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DESIGN DIRECTION + DESIGN
                       



ROLE: DESIGN DIRECTOR
COLLABORATION WITH NATHAN LOVE


NICKELODEON MOVIES OPEN

The goal for this project was to create the new Nickelodeon theatrical opening sequence that would premiere at the Theaters for the Sponge on the Run Movie. In addition to premiering with the new Spongebob Movie, it would precede all upcoming Nickelodeon feature films. The in-house Nick branding team (and two outside vendors) pitched ideas for the opening sequence. The final concept was a combination of a few of our ideas from the internal team. I had the idea to start with the old adage “Why isn’t this thing working?”. Basically a lever (or button) that keeps getting pulled (or pressed) and nothing happens, until it finally sets something big into motion. And to up the ante, I always loved the prestige of the classic rooftop signs, like a sign in the sky. Living in NY, I saw the Silvercup Studios sign (ref. image below) so that was a jumping off point for the signage.

For the animation we drew inspiration from the cinematic Pose show open. For the “Nickelodeon" part of the sign we went straight up "show biz" with Marquis lights forming the sign. For the “movies” part of the sign, we tapped into the brand's heritage and went with a fluid and “slime-like” rendering. With the concept and some mock-up frames approved, we reached out to Nathan Love to animate and bring this story to life. We worked closely with Nathan Love to make sure the final product aligned and even surpassed our original vision.
Of course, with all things, once you see the answer it seems obvious but this project stands out in my mind as the one that had the most ideas thrown at it. I have never, for any other project, offered up so many different ideas and directions.  It was a fun challenege because we were digging deep on the legacy of Nickelodeon. We also kicked off the project by reviewing and by looking at a bunch of other classic Theatrical opens for research and inspo. The end result was a great little piece of content highlighting our beloved Spongebob and getting audiences hyped up for more of their favorite Sponge.
The downside of this was that, as it worked out, before this sucker could hit the theaters in 2020 the world was hit with a pandemic and shut down so everyone ended up viewing this “theatrical” show open in the comfort of their own homes instead of the theaters.

Scroll down to see some early mock-up frames and also just a small sampling of some of the other ideas and concepts that were pitched along the way.    




INSPIRATION

LOOK AND FEEL / ANIMATION  
ROOFTOP SIGN 

CONCEPT “WHY ISN”T THIS THING WORKING?
EARLY MOCK-UP FRAMES TO SELL THE IDEA
OTHER IDEAS PITCHED ALONG THE WAY THAT DIDN’T MAKE THE CUT