AWS Campaign

This campaign was our first venture into the character animation realm. The GitHub Animation Team, which consisted of João Ribeiro, myself and our design director Cameron McEfee, created an animated short to symbolically represent the software feature, AWS.

Your code would continue to live in the cloud but GitHub was simplifying the AWS setup process. The result was cloud implementation at rocket-propelled speeds…so we strapped a jetpack to Mona and shot her into the stratosphere.

Preproduction

The animation process is just as laborious as it is fun. The research and visual development needs are extensive, particularly for the first animation. Character turnarounds, expression sheets, color scripts, backgrounds and special effects all need to be defined.

Billboards

This campaign included another first for GitHub, billboards. The company leased a handful of billboard locations across the Bay Area. We split the allotted time into two different images, before and after. The “before” image was Mona perched on the edge of a tunnel, backlit by the sky, ready for take off. We mimicked the Invertocat symbol in silhouette for easy recognition, but we aimed to be subtle in order to illicit interest and a conversation. The “after” billboards were released the day the software feature released. It showed Mona strapped to a jetpack flying high in the clouds.

My Role

• Project Lead

• Co-director

• Writer

• Animator

• Illustrator