The Wilde Ones

Suspect created the stop-motion opening and end credit sequence for ‘The Wilde Ones’ – a documentary short that pays tribute to Richard Wilde’s inspiring leadership as chair of the BFA Advertising and Graphic Design Department of the SVA in New York.

“Our team created a landscape that felt as if someone had crafted it from scratch. Each piece of material was something that was found around the office; whether it was created from paper, wood or cardboard. The only props that were given to us by Richard were the metal die-cast figures and the tin wind up toys from his private collection.”

“We used many found objects, objects that symbolized different things that correlated with various aspects of graphic design. The book represents academia. The small letter forms represent typography. The wooden hand represents craftsmanship and technical abilities. The magnifying glass represents attention to detail. The tin toys and figures represent the students. The train represents the journey of the students through academia. After we established the iconography and overall concept, we were able to create a look and feel for it that was befitting to the characteristics of Richard Wilde, which is whimsical and playful.”

“Everything was shot as stills on a Canon 5D Mark II. It was then brought into After Effects and then composited with bits of CG and elements that were shot against green screen. We wanted to end up on a wide shot of the entire landscape that was building up all around these symbolic figures.”

What’s the link with Outsider Art?
Hoon Chong: “The term Outsider Art is used to describe art that is created outside the boundaries of official culture, art that is created in a pure state. We had creative freedom from the director so this allowed us to create and think in a way that was raw and true to the spirit of academia.”