Inspired by Pin Art, the concept was to recount a violation of human rights upon a canvas composed of ballpoint pens. The objective was to employ this imagery to create a universal representation of the potential of every signature in Amnesty International's petition campaigns that seek save lives and liberate the wrongly-imprisoned.
Graphic Design
Directed by Onur Senturk and co-produced by Troublemakers.tv and One More, Pens is a full CG film shot in motion capture that epitomises the potential of each signature in the defense of human rights.
The Production
After shooting the characters in motion capture, Mocaplab processed the data whilst One More created 3D characters and environments. These were animated and integrated into a matrix composed entirely of up to 500,000 pens. With every shot requiring a unique number of pens in the matrix, many test renders were required in order to establish an ideal readability and the desired emotion to convey.

Motion Capture Shoot Director Remi Brun preparing actor Frank Pech for motion capture shooting.

A more delicate sequence to shoot as mocap can struggle to process more than three actors at a time.

Visualising motion capture footage during shooting.

Once captured, data is then processed in order to animate assigned skeletons and skins.

An early render to test animated mocap in an environment.

A render to visualise the animation on a 3D canvas.

Testing the matrix before integrating the pens.

Flame operator, Hervé Thouement, adds the finishing touches to the final film.

Amnesty International - Pens Behind the Scenes
Final
The venture of bringing the initial concept to life took five months of methodical work through a variety of techniques. With the final film's unique aesthetic and poignant message, Amnesty International could communicate with the public about the core values.

Pens' Protagonist based on actor Romain Ogerau.

Police charging on peaceful protestors.

An example of lighting and texture on the pen matrix.

Close-up detail of pens.

Final Film: Amnesty International - Pens
Client
Amnesty Int.
Credits
TBWA Paris
Agency
Anne Vincent
Vice President
Laure Lagarde
Account Management
Isabelle Dray
Account Management
Bertin Leblanc
Client
Arnaud Humblot
Client
Philippe Taroux
Creative Director
Benoit Leroux
Creative Director
Ingrid Varetz
Art Director
Maxime Boiron
Head of TV
Amer Zoghbi
Agency Producer
Troublemakers.tv
Production Company
Onur Senturk
Director
James Hagger
Producer
Aurélie Chevalier
Production Manager
Cécile Alvarez
Production Manager
Charles-Philippe Bowle
Production Assistant
Thomas Bidart
1st Assistant Director
Mocaplab
Motion Capture
Remi Brun
Motion Capture Shoot Director
Frank Vaysettest
Motion Capture Supervisor
Charles Fourgeront
Motion Capture Editor
Ahmed Turki
Motion Capture Assistant
Romain Ogerau
Motion Capture Actor
Franck Pech
Motion Capture Actor
Charles Lelaure
Motion Capture Actor
One More
Co-Producer & Post-Production
Benjamin Darras
Post-Producer
Johnny Alves
Art Director
John Meunier
Post-Production Coordinator
Eddy Richard
VFX Supervisor
François-Xavier Gonnet
3D Artist
Gwenhael Glon
Modelling, Setup
Romain Durr
Layout
Jérémie Vidal
Animation
Jérome Rouvelet
Layout, Lighting, Renders, Compositing
Thomas Rodriguez
Layout, Lighting, Renders, Compositing
Tim Lebon
Layout, Lighting, Renders, Compositing
Victor Besse
Layout, Lighting, Renders, Compositing
Alain Xerri
R&D Supervisor
Nicolas Larrouquère
Editor
Romain Bouileau
Additional Editing
Hervé Thouement
Flame Operator
Paolo Nutini
Music
Philippe Mineur
Music Art Direction
Ferdinand Huet
Music Art Direction
Benoit Dunaigre
Sound Producer
Olivier Lefebvre
Head of Music & Sound
Software
Focus
More From Howww
VIEW
Graphic Design
FORCAM Key Visuals
Aleksandr Kuskov
3D Studio Max, Maya, Mental Ray, +1 more...
A.J.
9
A.M.
7
D.S.H.
7
GMUNK
8
J.S.
6.5
M.P.
7.5
M.S.
8
P.K.
7
V.M.H.
6.5
V.C.
7
7.4
Creative
A.J.
9
A.M.
8
D.S.H.
7
GMUNK
7
J.S.
7
M.P.
8
M.S.
8
P.K.
9
V.M.H.
8
V.C.
7
7.8
Design
A.J.
9
A.M.
7
D.S.H.
7
GMUNK
8
J.S.
7
M.P.
9
M.S.
8
P.K.
9
V.M.H.
8
V.C.
8
8
Craft
A.J.
9
A.M.
7.3
D.S.H.
7
GMUNK
7.7
J.S.
6.8
M.P.
8.2
M.S.
8
P.K.
8.3
V.M.H.
7.5
V.C.
7.3
7.7
Total








































VIEW
Motion
Design Principles 2015
Esteban Diacono Motion Graphics
3D Studio Max, After Effects, Cinema 4D, +3 more...
GMUNK
8
D.S.H.
8
J.S.
9
P.K.
8
V.M.H.
9
A.M.
7.8
J.M.
8.5
V.C.
8.5
C.H.
9
P.T.
8
8.4
Creative
GMUNK
8
D.S.H.
8.5
J.S.
8.5
P.K.
8
V.M.H.
9
A.M.
9.5
J.M.
9
V.C.
8
C.H.
8.5
P.T.
8.1
8.5
Design
GMUNK
9
D.S.H.
9.5
J.S.
8.5
P.K.
8
V.M.H.
8
A.M.
6.7
J.M.
8.5
V.C.
8.2
C.H.
8.5
P.T.
8.2
8.3
Craft
GMUNK
8.3
D.S.H.
8.7
J.S.
8.7
P.K.
8
V.M.H.
8.7
A.M.
8
J.M.
8.7
V.C.
8.2
C.H.
8.7
P.T.
8.1
8.4
Total








































VIEW
Motion
Dawn of the Planet of the Zombies and the Giant Killer Plants on some Serious Acid
Alf Lovvold
After Effects, Blackmagic Design Fusion, Illustrator, +2 more...
GMUNK
8.5
R.V.
9
P.T.
8
V.M.H.
6
J.M.
8.5
M.P.
7
G.R.
8
F.A.
6
D.B.
8
A.J.
9
7.8
Creative
GMUNK
8.5
R.V.
8.5
P.T.
8.2
V.M.H.
8.5
J.M.
8
M.P.
7.5
G.R.
8.5
F.A.
7.5
D.B.
9
A.J.
10
8.4
Design
GMUNK
9
R.V.
8.5
P.T.
8.3
V.M.H.
9
J.M.
8.5
M.P.
8
G.R.
8
F.A.
7.5
D.B.
9
A.J.
10
8.6
Craft
GMUNK
8.7
R.V.
8.7
P.T.
8.2
V.M.H.
7.8
J.M.
8.3
M.P.
7.5
G.R.
8.2
F.A.
7
D.B.
8.7
A.J.
9.7
8.3
Total







































