Filmmaking and mythology are inextricably linked - both trade in creating new worlds and characters within them, whose adventures ultimately express a universal truth (excluding, perhaps, any of the Ernest movies). Makes sense, then, that the Sundance Film Festival opted for mythological imagery in its branding of its 25th anniversary.

Robert Redford's Sundance Institute and design company AdamsMorioka developed the visual vocabulary of the branding, utilizing such classical storytelling icons as Icarus and Moby Dick for print materials. From there, it was the task of animation powerhouse Digital Kitchen's Seattle and Santa Monica offices to bring the decidedly handmade graphics to life for the festival's four bumpers and a 60-second commemorative trailer.

"We were handed the materials and thought there were a couple of different ways we could go," says DK CEO/CCO Paul Matthaeus. "What we ultimately recommended was to take a single myth like Icarus, and have the bumpers be a living, breathing proof for the hand of the filmmaker."

Thus, between 15 to 20 people were split into teams to tackle the project and instructed to "develop very different voices that all spoke to the same story." While one bumper, "Precipice", is a continuous motion control camera move and primarily live-action, the others animate Photoshop and Illustrator cut-outs depicting Icarus' doomed flight. A thread connecting the bumpers is the expression of craft - in "Flame Out", the filmmaker is represented by a pair of hands affixing matches to Icarus' wings, while in "Pop Up" the moving picture is illustrated via a pop-up book's carousel.

"People think when they go to films that so much of the process is high-tech," says Matthaeus. "But it's all still very hands-on and a labor-intensive industry. So we wanted our work to speak to that quality."

Digital Kitchen>http://www.d-kitchen.com
Sundance Institute>http://www.sundance.org