So imagine our delight when Ogvily NY gave us the chance to create a call-to-action animation for the very worthy non-profit cause, Schools That Can.

It stars a seat.

A simple, unadorned classroom seat that millions upon millions of students sit in every day, every year, everywhere. From that seat, kids can not only dream about their future but take the first steps to realizing their potential.

Deep Thoughts

The point: With quality education, students can go from that humble classroom seat to any seat they can imagine.

“I wanted to approach this piece in a way that would be fun for kids and adults,” Ding said. “I hope it brings back youthful memories of dreaming without boundaries.”

At a time when many educational non-profits are focusing on the failure of schools, budget cuts and high drop-out rates, the Schools That Can video focuses on just the opposite.

Half full

“By emphasizing hope and celebrating accomplishment, we can deliver a positive message in an environment too often focused on failure,” said Schools That Can CEO Michael Druckman. “All children can receive a quality education and become all they aspire to.”

Leveraging the power and reach of social networks, the video will run on Twitter, Facebook, You Tube and on the Schools That Can website. The video will also be played for potential donors.

The goal is to boost awareness and support locally and abroad. However, the long-term goal, says Druckman, is to get people involved with their local schools and communities, changing the standards so that “quality education becomes the norm.”

Schools That Can is made up of over 100 district, charter, independent and faith-based schools serving over 35,000 children nationwide. For more information, visit www.schoolsthatcan.org. Or on Twitter at @schoolsthatcan.

Interview with Gerald Ding, Creative Director

The spot is very playful, youthful and imaginative. Can you please discuss how you approached this project and the visual style of the spot?

I’ve always loved how kids see things and how they try to explain them back to other people. It’s a point of view that’s honest and not always flattering, but it fascinates me how a drawing can be so funny or exciting by being so simple and with no intention at all. I wanted to approach this piece in a way that would be fun for kids and adults. Maybe more in a reminiscent way for adults, but the optimism and dreamer like perspective is still the same for both I feel.

The “seat” is really the star. Can you discuss the visual flow of the narrative that built up around the seat?

We wanted the school chair to illustrate how a kids imagination combined with education could lead to whatever they dreamed of becoming. The “seat” became a starting point for each scenario and we loved the iconic shape of the plastic school chair. We played with its negative space and colors to transition into a another world where common school objects were fused with a child’s running imagination, wide-eyed and ready to explore.

Anything else you’d like to tell me about this spot?

I hope this brings back youthful memories of dreaming without boundaries and that the message of Schools That Can will continue to spread. Meeting Michael Druckman and his team was very inspiring, their cause that they shared with us was a nice motivation to create something that we’ve become emotionally invested in. We’ve also been working with Ogilvy for years on different brands so collaborating with Sean, Luke and Karen was really refreshing, sharing a lot of our influences and what we’re passionate about made this project a playful exercise that we all feel really good about.
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Style Frames

We’ve been directing live action for a decade. Our recently updated Live Action portfolio is just the tip of a massive iceberg. We’re constantly producing live action work, but much of it flies under the radar. This past weekend, for example, our spot for Panasonic and agency Arnold Worldwide aired four times during the Kentucky Derby.

Business as Unusual

At Psyop, we are intensely collaborative. From pitch to delivery, we work as a unit. That’s why our director credit is always “Psyop,” not an individual person.

That goes against the grain of the usual way of doing things. It requires a paradigm shift to think of a bi-coastal studio as a single individual. But we’re sticking to it. It’s who we are.

More is More

It’s also abnormal to put pure live action work alongside fully animated CG work. Usually, a director specializes in one or the other. We happen to specialize in both.

Expect to see more live action work from us — and more of the animation and vfx work you’ve come to love. We’re just getting started. Here’s to decade number two.

For this Friday Eargoggles installment, it’s time for something different. It’s time to laugh. And if you don’t laugh at this, it’s okay. It just means there’s something wrong with you. And that is totally normal.

Introducing Superego, quite possibly the funniest podcast ever created since the advent of podcasts, which, if we’re being honest with ourselves, really isn’t that long. Superego is a comedy podcast anchored by Jeremy Carter and Matt Gourley with regular contributors Mark McConville and Jeff Crocker. A parade of guest comedians include Paul F. Tompkins, Patton Oswalt, Jason Sudeikis, John Hodgman and Greg Proops, among many others.

There’s no real way to prepare you for the absurdist hilarity of Superego other than to say that they curse an awful lot and make many, many inappropriate jokes. So if that stuff bothers you, you can either instantly expand your horizons or browse a safer blog.

Listen

Below is the greatest hits of Supergo Season 3. At the Superego website, you’ll find a half dozen additional ways to ingest the program.

Big props to David Hobizal for introducing Superego to my AV drip.