ABOUT

We’re back with a new storybook chapter in an ongoing campaign showing ‘money can create happiness’ for people, plants, and wildlife alike. It’s Ambassadors’ sixth CG animated film created for ASN Bank in collaboration with creative agency Selmore.

This time, viewers are introduced to ‘the Scapegoat’ who is on trial for eating a flower, much to the detriment of the bees who need them to pollinate. After facing prosecution from the other fable forest creatures, it’s decided by the Wise Owl that the Scapegoat also helps fertilize a rich natural world... in his own special way.

ASN Bank was recently ranked as the most sustainable bank in the Netherlands by the Social Brand Index, and throughout the campaigns’ four-year run, has shown that the value of money is determined by what you do with it. Old habits don't have to die hard when choosing a bank; you can instead choose one that invests in a cleaner environment and doesn’t work with shady regimes. In this campaign, ASN Bank wants to shake off the ‘right’ vs ‘wrong’ discussion surrounding sustainability and show that every small contribution counts.

“At Ambassadors, we see each film in this series as a challenge to push our creative approach to the next level, beyond what we’ve done in the previous films,” says director Nick Groeneveld. “For our sixth spot, we introduced multiple miniature sets and environments, lots of new characters, a crowd scene, and topped it off with that nice layer of humor.”

The original music composition we created for the very first ‘Creature of Habit’ ASN Bank film is given new life for each chapter. “This time, the tone is really set for the trial with darker tones, low brass parts, and a staccato feel,” says Head of Music Sebastiaan Roestenberg. “The doomsday forecast then brings in a dramatic and majestic choir, before the Wise Owl shares their voice of reason and we’re back to a more gentle tone with lighter and higher woodwinds, harp instrument and a beautiful soprano choir, as the starting point for the moment of relief. The Scapegoat is free!”

This was also the first project Ambassadors completed in a Wide Gamut Color Space, a VFX pipeline technique allowing for a much wider range of colours in the renders. “With this approach, we could achieve even nicer looking shots with super filmic, realistic lighting,” says CG supervisor Ralph Meijer. “This is also a way to make our work more future proof, so if there might be requirements of a HDR deliverable, we are ready for that.”

Agency: Selmore
Account Director: Tom Stoffels
RTV Producer: Jorieke de Jong
Strategy: Jeroen Senden
Design: Simone Wenth, Andrea Volkers
Creative: Diederick Hillenius, Hannah Mulder

Creative Production Studio: Ambassadors
Director: Nick Groeneveld
Creative Director: Justin Blyth
Producer: Jade Durbecker
Sound Producer: Zoë de Regt
Artist Manager: Marissa Zandvliet
Editor: Oscar Marmelstein
Colorist: Matt Hare
DOP: Floris van der Lee
Set Designer: Gatze Zonneveld
VFX Supervisor: Sil Bulterman
Lead VFX Artist: Stephen Pepper
VFX Artists: Melissa van het Spijker, Jeremy Verf, Peter van Rij
3D Supervisor: Ralph Meijer
3D Artists: Jeroen Hoolmans, Charlotte Vallet, Sjoerd de Greef, Jonathan Krijgsman, Jeroen Cloosterman, Ralph Meijer, Dimos Hadjisavvas
3D Animation: Nick Groeneveld, Lewis van der Werf
Lead Designer: Maureen van der Hout
Designer: Rachelle Slingerland
Layout & Storyboard: Rachelle Slingerland
Character Design: Maureen van de Hout, Rachelle Slingerland
Sound Designer: Joep Meijburg
Composer: Sebastiaan Roestenburg