Willow: One voice, three animation languages
Advanced 2D, 3D, and frame-by-frame animation, built to move as one. No live action, every frame here was drawn, modeled, or built by hand.
2D
3D
Frame by Frame
Video Runtime
57 sec
The Product
AI Voice Dictation
Production Timeline
5 weeks
About & Goal
This was a full brand video, built to walk through what Willow can do end to end, and to build toward one specific reveal saved for the close. Willow had been available on iOS and desktop, but never on Windows. The whole video leads up to that gap closing on screen.
A story with that much ground to cover needed more than one animation technique to carry it. We used three: advanced 2D, 3D, and frame-by-frame, each handling the part of the story it does best, cut together tightly enough that you forget you're watching three different disciplines at once.
A story with that much ground to cover needed more than one animation technique to carry it. We used three: advanced 2D, 3D, and frame-by-frame, each handling the part of the story it does best, cut together tightly enough that you forget you're watching three different disciplines at once.
Built in three dimensions
We used 3D where the piece needed depth and physical presence. It gives objects weight, lets light behave
the way it does in the real world, and adds a sense of dimension that flat animation can't do.
the way it does in the real world, and adds a sense of dimension that flat animation can't do.
Drawn by hand
Frame-by-frame is the most stubborn discipline in animation, every motion hand-drawn, one frame after another,
with none of 3D's shortcuts. We used it exactly where it needed to feel human, not built.
with none of 3D's shortcuts. We used it exactly where it needed to feel human, not built.
From Reveal to Reach
The Windows reveal lands in the last few seconds, after the video has already walked through everything else Willow can do. It's built to feel earned rather than announced, the payoff to everything that came before it rather than a headline dropped up front.
The video got launched on Willow's socials and reposted by official
Y Combinator page.
It took off on LinkedIn: 1,311 likes, 288 comments, and 53 reposts, without any paid push behind it.
The video got launched on Willow's socials and reposted by official
Y Combinator page.
It took off on LinkedIn: 1,311 likes, 288 comments, and 53 reposts, without any paid push behind it.