Love, Death & Jon Yeo’s Latest Work

An action-packed, catastrophic, and robot-filled future is coming — and Jon Yeo’s gonna introduce you to it.

Yeo, along with Axis Animation, has created an episode of the futuristic Netflix Original show, Love, Death & Robots. The episode, titled “Helping Hand,” is filled with hyper-realistic animations of space and humanity, thanks to the dynamic and imaginative team over at Axis Studios.

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Presented as an animated anthology series, Love, Death & Robots presents a cynical technology-dependent future similar to that of Black Mirror, but with the vivid graphics of your favourite cartoons and the NSFW themes of the R-rated films your parents never let you watch.

The show is produced by Oscar-nominated director David Fincher and Deadpool director Tim Miller, which explains the show’s mature way of handling violence and sex. However, those two also add the signature dark undertone running through each episode, even as they range from nihilistic to optimistic, humorous to dreary. Like an animated, explicit, adult, and more sci-fi version of Black Mirror, the show discusses topics from alien invasions, to post-apocalyptic underground worlds, and even futuristic tech and modifications, such as a yoghurt take-over.

Yeo’s episode veers on the more realistic, and slightly optimistic. Taking place in the depths of space, just above Earth, “Helping Hand” is best-described by Wired as “a zero-G rendition of 127 Hours.” The episode centers around an astronaut named Alex, who becomes stranded in space and must decide whether she’ll make a serious sacrifice before her oxygen runs out.

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To describe the episode as visually pleasing and exhilarating would be an understatement. Yeo shifts from full shots, close-ups, and point-of-view shots, allowing viewers to not just undergo Alex’s struggle with her, but also understand the true vastness and isolation of space. Coupled with Axis’ stunning CGI animation of space, “Helping Hand” highlights Yeo’s brilliance at capturing the tension and deep emotions.

Love, Death & Robots joins the list of Yeo’s collaborations with Axis, and the even-longer list of Yeo’s own work with visual effects and animation. Yeo’s background in graphic design is apparent in his work, allowing him to develop a confident visual edge and distinctive signature style. It’s that very specific style that’s resulted in Yeo working with big names such as BBC, ITV, MTV, and Disney. He’s also created commercials for Heinz, Microsoft, The Guardian, and Marvel to name a few.

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With Love, Death & Robots, Yeo’s aesthetic is at the forefront. Imaginative, futuristic, and groundbreaking, “Helping Hand” evokes the same awe and wonder that films such as Gravity brought, except in animation.

To put it simply, Yeo shows us that him, and his talent, are out-of-this-world.

Check out the trailer for Love, Death & Robots below, and head over to Netflix to watch “Helping Hand”!

Nicholas Reynolds directs two new spots for KFC

What does your Grandma’s sweater, a magician and KFC have in common? The answer is Nicholas Reynolds. 

He is back directing two new quirky and vibrant spots for the Australian KFC market.

In the commercial, you see the protagonist in different scenarios comparing the KFC chicken to Grandmas TLC and a magician’s secret. 

Fun, tasty and a little bit weird, Nicholas Reynolds continues to show us more depth to his comedic filmmaking.

Take a look at more of his work by clicking here.

Tom Brown joins The Visionaries

The Visionaries have just expanded their extraordinary roster - please welcome, the imaginative and multi-talented, Tom Brown!

With a wealth of experience in post-production and live action, Brown’s skill set spans a diverse and wide range.

Brown has done everything from technical composition to motion graphics, to designing and illustrating for campaigns. He’s done spots for Channel 4 and 5, as well as BBC.

In the last few years, Brown has dived into the realm of writing and directing, working with brands such as Curry’s, Gumtree, and Captain Morgan.

Regardless of what role he plays, Brown always brings his off-kilter humour, bright and bold visual style, and playful animations to his work, creating an almost Edgar-Wright-like vibe to a lot of his work.  

Recently, Brown has just created 4 new spots for NatWest. The hilarious, bold, and quirky ads star an Anchorman-esque mascot titled The Dean of Downtime, who aims to give students more fulfilling experiences. Brown has added his own personal goofy and colourful charm onto these ads, making them all the more memorable and spectacular.

We can’t wait to see what other one-of-a-kind innovative work Brown will create in the future.

Johnny Han writes, directs and produces Crypt TV's 'Terra'

Creative visionary Johnny Han has added another masterpiece to his impressive and diverse repertoire.

Han, a multi-Emmy award-winning director and creator, has recently created a short horror film commissioned by Crypt TV, a well-renowned entertainment company backed by Jason Blum known for “distributing horror themed digital content.”

Han wrote, produced, and directed the short film “Terra,” about a Mother Nature incarnate that possesses the elements and takes revenge on those who have wronged the earth. Released only a little over a month ago, the video has racked up over a million views in its first week in its Facebook release, and now has over 800,000 views on YouTube.

“Terra” is just the latest addition to Han’s ever-growing list of works. Han first made a splash in the industry through his VFX work, lending his unique touch to blockbusters such as 2012, Star Trek: Into Darkness, and Pacific Rim. He’s also won two Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on the TV show, Heroes, as well as a Daytime Emmy last year for his work in, Lost in Oz.

In the past few years, however, Han has started to cross over into live-action directing, primarily working on commercials and the occasional music video. A few notable works include spots for Jaguar, McDonald’s, and the Ghost in the Shell game. Recently, Han shot an ad for Philips Shavers X Star Wars limited collection.

Regarding his shift into directing, Han says that while he will always love VFX work, directing has given him “a more expansive creative playing field to truly dream up stories that go beyond pixels on the screen.” To Han, all the higher stakes are “hands down worth it” when considering his “opportunity to affect people.”

Han states that commercials were perfect to dive into live-action directing since it involves the “same production professionalism” as VFX, involving the ability “to objectively understand [the] client’s intentions… [while] at the same time injecting just enough of [his] own personal creative fervour into the process.” Describing this skill as “the most valuable thing [he] learned in 18 years of VFX,” Han appears to be applying it perfectly to his current works.

A quadruple-threat, Han’s just beginning to show us all the tricks he has up his sleeve.

23lunes directors Jordi&Bor join The Visionaries

Hold the phone, we now represent not one, but two Directors! 

The Visionaries roster continues to evolve, with the addition of 3 other new directors (Jamie Lane, Hardey Speight and Chris Ullens) we can’t contain our excitement about adding Jordi Garcia and Bor Arroyo (Jordi&Bor) to our talented roster.

Known for their studio 23lunes (formerly known as post23), the creative due based in Barcelona, specialise in animation spots, movies and video game cinematics. They have won numerous awards and international acclaim from their two amazing animated commercials for Audi. 

Those two films have won 23 awards at the El Sol Advertising Festival, one bronze at the WARC Awards and a bronze at Cannes Lions, just to name a few. The iconic duo have now collated more than 60 awards, making them the most awarded animation directors in Spain.

They are now looking to make a huge impression in London, when speaking to co-founder Jordi García, he said: “I cannot wait to start working in the UK hand in hand with The Visionaries, we are excited to see what we can bring to the table in this country!” 

Check out their incredible showreel here. 

Borderland join The Visionaries

Borderland have joined The Visionaries for representation. The outfit, residing on Shacklewell lane, join the roster after paving an impressive launch in 2017. A versatile collective, their work is rich and varied, yet everything they shoot has an edgy feel with a highly crafted aesthetic. 

Hard to define but easy to work with, Borderland is a modern, independent creative collective. Formed by award-winning directors, Borderland draws on over 20 years’ experience at top UK agencies, working with some of the world’s biggest brands. They specialise in a creative and flexible approach to cross platform content, from story development to distribution. Their network of creative talent reaches beyond the traditional advertising arena. They are filmmakers, editors, writers, journalists, and musicians. They are unique in their blended backgrounds, from advertising to story research and development, they are creatives who make each story richer with their individual talents and life experience.

Perhaps they are best defined in their own words... 'We believe our modern approach to filmmaking is not only critical for the current market but also effective in creative integrity and craft. We are confident our unique marriage of nimble and agile teams, along with rigorous craft and attention to detail, is a winning solution for all channels, from high profile TV commercials, to longer form online campaigns, to feature length documentaries.'

You can view more of Borderland's work here.

Martin Bennett Directs Slick New Spot for Ford Mustang

Martin Bennett has directed a new spot showing off the new Ford Mustang. The ad shows off the Mustang's 'Driving Experience' and was shot on location in the South of France at the Paul Ricard racetrack. Speaking on the spot, Martin said, 'I’m thrilled about this project as the Mustang is a truly beautiful car, it looks fast without even turning a wheel! The Mustang screams fun, so I’m super excited about working with it and bringing it to life.'

You can view the rest of Martin's work here.

Credits:

Director - Martin Bennett
Producer - Keiko Nagai
DOP - Jean-Baptiste Jay
1st AD - Jeremy Kincaid-Smith

Agency - GTB
CD - Nigel Edginton-Amor
CD - Richard Last
Agency Producer -Alison Cummins