E-scooters are legal in only some Australian states. Annoyingly, a misconception has grown that they are fun and frivolous ‘toys’, when they’re powerful devices and misuse is dangerous.

Working alongside Victoria’s Transport Accident Commission (TAC) and Clemenger BBDO, we stripped away the misconception with a toy-themed campaign encouraging people to ride e-scooters safely.

Now in its second year, the campaign features a cast of toy characters riding e-scooters recklessly with devastating consequences. The most recent film targets teenagers and parents alike, aiming to show the perils of riding underage.

In a lot of projects we have worked on there is a transition from live action to animation - where you move from reality to the imagined world.

In this case the campaign hinged on E-Scooters not being a toy, so it made sense to start on literal toys and have the imagined reality come first. This approach lets us have these funny, high-action sequences that end with our toys having gruesome accidents, which makes the eventual cut to the real, live action injury more powerful.

There is a tactile quality to stop motion that makes the sequences more playful but also throws a powerful punch when everything hits the skids.

Traditional or CG animation is more iterative and is built in layers. Whilst stop motion has hard deadlines and is a race against time and budget to actually build your characters from scratch, build your sets, and then shoot.

All the love and effort that you put into the pre-production pays off when shooting. Every bit of craft in the prep is quickly seen up on the screen. It’s very, very satisfying when you get it all right.

Animating something in camera and then watching the playback is truly magical. Everyone's hard work is there on show in that moment.