What is GitHub? Buck and a Duck Explain
With our two heroes, we travel from the concrete world of live-action (which we handled in tandem with production company The Panics), through to a steady and impressive array of 2D, 3D, and cel animated environments.”
ECD Vincent Lammers and the Amsterdam studio of Buck head up a massive, multi-technique effort to demystify who and what the software company GitHub is and raise its profile outside the traditional user base of developers.
Live Action: The Panics
Live Action Director: Joe Roberts
Director of Photography: Job Kraaijveld
Fabricator: Franziska Loeding
Color: Captcha
Colorist: Barry Clarke
From the team at Buck: “There are GitHub stories everywhere and they wanted to put a fresh spin on them for a new, broader audience of potential clients while still retaining their core followers.
We threw all of these questions at the client, talking to key stakeholders, partners, developers, and GitHub’s own creative team to create a solid base of understanding from which to work.
Category: Animation, Brand film, CG, Character Animation, Explainer, Featured, Motion Design, VFX · Tags: Antfood, buck, GutHub, The Panics, Vincent Lammers
“Strategy was the bedrock of this film, and in that phase, we were aiming to define what the final product would be: Is this an explanation of the new features or a celebration of their achievements? Could it be both? Is a film the best way to communicate their story?
Editorial: The Panics
Editor: Benjamin Putland
Producer: Andrey Golubyev
“So, why the Rubber Duck? The symbolic choice stems from the world of developers, where ‘Rubber Duck Debugging’ is the act of explaining your code to a rubber duck on your desk to check on any flaws in your code. This thematic device became our conduit to make the developer community, GitHub’s core fanbase, part of our story, and added an extra splash of fun (and surrealism) to the journey.
“But he needed a co-pilot, an additional character that he could tell the story to so that the audience could more closely identify with the narrative. Enter a Rubber Ducky.”
“But he needed a co-pilot, an additional character that he could tell the story to so that the audience could more closely identify with the narrative. Enter a Rubber Ducky.
Posted on Saturday, April 1, 2023
Client: GitHub
“We needed a sturdy raconteur, and we made GitHub’s brand persona, the ‘Geeky Powerhouse,’ our main spokesperson, personified by British comedian Phil Wang. Phil’s nerdy but cool, smart but self-deprecating character embodies GitHub’s essence.
