TBWA\Chiat\Day LA

Behind the
Record

Best Visual Design - Aesthetic / Nominee
TBWA\Chiat\Day LA

Best Visual Design - Aesthetic

When physical albums and CDs disappeared, so did the credits. For the second year in a row, The Recording Academy encouraged artists all over the globe to give credit and celebrate creators who make the world’s most favorite songs. - TBWA\Chiat\Day LA Team
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Q: Can you describe your project and the concept behind it? A: When physical albums and CDs disappeared, so did the credits. For the second year in a row, The Recording Academy encouraged artists all over the globe to give credit and celebrate creators who make the world’s most favorite songs. To promote this social initiative, we created a powerful animated film that cleverly wove 33 album titles into a VO about the passion, people, talent, and love that goes into making music.
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Q: What influenced your chosen technical approach, and how did it go beyond past methods? A: We chose animation to be able to seamlessly move throughout various stages of music production. And for the ability to include easter eggs nodding to the albums and artists throughout. The style was a bit loose, colorful, and energetic — very rock and roll.

When did you experience a breakthrough or an "a-ha" moment during this project?

The original music track needed to flex and change to shift genres, instrumentation, and styles to nod to the referenced albums. The track was written for this express purpose and was performed and recorded live using many of the same instruments, setups, and playing styles of the artists, bands, or genres being referenced. The result is a musical joyride through eras and the music production process all rolled into one.

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Q: How did the final product meet or exceed your expectations? A: With more than 3,000+ professional music creators participating, the Recording Academy was able to create over 3.1k credit covers, saw more than 370mm impressions, 35.7k mentions, and a 100% overall positive sentiment while paying $0 for paid media. This initiative continues to gain movement as artists release their albums, further amplifying the creator community and raising awareness of all the musicians and talent Behind the Record.

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