Focus : Newport Beach Film Festival      

The fully computer-animated opening was designed by Hall to look and feel like one of the epic stop-motion masterpieces of Terry Gilliam or Tim Burton. The content artfully presents a take-off of the strangely similar aesthetic of studio titles – like Hollywood with a dramatic twist - that welcomes viewers to Newport Beach and their 10th annual celebration of film with wit and charm.Working through Elastic and in collaboration with advertising agency RPA's creative director Scott McDonald and SVP/executive producer Gary Paticoff, Andy Hall, 3D and visual effects supervisor at VFX boutique a52 directed the festival's official :30 opening, which introduced all fare screened at the 8-day event that kicked off last week.

"Andy Hall is a mix of pure enthusiasm and sheer talent," began Scott McDonald, creative director at RPA. "Our client understood and supported what we were trying to do and believed in the artistry of the project. Elastic, Andy and a52 contributed such a sharp point of view - the very first ingredient was world class - we just kept throwing gasoline on that fire. I got to see this piece play on the biggest movie screen this side of the Mississippi and, let me tell you, it dropped some jaws."

"Being as this is the festival's 10th anniversary, the initial idea was a celebration of fanfare to the studios," Hall explained. "With that in mind, I wanted to create a narrative that took us on a journey connecting all these pieces. After much thought, it felt right to give the work a sense of style that tipped its hat to those opening fanfares - but in a whimsical way... and getting back to my roots in animation, I really wanted to create a unique vision that would make the opening something special in its own right."