Collider’s Water-Bubble Sea Creatures Were “Lost Souls Drifting Through a Brutalist Landscape”

The Australian Marine Conservation Society’s ‘Fragile Oceans’ carried a personal weight beyond the craft for production company Collider. It was an opportunity to make work that “lingers for a while”.

The first iteration of ‘Fragile Oceans’ came about 10 years ago in the form of the AMCS’ 50th anniversary film, debuting a collection of animated, water-bubble creatures. Their ability to bring to life the metaphor of fragility made them perfect for this subsequent campaign.

Collider managing partner Rachael Ford-Davies told LBB projects like these are the most important ones for the company.

“They remind us why we do this work in the first place, not just to tell stories, but to tell stories that matter,” she said.

“On a personal level, those are the films that linger long after the job is done because they carry a weight beyond the craft. They bring our creativity and technology into service of something larger, amplifying voices that might otherwise go unheard.”

Creative director Andrew van der Westhuyzen said the desire to make something “beautiful and curious” is the catalyst for evocative storytelling, and led to a “meditation on an unusual premise for a familiar cause.”

“It doesn’t have that punchy ad clarity in its messaging, but hopefully it lingers for a while slowly seeping through in a powerfully different way,” he told LBB.

The most important consideration for the film, Andrew said, was shifting the story from the ocean animals’ habitat to the human world.

“The ethereal way we depicted them was meant to feel like memories or ghosts, lost souls drifting through a brutalist landscape,” he explained.

“The fragile water effect held them on the edge of disappearance, barely clinging to existence in a world too distracted to notice. Even in cities softened by nature, the wilderness these animals depend on is shut out.

“This contrast was designed to make viewers feel their plight of beauty fading, survival slipping away, ghosts of what should be thriving.”

Animating animals, he added, is always challenging, even when abstracted through urban environments.

“We spent a lot of time with AMCS planning out the choice of animal, how they moved, and how the liquid effect mechanism worked in the story,” he said.

“We used Houdini for the fluid simulations and Cinema4D for all other CG and lighting. We recce’d around Sydney and found locations that most juxtaposed the beauty of the animals, removing greenery and nature to accentuate the bleakness of the situation.

“Photogrammetry techniques were used to recreate some of the environments to help the creatures feel connected to their settings, and we also had a mobile sprayer to wet down areas to help feel like the animals were leaving a wet trail behind them.”

‘Fragile Oceans’ is scored to the Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds track, ‘Final Rescue Attempt’, which explores themes of grief, transformation, and humanity -- ideal for a spot grappling with the loss of the future.

Andrew, who has long been a Nick Cave fan, said ‘Final Rescue Attempt’ was never far from his playlist.

“When developing the early storyboards and animatics for the film, I needed a track with the right gravitas and Nick’s voice, his lyrics, and the electronic motif fit perfectly.

“By good fortune, one of our Collider directors, John Hillcoat, knows Nick and Warren, and through him we connected. We were deeply grateful for their generosity in letting us use such a powerful piece of music.

“I think the form it took was a big factor in being able to get Nick and Warren on board with the music, and although we had a very modest budget, we had a lot of passion from many sides of this project that made it so special to work on. I don’t think it would have been the same without the level of ambition from everyone early on to make something special.

“We loved the juxtaposition of Melanie Zanetti’s voice [she also voices Bluey’s mum] with the sombre themes of this film. She brought a strong, familiar and trustworthy depth to the final message of this film that we all felt brought a hopeful determination to the causes championed by AMCS.

“AMCS were very supportive and understanding through what was a complex process in the making of this film. Their belief in the ‘Fragile Oceans’ concept gave us a beautiful framework to try to make something ambitious and moving.

“We make projects like this because they are incredibly fulfilling, and using our skills as a company to help extend and amplify awareness for organisations like AMCS nurtures the soul of the company and everyone involved with us.”