This is the story of how The World’s Most Perfectly Cut Diamond® evolved. Parallax Productions partnered with Toil on this project for Hearts On Fire Diamonds. Bling bling.

The challenge of this project was to succinctly tell a story that spans 3000 years of diamond milestones. Once the concept and design was nailed down, we went into production. Millions of dollars of real diamonds lit up the live action shoot where elaborately costumed actors were shot on green screen.

In the end we created a completely stylized world, inhabited by silhouetted characters who interact with the diamonds. This piece will run in stores that Hearts On Fire is opening around the world, just in case you’re out there shopping.

Leopard Films approached Toil to produce a graphic toolkit for their new show for the Speed Network, Pumped! Game on.

For this game-show-in-a-gas-station, we created edgy and dynamic graphics that contribute to the movement of this fast-paced show. We designed all graphics for the program, including the show logo which is now printed on t-shirts, the side of the show trucks and all show collateral.

The final deliverable is a polished toolkit that allows the show producers to manipulate our designs/animations for future shows. Cars and graphics. It was like playtime at Toil.

The VIA Agency came to us with intricate 2D elements designed as currency for their client, State Street Global Advisors. It made us look at money in a whole new way.

The design challenge for this project was to create an intricate journey between all of the individual pieces on the currency, to show the pieces as they are creating the currency, and then create a fully loop-able video. Toil created 3D versions of all the elements with an eye toward precision and detail

The driving force throughout the video is a series of fluid, ribbon-like lines that glide us from one element to the next through the environment.

Mechanica brought us on board for their newest Saucony effort, a piece that demonstrates the intricate relationship between sneaker and runner. We ran with it.

The concept for this project was driven by the tagline “The Geometry of Strong” with a focus on the technical aspects of this revolutionary shoe. The chosen design features a series of geometrical shapes in which data are calculated and tracked; these infographics flow and adjust to the constant motion of the runner.

Picture Park director John Huet wielded the Phantom, shooting at ultra-high speeds (up to 2500fps) to capture the nuances of the Saucony sneaker and how it reacts with the body in motion. Accomplice cut the piece, shaping the edit to interact fluidly with graphics. Who knew geometry was so cool?

Toil’s Summer 2011 Reel

We’re sending a big shout out to everyone who called on us this past year and gave us a chance to show you our stuff. Last October we hit the ground running and we’ve enjoyed every late-

night minute of it. This is a montage of some of the projects we worked on. We can’t wait to see what year two brings.

For this Subway project, MMB asked Toil to design the promo with a fun, jungle vibe. We didn’t hesitate; we’re used to calls of the wild.

In celebration of the hi-def and 3D release of “The Lion King” from The Disney Vault, Subway teamed up with Walt Disney Studios for this Fresh Fit Meal promo.

Toil designed the promo portion with elements such as hand-painted leaves and patterned tiles inspired by African art. Hakuna Matata, people.

Our designer hand-painted leaves which we turned into full 3D models.

We focused on using traditional 2D animation principals like “squash-and-stretch” and “anticipation” to give life to the bags and coupon.

Arnold enlisted Toil to design graphics that would highlight and interact with the new sleek S60. Test drive, anyone?

This spot is all about the best-in-class features that elevate the 2012 Volvo S60 to the next level. Graphics – simple, bold, and fun – flow around the vehicle as it maneuvers the course, popping up as panels and instruments that measure speed and communicate fuel-efficiency.

The design was meant to enhance the footage without overshadowing the car itself. Playful elements were animated and then tracked into the footage to make the information feel fun and alive. Do we get what all the hype is about? Absolutely.

Our goal on MMB’s Subway / Green Lantern tie-in spot was to match the visual effects from the movie in order to cast a cosmic vibe to the featured Subway food.

In the Green Lantern movie, a special ring is the central force and when activated it produces an other-worldly green glow. After studying these green, smokey glow effects, we applied them to the real hero of this spot – the avocado.

We created the flares and glows on the main actor’s ring, and made a sandwich appear in a big green explosion at the end. Toil worked in tandem with Accomplice, who edited the piece. Several avocados were harmed in the making of this commercial.

We were thrilled when Connelly Partners invited us into the concept phase of the latest Bertucci’s campaign. The aim was to feature their signature brick oven and “The Fire Inside”. Here at Toil we’re intimately familiar with the products that come from that oven, so it wasn’t a leap to feel inspired.

Ideas are everything in this business. To that end, we lead with design on this project, presenting multiple concepts and style options to flesh out the possibilities. The chosen one showcases a CGI world that allowed us to control fire elements that interact with music and weave through the action. Check out the stills/videos below and/or read more in-depth details on the process.
See the Case Study

Chefs and servers performed on a greenscreen with tracking markers, allowing us to place them perfectly in the brick oven world.

We developed completely CG flames that moved naturally and reacted to the energetic music track.

The environment was built entirely in 3D using real photography taken at a Bertucci’s restaurant.

Hill Holliday called on us recently to put our spin on the icon of icons (especially in our hyper-caffeinated world); the Dunkin’ Donuts cup.

That was all we needed for inspiration on this animated tag. Our design and animation team explored several options; they created style boards followed by motion tests (18 to be exact).

Here you’ll see the end result, along with some of the style frames we presented. Drink up!

VIA partnered with Toil to create an animated tag for Welch’s.

Key to the concept was the introduction of a “Heart Health logo” added to Welch’s packaging during February, Heart Health month 2011. We worked with two designers and pitched six approaches with style boards, followed by motion tests of selected concepts.

The chosen one features 3D hearts that pop on screen and as they disappear they reveal the new heart featured prominently on different Welch’s products. It is a simple, clean idea that was only made more complex by the lack of an end product shot. The end card was entirely fabricated in CGI (background, products, etc.).

The table-top shot used as a base for the animation was entirely fabricated in CG because the products and labels did not exist at the time.

The vineyard fly-through was created from a single still image projected onto 3D geometry.

At Toil we like a challenge and hope to face many in our future. This is the first in a series of creative exercises intended to push our technical abilities in the storytelling realm. We gave our talented designer carte blanche to create an intriguing piece that would help to launch the Toil brand.

We rigged our samurai in 2D, allowing us to give him a natural motion with a few
control points.

The mystical particles that come from the cube consist of multiple layers of hand-
animated shapes, drawn frame by frame.

We created full 3D environments from the illustrations, allowing us to play with depth and perspective.

The challenge from Digitas: create an online piece for the launch of all new, exciting Buick Regal 2011. No pressure.

Our accomplices at…Accomplice, put together a killer edit of the car’s running footage. We designed a look, then used just about everything

in our toolbox to erase mountains, replace roads with 3D energy ribbons, and basically just amp the piece up to 11.

We had to match in 3D the actual camera move from each shot, a process called… surprisingly enough…. match-moving.

Modeling the “energy roads” in 3D to match the existing road gave us complete control over the animation.

We painted out the suspension bridge from 2 key shots to allow us to disintegrate it as the car passed over.

Quick, who is your favorite blue cube with springy arms and legs?
Don’t have one? Well now you do.

From his humble beginnings as a sketch in an engineer’s doodle-pad, to his red-carpet unveiling as a finished product, Widget puts up with more poking and prodding than any intern we’ve ever had.

Working with our client PTC, we developed his look, his personality, and his story in a way that really ties him to PTC’s brand and products.

To animate Widget, we needed the flexibility of a 3D model, but we developed a custom shader to keep that old-school pen and ink look that makes us feel 7 years old again.

We built an elaborate rig to allow Widget to move, bend, pivot, and twist with ease.

Facial expressions were key to selling the emotions of the character. We developed a system to allow the animators an easy way to control Widget’s facial features, and allowed for quick revisions up to the last minute.

Not in this case though. Vera Cruz is a metal band from France whose star is rising quickly in the underground “rock ‘n roll circuit”.

We collaborated with director Ian McFarland and D.P. Mike Pecci to give them some bite to go with their bark.

The band was shot with the RED camera on a greenscreen.

We designed and built a complex particle system to eat away at, and finally destroy, the band.

The final composite had many layers of smoke, dirt, dust, and grime to sell the look. We applied the effect to over 180 shots.