Sister companies Bonfire and Phoenix Editorial recently collaborated with digital agency Organic on a promotional Webisodic series called “On the Road," which launches just in time for students going back to school.

The show, viewable at http://promotions.bankofamerica.com/mbc/ontheroad, streams from a Bank of America micro-site that provides financial education for high-school- and college-aged individuals.

Bonfire designed and executed the stop-motion show open under the creative direction of Matt Silverman. Phoenix’s Robbie Proctor and Jim Farber edited seven episodes of the show, which were directed by Aero Films’ Jason Farrand and shot using three RED ONE cameras.

About "On the Road"
“On the Road” airs on Bank of America’s promotional online channel MBC, aka the “Morris Broadcasting Channel,” named after the network’s fun-loving spokesman. Morris and his on-air posse—financial expert Farnoosh Torabi, a guy who likes to eat a lot, and a character dressed in a cardboard ATM costume—visit college campuses across the country. The guerilla film crew operates out of a mobile studio—MBC’s traveling van—to conduct man-on-the-street interviews, game shows, quiz challenges and other activities to engage young people in learning about fiscal responsibility. The show opens with a whimsical stop-motion sequence that has a handmade and organic 1970s-era vibe.

About the Production
Organic wanted to simulate a TV network, so they asked Phoenix and Bonfire to edit the shows and create a broadcast package of logo animations, bumpers, show intros, transitions and branded transitions—everything that would be required to brand an actual show.

To produce the show open, Silverman oversaw a one-day greenscreen shoot in Los Angeles to capture the van, Morris and his crew. In order to achieve the 270-degree shot of the rotating van, Silverman set the vehicle’s wheels on rollers, filming with the RED ONE camera at 4K to obtain the 20 different angles of the van. He then photographed the actors inside the van using a digital still camera.

Silverman and his team of five animators used Adobe After Effects to composite the photography together with footage of the van spinning to achieve the stop-motion animation effect. The Bonfire team added additional graphical flourishes, such as hand-drawn illustrations and rough-hewn photocopy printouts.

“At Phoenix Editorial and Bonfire, we have the advantage of our combined talent and resources, which means we’re able to do greenscreen production, finishing, animation and editorial all under one roof,” says Matt Silverman, creative director, Bonfire. “We’ve also worked on several projects shot with the RED ONE camera and have a production-tested RED workflow, so we encouraged Director Jason Farrand to try out the RED, with some pretty amazing results.”

Phoenix Editorial’s Robbie Proctor and Jim Farber spliced together approximately 16 hours of live-action footage into seven episodes of the show, each ranging from one to three minutes in length. According to the editorial team, it was Director Jason Farrand’s knack for capturing genuinely comedic moments that made for great storytelling.

Says Farber, “Jason’s so used to working in comedy improv situations that he was able to immediately put the actors and non-actors at ease, which resulted in great performances. The Bank of America project developed by Organic is a great example of cutting-edge interactive work and a deeply collaborative process between all the companies involved. It’s also a great case study in the synergy of Phoenix Editorial and Bonfire.”