Sandbox Films

Sandbox Films is a documentary studio focused on the scientific world with a small, passionate team. Defined by “A Culture of Questioning,” they’ve released some of recent years’ most memorable science documentaries, including Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds, directed by Werner Herzog, and All Light, Everywhere, directed by Theo Anthony; the latter film even won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Nonfiction Experimentation at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.  

Agency: GrandArmy
Creative Direction: Lauren King
Design: Lauren King, Joe Haddad, Mai Saito
Animation: Ian Crane, Mai Saito
 
🏆 The animation won a 2020 Type Directors Club award in the Motion/TV/Visual Design category. 🏆

View full case study ☞ here

February 16th, 2021

Supercluster Explains: Citizen Science

Supercluster Explains is a video series that illuminates basic space science concepts using short, easy-to-understand animations. This episode explains how big science questions can be answered with the help of ordinary people, without scientific backgrounds.

Citizen Science projects leverage the power of the internet to accomplish large scientific tasks, so our educational video on the subject did the same. Recycling, rebuilding, and remastering internet and personal computing artifacts, instead of starting with storyboards.

This was a blast to make.

Agency: Supercluster
Design: Tristan Dubin, Renee Freiha
Animation: Ian Crane & the rest of the internet

April 20th, 2021

Virgin Orbit x Supercluster: Airlaunch Explained

Virgin Orbit is on a mission to make space more accessible through AirLaunch — a transformative new launch system capable of launching a rocket from anywhere on Earth.

Supercluster was asked to help explain what sets Airlaunch apart. We created a short film that explains the history and future of Airlaunch, and the impact this technology will have on the rapidly expanding New Space economy.

Using a mix of hand-drawn cel animation, stop motion, and archival footage, we make the case that 35 thousand feet in the air might just be the best place to launch a rocket.

Agency: Supercluster
Creative Direction/Design: Michael Stone, Tim Mele
Illustration: Tim Mele, Michael Stone
Animation: Ian Crane, Tim Mele
Music: Ari Trautmann
  
View full case study ☞ here

February 16th, 2021

Supercluster Explains: Hypergolic Propellants

Supercluster Explains is a video series that illuminates basic space science concepts using short, easy-to-understand animations. This episode dives into rocket fuel!

August 22nd, 2023

Analog:Shift Brand Animation - ‘Stealing Time Itself’

“Stealing Time Itself” is a new, animated short heist film GrandArmy created for Analog:Shift. Basically, we got the team back together for one, last, big score…

Flying cars, Extend-O-Guns, robotic sharks… this project was an absolute delight to work on. This is all thanks to an incredible team of wickedly talented artists, a deeply passionate client with a film degree and an Ice Station Zebra poster, a saxophone-bearing synthwave band swooping in like superheroes to score the piece, and a supporting team of account managers and producers that made this even possible.

Client: Analog:Shift
Agency: GrandArmy
Creative Direction & Writing: Larry Pipitone, Joey Ellis, Joe Haddad, Michael Stone, Ben Gallegos
Design/Illustration: Ben Gallegos, Tristan Dubin, Joe Haddad, Natalie Patane
Animation: Ben Gallegos, Ian Crane, Simon Ampel, Keenon Ferrell, Peter Ahern
Music: The Midnight
Sound design: Hyperbolic Audio
Producers: Luke Proctor and Jinhee Kim
Account Managers: Sterling Diaz, Daniella Ramirez, & Corey Phifer

June 16th, 2022