Brave Thinkers, True Colours Film
How does it feel to be a girl growing up in this challenging, ever-changing world?
With St Helen’s we wanted to create an emotive piece, aimed at parents and prospective students, that explored this theme – the highs, the lows, the sense of wonder, freedom, friendship, love, conflict, pressures, anxieties – that marvellous and scary ride into adulthood. Our film speaks directly to the students, invites them to breathe and make space to explore their own sense of individuality and ambition, safe in the knowledge they will be supported, and understood, every step of the way. St Helen’s is the place to explore who you are and become very best version of that. Imagine how far you could go.
Student Films
So, why do we believe this? We give the students their voice. Let’s bin the concept of a ‘rehearsed’ promotional piece, instead allow the girls the space to talk, to laugh, to open up about their feelings and experiences. Be themselves. The result was a series of interviews that were authentic, thoughtful, inspiring, warm and at times utterly hilarious. There’s a sense of pride at being a St Helen’s student. You feel that warmth and want to be part of it.
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The brilliant team at ingenious8 brought me onboard to evolve the St Helen's School brand, including concept development, scriptwriting and direction.
The fantastic animation studio, Hocus Pocus, brought me onboard to art direct and illustrate a number of scenes for this fascinating romp through the lesser known stories in history. Eight episodes, commissioned by Impossible Factual/National Geographic, each containing 10 minutes of animation. Due to there being little or no archive assets for these tales, our task was to bring them to life through witty collage style illustration and clever animation.
Watch the show here: https://www.natgeotv.com/za/shows/natgeo/history-the-interesting-bits
Why is my left buttock numb? Where have all the crisps gone? Wait, is that the sun rising?
Maybe…just…one…more…episode………
Teaming up with esteemed documentary director Cat Mcshane we created a film exploring the reasons why we binge-watch and discover whether it might actually be good for us.
Working directly with the Commissioning Editor at the BBC, I devised the illustrations to support our storytelling and art directed the entire piece.
After you’ve watched the film why not scroll down for the chance to see some extra frames that didn’t make the cut.
It can also currently be viewed on the BBC Ideas website, and on Instagram, as part of the ‘Modern Me’ playlist. If I were you I’d binge the whole lot.
Adored creating these illustration storyboards for George Clarke’s Remarkable Renovations. Absolutely appealed to my nerdy interest in the history of buildings. Relished researching and carefully visualising the facades. Here we have a small selection of frames that were animated. The dates whiz along the top and the buildings transform through their different lives, with the respective owners popping up along the way. The church that became a shop, the railway goods shed that housed zoo animals during WWII, Holland’s famous pie factory – the list goes on!
If you’re keen to see the completed renovations all episodes are available to watch online.
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Freelance illustration and storyboarding for Hocus Pocus Studio
A campaign for 3M’s Abrasive System Division to promote their range of Scotch-Brite deburring products.
A burr, for those who may not be familiar, is a sharp/rough edge commonly created during the metal fabrication process. Deburring is the precise process of removal, without any modification to the shape or geometry.
Our target audience was the metal workers themselves – they use the product, so ultimately make the decision on which to buy.
‘Precision, without cutting corners’ aligns the product with the metalworkers’ dedication to their craft, the pride in the attention to detail. It also tells us, similarly, that 3M don’t cut corners when developing the product – they produce industry leading solutions so you can do your best work. Also, most simply – ‘we don’t cut, we deburr’.
The film is an expansion of this idea, focusing on the workers, conveying a respect for the essence of their craft, combined with warmth and humour.
A collaboration with the stupendous Breakfast of Champions for Channel 4, ‘The Science of Dating: How to Fall in Love’ is a fun look at the science and psychology behind attraction, love and relationships. Check out the trailer here or watch the full film on All 4.
After taking charge of the research, illustration, art direction, and a spot of writing, I was momentarily considered quite the authority on matters of the heart. It even lead to an unexpected turn on BBC radio as a ‘love expert’!
Credits
Grace: Danielle Henry
Mike: Steven Kyman
Director: James Murphy
Art Director, Illustrator & Writer: Becks Boulter
Executive Producer: Andrew Gillman
Animation: Francesca De Bassa, Justin Lowings, Ketan Kulkarni, Alex Polozuns
Sound Design: Simon Epstein
Production Manager: Miles Paulley
3M are world-leading innovators in operating room solutions. Working with the HPS Group and Breakfast of Champions, I was tasked with creating a concept that promoted them as the ’go to’, most trusted supplier for healthcare organisations.
The line ‘every patient is part of our family’ creates a sense of warmth and trust. A patient isn't 'just' a patient to a healthcare professional, who brings to work compassion and a deep sense of responsibility. Healthcare professionals are a son, a daughter, a parent, just like anyone else. The message 3M are delivering to them is ‘we know how much you care, so we will provide you with products you can depend upon for the patients who depend on you.’
Film was best vehicle to evoke an emotional response from the audience. We were able to show the two sides of their life – the anaesthetist who reads his daughter a bedtime story, who then comforts a little boy and his teddy bear before surgery, the nurse who squeezes the hand of a mature female patient and makes her laugh, before cutting to her doing the same with her mum. Short, simple, emotional.
The films were shared across social media, directing viewers to a specially designed microsite. This contained further product information, stats and a Story-Stream style curated hub which aggregated rich content from clinician forums, prolific news and information sources, plus 3M blogs and patient-facing content, all giving a sense of being part of a ‘global family’.
Credits
Concept and Creative Direction: Becks Boulter
Production and Direction: Breakfast of Champions
A series of modular animations, ideal for social sharing, promoting the area of Vauxhall for property developers Mount Anvil.
Credits
Art Direction and Illustration: Becks Boulter
Animation: Breakfast of Champions
This was the UK’s first adoption service television commercial. Studio Breakfast of Champions asked me to devise the concept and lead the creative direction. It was a responsibility to ensure this brief was handled sensitively and hit the right note with audiences, especially as this was the first of its kind. We opted for a combination of 2D character animation and live action because we wanted to give a sense that they could be any child waiting within the system to find a loving home. It also maintained an authenticity that we felt would have been lost by using child actors.
The message is positive and playful whilst retaining an emotional appeal.
Credits
Production and Direction: Breakfast of Champions
Creative Direction, Storyboard and Character Design: Becks Boulter
Music and Sound Design: Echoic
Character Animation: Aaron Jonas
Live Action Producer: Victoria Cairns
D.O.P: John Gout
Camera Assistant: Jack Lee
Explainer film for Adizio – a self-serve online advertising buying platform. This character-based animation follows our diving fanatic as he advertises his ‘Flipper Emporium’. Keep an eye out for the ‘flashy creative team’…
Credits
Art Direction, Illustration and Storyboard: Becks Boulter
Animation: Justin Lowings
Sound Design: Echoic
Animated explainer film for marketing company, Bloom Intelligence.
Credits
Art Direction, Storyboard and Illustration: Becks Boulter
Animation: Breakfast of Champions
Over the years I’ve art directed, illustrated and storyboarded films for a number of big brands (BMW, EDF, GSK, Intel, O2 and Channel 4…to name a few) as well as some pretty exciting start-ups. Here’s a soupçon of my favourite frames.
