What is the film about?

In peach and purple hues, the playful project tells the story of a motion designer trying to embark upon a personal creation – but life gets in the way. As their screen fills up with pesky pop-up notifications, a desperate cursor battles to break through them before it gets suffocated. When all hope seems to be lost, however, a friend gets the protagonist back on track, setting off an explosion of renewed clarity, productivity, and motivation.

A little background information...

Mat&Fab, composed of Mathieu Harrisson and Fabrice Fenoy, began the project out of a desire to create without the restraints of a mandate. Faced with a series of initial setbacks due to complexity and time limits, the duo’s experience of conceiving an idea transformed into the crux of it. Mirroring the process of its creation, the final film tells a story about the fight to persevere through failure, distilled into its primary elements for a light, dynamic, and colourful spin.

We are so proud of the path we have travelled over the creation of this project. The time spent obsessing over it when it didn’t seem to want to come to life definitely moved us in the right direction. No matter what the obstacle, the creative act requires pushing through discomfort when the goal seems inaccessible. Like the protagonist of the story, we are happy to have persevered to give birth to this piece. We hope to have inspired other artists to do the same, and to surround themselves with good people who help them stay on the right track.

-Mat&Fab

How was the film made?

To produce the film, Mat&Fab enlisted the help of talent agency and integrated production house, L’ÉLOI. The rising stars within L’ÉLOI’s roster are close collaborators with the talent agency and integrated production house, often invited to lend their animation prowess to its larger projects.

We’re excited to introduce this incredible project developed within The Lab, our creative playground initiative. The Lab serves as a catalyst for experimentation in a realm free from conventional constraints. Our top priority is to provide our close collaborators with a dynamic environment to play, test, and innovate. We’re delighted to support and nurture promising talent like Mat&Fab, who bring a fresh perspective and creative energy to their work.

-Éloi Beauchamp, president and founder at L’ÉLOI

The piece captures the energy and action seen throughout Mat&Fab’s portfolio while taking a new step towards full 3D, as opposed to the pair’s usual mixed media approach. To craft it, Mat&Fab utilised After Effects, Cinema 4D, and Redshift. The biggest challenge was finding the right look for the notification bubbles, for which the duo dived deep into the Cinema 4D simulation system, offering them maximum control over how they would inflate, deflate, and interact with each other.