Lines of communication.(USER FOCUS: 2D ANIMATION)(Microsoft Corp.'s advertisement was created by McCann-Erickson Inc.)

The look of the Microsoft "Realizing Potential" commercial campaign may be simplistic--bold white-line animated drawings augmenting a live-action scene. But, the execution of the most recent series was rather complex, requiring a collaborative effort among five companies: Z Animation (animation production), Anonymous Content (live action), A52 (final com-positing), Mad River Post (editing), and Elias Arts (music).

The global TV, print, and Internet campaign, first introduced by McCann-Erickson/San Francisco in 2002, highlights the software giant's education and economic development projects in 32 countries throughout Europe, Asia, and America. Recently, a new set of six commercials--"Ripple," "Security," "Startup," "Imagine Cup," "Parents," and "Mr. Kato"--were crafted with the familiar animated white lines used as transitional devices, metaphorically turning dreams into reality. This time, however, the commercials were done entirely in high definition, and they are the first to use 2D computer animation instead of hand drawings.

"In early versions of the campaign, we were speaking more broadly about how Microsoft software helped people realize their potential," explains Matthew Winks, executive producer at McCann-Erickson. "This time, we were even more specific about the initiatives and the efforts Microsoft is taking in countries around the globe and the local impact the company is having on areas such as economic development in various countries through computers in classrooms and small business initiatives. Production-wise, we were looking for an animation studio that would take the campaign into the CG world but still maintain the hand-drawn animation look of past campaigns."

In particular, the agency was looking for more-sophisticated animations. "They wanted it to look as if we found a piece of DP Andrew Douglas's film and drew our animation on it. They didn't want Douglas to shoot the live action with an obvious space left for the animation," explains Z Animation's executive producer Peter Barg.

Indeed, Z Animation stepped outside the hand-drawn realm and created the white-line "pencil" effect using Bauhaus Software's Mirage 2D animation program. "We went with Mirage because it could give us the soft-pencil hand-drawn look that agency wanted, and it could also handle the huge animation files required for HD," says Z Animation's Joel Parod, who co-directed the spots with Claire Armstrong-Parod. "We could directly import the live-action footage and animate directly on top, and see it played back instantly. Many of our animators actually preferred Mirage over traditional animation because it allowed us to import the live-action footage and draw the white line right over the screen, while also creating mattes and composites."

Computer animation was a key factor in awarding the project to Z Animation, notes Winks, because the client wanted to produce more spots than before and at a faster pace--something traditional animation could not handle. Previously, the commercials had been animated using traditional methods, and then digitally scanned into the computer, where compositing was done. Working directly in the computer was faster and more efficient, says Parod, and provided the artists with more control over the imagery.

"Some of our animators had very little computer experience, but after a few weeks of training, they took to it very well," says Barg. "in fact, many of our animators said they didn't want to animate on paper ever again."