press release

CPS Energy 'Windtricity'

Eyeball Helps Texas Energy Company Provide Cleaner Energy
'Windtricity' Tells the Tale of How Wind Can Make a Difference.

NEW YORK - With energy prices on the rise and the constant concern over supply shortages, Texas-based CPS Energy, San Antonio's municipally owned natural gas and electric company, has developed an alternative to our dependency on coal, oil and natural gas. It's called Windtricity, a renewable energy option for CPS customers to purchase electricity generated by wind-powered turbines in West Texas. To promote this new program, ad agency Creative Civilization tabbed Texas-based post-production house Lazlo Rain, who partnered with design company, Eyeball to build Windtricity's story.

Deft integration of 3D animation, painterly textures and treated live-action footage tells the tale of this inspiring new product. Complete with layered backgrounds, the painted reproductions of photographs were designed in soft tones of gouache, acrylics, and watercolors. They provide the foundation to the spot and evoke the feeling of calm positivity, introducing CPS's customers to an energy source that is environmentally friendly and positions the company as a thoughtful and innovative service provider.

In the spot, a single

animated leaf gently travels across the stylized, painterly environments, moved by the wind, symbolizing the energy potential within nature. Traveling through desert and lush bucolic settings, the leaf is blown through suburban and urban environments while the story of Windtricity unfolds.

"The imagery that Lazlo Rain photographed provided us with a strong foundation to build upon. With those as reference we recreated the selected scenes", said Carlo Vega, Eyeball's lead designer for the spot. "Re-creating the landscapes in separate sections was crucial to the original animation idea. It allowed the team to build each landscape in 3D space, which gave us control of the background texture and created an organic flow within the final piece."

The flexibility of 3D space allowed for subtle reminders of Windtricity's vast potential, with a myriad of possible uses - from dormant street lamps to a dark, sleepy home - awakened by the swoosh of the wind passing. With smooth transitions that propel this tranquil ride that is Windtricity, the spot heralds a new day in energy production, and consumption, at a time when the need for such inspired initiatives has never been greater.

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