probably.

Opening the big double doors I was greeted by a boy similar in age as me, but was better dressed/groomed asking me if “Sir wanted a drink?”. Having just finished university and taking a string of internships it’s safe to say I am dirt poor. Actually dirt has value. So poorer than that. I’d have accepted a free anything. Which I did. All night.

Having digested various deconstructed traditionally working class meals on a stick (Fish and chips, burgers, pie and mash all skewered through the middle) and countless Italian beers (to the point where the waiters stopped asking me if I wanted a top up and just assumed I did) in the dark corner of the room I was ready to ‘network’.

Scattered across the room were the uber cool and stylish 30 something professionals chatting with each other about how their first child Damascus was learning Final Cut 7  and not X like those other plebs even though he was only 6, or how well their VFX company was doing in the current financial climate in comparison to those arrogant ad agencies . I was a little intimated by the situation.  All I had to talk about professionally was how I managed a tough liaison with a client in a corporate setting. AKA getting into the VFX talk. But spurred on by Dutch courage I was ready.

I wandered around the room feeling like one of those kids that ate glue and had suspicious looking yoghurt stains on his woollen jumper, desperately wanting to hang out with the cool kids at lunch time. It didn’t really work. I stayed on the peripheries of the groups, laughed at the jokes I didn’t quite get, spilled beer onto my trainers and quickly got bored. Networking wasn’t for me at the moment. Especially when there’s all this free food and drink about. Seriously. I think I ate my weight in pretentiously presented food on a stick. I’m sure I ate a scotch egg on a skewer at one point. A scotch egg is designed to be eaten with no cutlery, skewer or otherwise.

How I felt

Finally settling down into my seat, despite all my melodramatic and frankly stupid ramblings I listened to an incredibly interesting talk about VFX.

Paul Simpson was particularly engrossing. Creator of Simon The Ogre an advert for Thompson Holidays he talked about how “The story was king!” and the best way to convey stories is through emotion. Using various techniques, he’s made the audience care about cheap and disappointing holidays to Alicante, which too me is amazing. Furthermore, he went on to talk about how CGI is just a very small process of the story, stating that “Prosthetics are supreme”. They created a beautifully complex prosthetic suit that took hours of sweaty labour to take on and off just to create a more realistic image. He also made sure to not cover the actors eyes in anyway just so that the real human emotions conveyed in the eyes couldn’t be ignored. This ad really was a piece of art. He hired a classically trained sculptor to help create the look of simon, moulding his features into soft clay, a man used to crafting objects society views as high art.

Shervin Shoghian also showed some extremely interesting work, even if at this point the large amounts of canapés were making my stomach tumble and the beers making it grumble. He showed extracts of his own film ‘shhh’ a short film that really explores the parameters of CGI and how it’s not confined to big budget hollywood companies but rather it can now be utilised by smaller companies as CGI is becoming more and more cost effective. He also stressed the importance that CGI is a tool not a crutch, use it when you need to, to help the storyline along rather than the main focus point. He created a terrifying monster,  made out of physical work and adorned it with visual effects. The result was pretty unsettling.

Shervin Shoghian’s Monster

The whole talk was immensely interesting. It was genuinely engaging and I felt I learnt a lot from some real experts in the industry. I also realised that networking is tricky and free food and drink is always a no brainer.

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Creativity
In the hands of skilled artists CGI can deliver a world of possibilities that would often be stifled if they had to be captured for real.  In our CGI world anything is possible.  We can create complete environments where the laws of physics are put on hold. You want world where rain flows back from the ground and into the clouds, no problems.  The opportunities really are only limited by the imagination of the creatives involved in the concept.

Costs
CGI is becoming more cost effective all of the time but the important thing is to use it for what it is good for and as a part of an overall production workflow.
If CG assets are created well, they can be reused time and time again across different locations and creative ideas.  The creation of a good initial model is an investment that a company should consider across the lifecycle of the product, not just on that individual campaign.

When TJ consider a clients creative requirements we will always seek the most suitable production solution and will often combine CGI with photographic content to form the best possible final result.

Flexibility
CG provides the perfect environment where you are no longer restricted by the weather, seasons or availability of physical prototypes.  The Automotive sector has really pushed the adoption of CG over the last 10 years and the reason has been flexibility.

Flexibility to remove weather days from expensive shoots with many crew members. Flexibility to create multiple versions of a vehicle in different locations, in different colours at different times of the year without ever having to leave the studio. This flexibility has now transferred from Automotive to mainstream products.

Message Consistency
Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of CG is in the consistency of message that its use can enable. Clients no longer think of print, digital and broadcast advertising as separate media.  We are all constantly connected as we go about our everyday life with digital screens, display panels and advanced mobile devices.

Using CG assets can allow you to extend common brand messaging across all of these media ensuring that your product or service is described with a consistent visual message.

Why use CGI? It can bring your ideas to life better than many other disciplines and more efficiently too.

For examples, read some of our ‘Making Of” case studies.

If you’d like to discuss an idea and see if this is the right method for you, just get in touch with one of the experts at Taylor James. You need not be fearful of the process, we will explain every stage and be there to guide and advise every step of the way.

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We worked with the brand, its agencies and fashion photographer, Kristian Schuller, on the cross-media campaign to launch the impressively smart phone. With a seamless combination of photography, CGI and VFX, the vibrant global campaign, playing on Vertu’s English heritage, launched across digital and print media ahead of the Christmas present buying season.

With magazine spreads in the luxury and lifestyle press ahead of Christmas, Vertu’s lead digital agency, AKQA, created a microsite and social media content. TJ worked closely with Vertu and both agencies to guarantee a truly integrated campaign.

Planning the print and digital executions in harmony, the CGI elements including the product and butterflies were mapped out in advance to enable to renowned photographer Kristian Schuller to be creative on set, in full knowledge of the technical requirements. TJ Technical Director, David Wortley, provided VFX supervision on the three majestic sets; handling the pre-visualisation, tracking and advising on set assembly. Once the environments were shot, the award-winning studio was then able to integrate the phones, add the effects and control the post-production in-house.

Each Constellation smartphone is built from fine materials, handmade in England by a single craftsman. The luxurious calf leather selected for its feel and natural grain, the polarizing sapphire crystal screen and titanium case were all reproduced in CGI by TJ to exacting details.

“Supplied with CAD data, we created a 3D model that includes the subtleties of manufacturing and handcrafting that make a product look authentic.” David Wortley, TJ’ Technical Director, explains. “Creating the hand stitched calf leather, grade 5 titanium and sapphire crystal, this 3D model is indistinguishable from the real thing. It is used across all media so we had to develop the virtual materials at extremely high levels of detail and to large resolutions to ensure the quality is maintained close up.” The smartphone looks immaculate within the three larger than life fantasy tales across the campaign, from print, digital, interactive and in-store and across the microsite.

The subtleties of the motion elements bring the print layouts to life on screen, a strong example of premium integrated campaign design, without the need for gimmicks. ‘Extraordinary Craftsmanship’ is set in a couture factory. A lady inspired by the couture house is sitting on the sewing machine, with butterflies flying from the machine onto the larger than life dress worn by a cat. Wortley continues, “We built CGI butterflies to flutter around the dress and added animation to create movement, depth and realism. Repurposing the core 3D phone asset we built for the stills also enabled us to easily animate these elements for the digital executions of the campaign.”

Another of Schuller’s visions is a masculine, powerful rhino sitting on his motorbike. He is an eccentric character, sitting in the stately home. VFX such as the smoke were added to the motion version of this image, maximising the use of assets to support Vertu’s brand identity and key messaging.

The campaign is a striking example of how CGI and traditional photography can work hand-in-hand to deliver highly creative multi-platform campaigns and how one studio can help agencies and brands come together on this exemplary cross-platform campaign.

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45-47 Underwood Street, Hoxton, London, N1 7LG

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Landscapes with a twist strike a cord with drivers in this far-reaching press and poster campaign. JWT’s concept required real and imagined worlds to unite.

We worked up a 3D model to prove the concept at pre-production stage, and then Andy Glass went to shoot at Atlantic Road, Norway, and in the Docklands, London, whilst we developed the CGI. This seamless integration of disciplines, and a little retouching magic, shows how an intelligent approach from the start can bring a concept alive.

We were approached by one of our long-term partner photographers, Andy Glass, armed with a project from JWT for their client Shell, and were instantly attracted to the strong visual concept for this press and poster campaign. There was no doubt that a strong partnership between photography and CGI was needed to achieve this creative imagery.

The brief was to produce 2 still shots, one on the Atlantic Road in Norway and the other in the Docklands, London, each requiring a photographic backplate with a CGI hero element to be built and superimposed by our retouch team. We created a test using location photographs and a simple 3D model to prove that we could achieve such seamless integration of looping CGI roads into photography; thus awarding us the project!

Remote-desktop viewing allowed us to communicate with Andy real-time so that he could direct our CGI artist back in the studio to see how different angles would look with different lenses.

Entering the parameters of Andy’s Phase One IQ180 camera, we could place the camera anywhere without having to move an entire crew around, find the best lens avoiding any perspective distortion and use our GPS calibrated sun system to show what time of day would capture the best light.

As everything had been well thought out and planned, the retouching of these shots was straightforward. The backplates were comped and a large Yacht that had moored up in our spiral shot was removed. Andy captured the vehicles retrospectively, once the CG scene setups were approved, so the cars sat perfectly within each scene.

The result is two stunning images that are a perfect example of CGI and photography working hand in hand. Andy Glass worked closely with our retouch team to direct the shots and supply pre-comps and comments at each round of feedback. The whole process was very smooth and with everything captured in correct perspective, the elements naturally sat together, adding the extra 10% of realism which is essential to make these composites of images look real.

The campaign is running globally in press and poster including 48sheet billboards.

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