01 – Overview
Google: Katharina and the Bees
Role: Director, Photographer, Animator
Led by founder, Katharina Schmidt, apic.ai is working to find answers to the global decline of bee colonies using machine learning. I directed this film in Germany for Google, shot all photography for the editorial page and designed the stop motion sequences. It was joy to work with such a talented team to tell this story.
02 – Process
I storyboarded all scenes and worked with our DP Jen Sommer and racing drone operators to capture scenes in line with the shotlist. Our Creative Writing Lead, Kyle Conerty, worked with the subjects to make sure we captured all the story beats and VO lines.
03 – Post Production
I designed mockups for the stop motion segments in C4D and worked with Athena Studios to fabricate and animate all scenes.
We featured the film on a microsite on Google’s editorial page and promoted it through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
04 – Credits
Client: Google
Creative Director: Kristen Lewis
Director/Animator/Photographer: Ryan Chen
Directors/Writing: Kyle Conerty and Chris Bradford
DP and Editing: Jen Sommer
Sound Operator: Joseph Huber
Grip: Philipp Knofe
Stop Motion Animation: Athena Studios
Producers: Kirsten Harkonen, TJ Gassaway and Stefanie Renk
Sound Mixing and Color: Mission Film and Design