Google ‘Helps’

GOOGLE CREATIVE LAB

Google Creative Lab teams with Motion Theory to create an animated short film to launch Google's Project 10ˆ100 -- a contest celebrating the company's 10th anniversary by funding new ideas that help the most people around the world.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Google conceived of Project 10ˆ100, a call for ideas that help the most number of people possible -- with winning ideas funded by Google. Google Creative Lab collaborated with Motion Theory in creating an animated web film to launch the contest. The aim was to create a universal visual language that could show the power of ideas. The core of the story is the constant escalation of helpful ideas. It begins with two people witnessing an elderly woman’s struggle to cross the street. When one of the people decides to help her cross, the other is inspired to help even more people. Soon, their ideas escalate to improving water transportation, implementing alternative energy sources, and beyond -- with the number of people helped multiplying to googol (ten to the hundredth power). Finally, the animated story returns to the pondering face of a young woman deciding how she can help. Director Mark Kudsi and Visual Effects Supervisor Bryan Godwin worked with a team of both 3D and 2D animators for three weeks to create “Helps." Though the characters and environments are based on simple lines, shapes, and compositions, the overall spot is full of character and friendliness as it communicates Google’s simple yet innovative goal of finding the most helpful ideas across the globe.