Yamamura
Institucional Storytelling

Concept, Style Frames Storyboard, Composition

Motion, Edition, Sound Mix

Yamamura, the iconic São Paulo store specialized in sales of lamps and fixtures, sought to modernize its visual identity to better engage its audience and remain relevant in the market. Upon reaching its 50th anniversary, they released a book detailing the founders' history since immigrating to Brazil in 1910, narrating challenges and the initial steps in business.

To present this story in a captivating way, the agency responsible for the brand requested a 5-minute animated video focused on the life of Chie Yamamura, one of the founders.

The script contained a wealth of information, spanning from Chie Yamamura's birth to the present day. However, parallel research was necessary to determine how to present certain aspects, such as the appearance of characters and images of buildings, objects, and locations in different decades. All of this was to ensure coherence with the chronology of the story.

A recurring theme in the script was the representation of the ups and downs faced by the characters, reflecting light and shadow, in tune with the brand's main product. From the initial drafts, I sought to highlight these moments using contrasts of light and dark colors. The color green, the brand's primary color, gradually emerges in the narrative, following the trajectory of the main character.

The shapes present in the story were inspired by chandeliers and fixtures, symbolizing "the light that each of us possesses." The lines were influenced by the arts of Japanese culture.

As part of the process, I developed a storyboard that closely resembled the final result, allowing for a clearer visualization of the video before full production and advancing the illustrations for the animation phase. This is not common in the storyboard process, as we usually do not show the final layout.

However, it's a particular approach of mine aimed at speeding up the approval and production time. I avoid spending too much time on this stage because I know the client may radically alter the storyboard.

Due to a scheduling conflict, I only had 10 days to animate, edit, and mix the video. Despite the extremely tight deadline (for a video of this type, I had estimated 4 weeks for animation), I managed to deliver a streamlined version within the allotted time. In the end, the client was very pleased with the final result.