College Loans? Erase them with Chase

After watching the opening sequence for “Up in the Air,” I was very curious to see what else Shadowplay Studios has done. With their history of “Juno,” I expected nothing short of excellence. I found a Chase commercial that has the “Juno” type feel too it.

Like the “Juno” opening title, it has a hand-made characteristic and a youthful vibe. This did just the trick considering the commercial is promoting student loans. It tells the story of a young college student that is worried about her financialfuture.

However, although college was expensive, the protagonist discovered Chase private loans, which therefore enables her to graduate and potentially get a successful job! Although the storyline was simple and clean, the graphics are what created a complex, fun, and captivating atmosphere.

On Shadowplay Studios’ website, they described this video perfectly: The Juno

style meets student loans. This is exactly what it was. The studio used animated characters, scenery, and details in the background while the protagonist was in front of a green screen. She had the look as if she w

as cut out of paper and was placed in an animated world.

The character was the only one in color, along with the sky. Her hues consisted of blues because that is the distinct color of Chase. In the background, everything was made out of black and white paper and it looked as if it was hand-drawn.

My favorite element of this piece was definitely the transitions. The video started out with her graduation cap and rotated to a view from the back of her head. It also used many zooming in/out techniques and vertical/horizontal movements. More specifically, the character was in the library and while going down the rows, it changed into her walking around campus. It was a smooth and clean transition. Also, they used many birds’ eye views and first person views as well.

The music was very simple and brought some more life to the video. It was not overwhelming but more of a light, happy instrumental. Also, the commercial was a narrative so it definitely made the advertisement more personal.

I really enjoyed this piece because I learned that it is possible to use the same techniques! Although they used this style in “Juno,” the studio successfully created another piece that has its own purpose and characteristics to it.