Your takeaway from this article
Recently a very unusual project came our way. The title itself was very promising: MVG – Poetry Slam. Were we seriously supposed to explain the genre Poetry Slam? That mysterious hybrid of erratic rap and rhythmic narration? And all this, for MVG of all companies? The kick-off shed light on the subject. This custom explainer video was not to be an explanation in the classical sense; rather it was about visualization of an existing slam text.
Creating an action-plan map
At the briefing with MVG, the goal soon became clear: The existing, conventional commercials were to be supplemented with a modern, self-deprecating video. The core statement for the target group “passengers” was: “Munich’s metropolitan public transport has many exciting stories for you!” And one of these stories lay in front of us – a piece by Poetry Slammer Alex Burkhard. Our task was to bring his fantastic story to life with pictures and movement.
Off we go
We faced one central challenge: We had to develop a style that reflected the content of the text. The focus here was on a twenty-first century, urban representation of Munich’s night life. At the same time, the illustrations had to be designed so that the animation harmonized with the flow of the slam text. And of course, the customer had to be delighted, too.
There is no doubt about it: Cutting-edge explainer expertise was needed. And so colleagues from Conception, Design and Motion Design began with development. First step: Text analysis and interpretation. Second step: Finding a style, picture conception, scribbles.
And then finally, the result: A style with obvious street art elements and a color concept with sharp contrasts and targeted highlights. And Poetry Slam as an art form had to be reflected in the video, too – by periodically inserting typographic elements. Rather hip, isn’t it?
And the rest is history. The customer was thrilled! The style was promptly approved; Ksenia and André illustrated as if their lives depended on it, and Felix put the cherry on top with Motion Design – including action cam video and creative transitions. The video was screened at Munich’s open-air cinemas and had its own Landingpage at MVG. And sharing went wild on social media. Also, some 2500 placards can be seen in subways, buses and trams across Munich, at stations and at Optimolwerke, (an entertainment venue in Munich). And that is not all: Since November 23, the long version of the video has been showing at all Munich cinemas. Case closed.
