Interview about Simplest Happiness Commercial Animation, winner of the A' Movie, Video and Animation Design Award 2020
The Chinese zodiac in that year is the pig, so Yen C designed the sliced pig, and it's a pun in "many hot movies" in Chinese. The characters are very happy, just in line with the channel's image has always wanted to give the audience the feeling. And combine four movies elements into the video. Children who are playing can best show pure happiness, and hope that the audience will have the same feeling when watching the movie.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsThe starting point for the concept came from reflecting on the meaning of the New Year. In Taiwan, the Lunar New Year is more than a traditional festival; it's a time for "reunion" and "sharing." The warm memory of a whole family gathering around to watch TV and movies is a collective experience for many. I wanted to capture this very essence of "the simplest happiness." The zodiac animal for that year was the Pig, which gave us a perfect entry point. In Mandarin Chinese, the character for "pig" (豬, zhū) is a homophone for the character for "all" or "many" (諸, zhū). This immediately sparked the connection to the phrase "諸多強片" (zhū duō qiáng piàn), which means "many blockbuster movies." This pun perfectly linked the zodiac animal with the movie channel's extensive content library. It wasn't just a play on words; it became the cornerstone of my entire creative concept, a cultural code that could be instantly understood by Mandarin-speaking audiences.With this core concept established, the challenge shifted to visual execution. How could I make a "pig" visually represent "many movies"? I went through countless brainstorming sessions. Ultimately, the "sliced ham pig" character emerged as the winning idea. This design was particularly ingenious for several reasons: first, it broke away from the traditional depiction of the zodiac pig, introducing an unexpected sense of humor and modernity. Second, the layered slices of ham visually represented the concept of "many," akin to frames of a film reel or the vast selection of exciting movies on the channel. I deliberately designed the pig to be round and adorable, with lively animations, to eliminate any negative connotations associated with "slicing" and to ensure it conveyed pure, childlike joy. In the animation, the little pig journeys through scenes inspired by various movie genres—sci-fi, action, romance. This not only showcased the channel's diversity but also symbolized that audiences can experience a wide spectrum of happiness and emotions within the world of cinema. The entire process was about fusing a cultural symbol (the zodiac pig), a linguistic pun, and a modern entertainment behavior (watching movies) to distill the core emotion I aimed to convey: that heartfelt, purest, and simplest form of happiness. This is something that, as a designer in Taiwan, I often strive to achieve in my work—to cultivate modern design blossoms from the rich soil of our culture.
In Taiwan, the red and gold of the Lunar New Year are colors rooted in our cultural memory. My goal wasn't to simply replicate tradition, but to "reinterpret" these colors, elevating them from mere festive symbols into conduits for emotion.My core inspiration was to fuse two key feelings: the "warmth of home" and the "fantasy of cinema." Therefore, I avoided flat, primary red in favor of a layered, warmer palette. A rich burgundy forms the background, creating a sense of security like a family's embrace, while the piglet protagonist is a more vibrant coral red, highlighting its innocent nature. Similarly, the gold isn't a heavy, static color but a fluid, lustrous "champagne gold," reminiscent of a projector's beam. I used it for magical elements like sparkles and stardust to symbolize dreams and hope. This color strategy was designed so the audience wouldn't just see a festival, but truly feel that genuine, pure sense of warmth and joy.
Achieving this balance was the most critical aspect of the creative process. The brand identity of Fox Movies is international, high-quality, and centered on being the "movie expert," delivering powerful cinematic experiences. My challenge was to infuse this with the warmth and playfulness of the Lunar New Year in Taiwan, without appearing childish or diluting the brand's core identity.The equilibrium was found in our core concept: the pun connecting "pig" (豬 zhū) to "many" (諸 zhū) blockbuster movies. This concept itself bridged the brand with the creative. The piglet's appearance wasn't arbitrary; its very reason for being was to "embody" the channel's vast library of films. In execution, I insisted on using cinema-grade production standards to bring this "cute" idea to life. For example, the pig's 3D model, its textural sheen, and its movements were all crafted with precision to ensure its quality matched the premium image of the Fox brand. Furthermore, the cinematic references within the animation were a direct homage to the brand. I didn't have the piglet simply parodying films; I positioned it as a "little movie fan," joyfully immersing itself in the magic of different genres. This ensured our creative elements were always serving the core theme of "cinema," striking a delicate balance: retaining festive intimacy without sacrificing the professionalism and style of a global brand.
My goal was to have the audience experience the all-encompassing nature of the Fox Movies channel in just a few seconds. When selecting the cinematic elements, I chose several of the most representative and emotionally evocative film genres: Sci-Fi, Action, Romance, and Musical. These four genres respectively represent "wonder and dreams," "excitement and adventure," "warmth and emotion," and "pure joy."The key to achieving a "seamless fusion" rested on two points. First, I used our piglet protagonist as the emotional anchor. No matter how the scene changed, the audience's perspective followed the piglet's reactions; its happiness was the unifying thread through every scene. Second, I meticulously designed the transitions. I avoided hard cuts. Instead, I utilized the "slicing" characteristic of the piglet's body, where one slice would peel away to naturally reveal the next scene. I also used visual elements from the preceding scene (like the bright light of an explosion) to fluidly blend into the beginning of the next. This required precise motion storyboarding to ensure visual fluidity, making the audience feel like they are on a journey through a whimsical dream, rather than watching four disconnected clips.
The greatest technical challenge came precisely from the character's "minimalist" design. The piglet has only two small dots for eyes, with no complex eyebrows or mouth shapes. Conveying rich, heartwarming emotions within these limitations was a significant test. Any tiny adjustment could shift its expression from "happy" to "vacant." Furthermore, its "sliced" body required a technically stable yet flexible rig to ensure the layers felt natural during dynamic movements.My key to overcoming this was to shift the expression from the face to the entirety of the body's motion. I didn't rely on facial close-ups. Instead, I conveyed emotion through subtle ear wiggles, the bounce and jiggle of its body (using the animation principle of squash and stretch), and its cheerful, trotting gait. This approach better captured "pure happiness," as a child's joy is often expressed through their whole body. To maintain the simple composition, I always ensured the piglet had a very clear and readable silhouette. By simplifying the backgrounds and making good use of negative space, the audience's focus is drawn entirely to the character's performance. This allows the nuanced body language to exert its maximum emotional impact within a clean, balanced frame.
In an extremely short format like 18 seconds, pacing is everything. I couldn't afford to waste a single frame. My strategy was to design the animation like a "visual poem" with a clear narrative structure: a beginning, a middle, and an end. The beginning quickly establishes an endearing tone with the piglet's happy entrance. The middle creates a visual climax with a fast-paced montage of movie scenes, conveying the message of "rich diversity." The end brings the piglet back to a calm, happy state as the brand logo resolves, providing an emotional landing.The secret weapon to string this all together was the music and sound design. The animation's editing points and movements were perfectly synchronized to the beat of the music. The score's progression dictated the narrative tension; every drumbeat and melodic shift corresponded to an action or transition on screen. In Taiwan's fast-paced media environment, this audio-visual synchronization is critical for instantly capturing the viewer's attention. I essentially used the musical structure as a blueprint for the visual rhythm, ensuring the entire 18 seconds felt like a compact and complete journey of joy, rather than a rushed collage of images.
My goal wasn't 100% "photorealism," but rather to create a sense of "believable fantasy." The piglet character itself is surreal, but its every movement had to make the audience feel its weight, elasticity, and vitality.I spent considerable time studying the movements of real animals, especially young ones like piglets and puppies, to understand weight transfer and body jiggle during a run. The biggest challenge, however, was its "sliced" body. I developed a custom rig for it, which allowed the entire body to squash and stretch, while also enabling each individual "slice" to have its own subtle delay and spring-back. This relied heavily on the skill doing "keyframe animation" by hand, rather than on pure computer simulation. I were pursuing a form of artistically exaggerated physics. For example, when it lands, its body produces a very satisfying, springy jiggle. It's a minor detail, but it's crucial for giving the character a sense of "life," turning a purely digital model into a tangible, living creature.
This project is indeed a microcosm of my design philosophy. My broader vision is that traditional culture is not a static set of symbols, but a living library of inspiration. For me, especially working here in Taipei—a vibrant city where old and new cultures merge—a successful project for a contemporary brand can't just superficially apply icons like lanterns or lucky clouds. True transformation lies in "distilling the core emotion of a tradition and retelling it in a contemporary design language.""The Simplest Happiness" is the perfect example of this in practice. I didn't just use a traditional zodiac pig. I distilled the "linguistic pun" associated with "pig" in Mandarin and the core holiday feeling of "shared joy and reunion." I then translated these into a lively 3D character and a cinematic journey. This process turns the traditional element from a mere decoration into a narrative driver, seamlessly aligning it with the Fox Movies brand spirit of "providing entertainment and creating happiness." My vision is to continue exploring these deeper connections, helping brands not just "celebrate" a culture, but truly "become" a part of it, creating work that has a global appeal yet resonates with local Taiwanese sentiment.
To make the piglet character resonate across cultures, I focused on universal emotional expressions. Instead of complex facial features, I relied on simple body language and lively movements to convey joy. The rounded design and vibrant colors enhance its approachability, while its enthusiastic reactions within different movie scenarios tap into the shared human desire for entertainment and imagination.
This award is a key validation of my creative philosophy and encourages a bolder approach for my future work.My method moving forward will be even more focused on "less is more." I will delve deeper into local Taiwanese culture to distill a singular, pure concept that resonates with a brand's spirit. Then, I will execute that simple, powerful idea with an obsessive focus on the details of its execution—in the character's motion, in the play of light. My goal is to fully internalize the brand's value within the narrative, making the animation itself the most compelling statement for the brand. This recognition is a starting point, inspiring me to continue down this creative path.
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