ideas in motion

The Big Idea

• Description

  How Do You Make a Good Idea Great?

  Robert Kirkpatrick, Lava Studio

  How do you take an idea from good to great? Don’t just think outside the box. Think about the box!

  So, you have a good idea. It popped up in a flash of pure genius, but where do you go from here? A good idea isn’t worth a thing until you act on it, explore its full potential and grow it into something great. If you want to really express yourself, to inspire people, to promote a brand, if you want to make an impact or get more clicks or likes or dollars, you have to put in the work to make your idea as powerful as it can be.

  That initial inspiration was just the start of your journey. As good as your idea is, it’s impossible to see what shape it will take as you move it down the road. So, how do you avoid getting stuck in the mud or lost in the woods before you reach the finish line?  Start by writing your idea down or sketching it out. This gives you a clear starting point to build upon and a safe place to return to if you begin to lose focus. Just by jotting down your idea you will reveal new possibilities, but also new weaknesses and doubts that you’ll have to overcome. It takes a fearless spirit of exploration to achieve greatness.

  As advertisers, marketers and entertainers, we’re in the idea business. The creative team at my company, Lava Studio, goes through a series of steps to explore the boundaries of a concept and find the sweet spot that resonates with an audience. We’ve created a video, The Big Idea,  to share that process in a fun way, taking a simple square to represent the good idea, and looking at ways to make it great. Each step is a suggestion for looking at your idea differently and critically, and considering all the ways you can wrestle with it, make it better, and reach your target. We hope you’ll find some inspiration in The Big Idea, and that you’ll discover how far can you push your own good ideas to achieve the maximum impact.

• The Big Idea

• Related Projects

  • Lava Reel
  • MLB Tonight 2018
  • Discovery #Mindblown
  • Intentional Talk
  • Lava Mograph Reel
  • The Chef's Nightmare

Design & Animation Reel

• Description

• Lava Design and Animation

Lava Sports Reel

• Description

  Lava loves sports! We always look for a fresh approach. Here’s a collection of our greatest hits for sports programs, networks, teams and venues.

• Lava Sports

  Lava Studio has created several award-winning show packages for MLB Network, promos and upfronts for CBS Sports, and multiscreen experiences at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and MetLife Stadium. Lava has designed and produced team videos for The Miami Marlins, Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United, and developed sports marketing for Geico, Home Depot, Verizon, Truist, Scana, Georgia Power, American Family Insurance, Draft Kings, and many others.

• Related Projects

  • MLB Tonight Show Package 2020
  • BIG3 on CBS Sports
  • The NFL Today on CBS Sports
  • Mercedes-Benz Stadium 360º
  • MLB Central
  • CBS Sports Branded Graphics
  • MLB Network Showcase
  • Intentional Talk
  • CBS Sports | Super Bowl LV

Norwegian LED Sets

• Description

  Digital Sets for Norwegian Viva

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  Lava Studio designed and animated original sets for two spectacular live shows using state-of-the-art LED theater technology on Norwegian Viva! 

  ICONS is a glittering celebration of musical legends, while Syd Norman’s PROM is a lighthearted 80s-themed musical. Lava tested content in custom simulators with Norwegian Cruise Line’s tech specialists, then set sail with the NCL creative team for on-board rehearsals and final installation.

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• Related Projects

  • The Big Idea
  • Design & Animation Reel
  • Discovery #Mindblown
  • Inside The Lava Studio - Virtual Sets

MLB Live Game Package

• Description

  MLB REGIONAL MEDIA PACKAGE

  2024’s baseball season opens with Lava’s fresh regional show packages for 3 MLB teams.

  MLB has launched 2024’s live game coverage for the Diamondbacks, Padres and Rockies with a robust graphics package designed by Lava Studio. The visual framework of Lava’s versatile game package is shared between all three teams, but each version comes alive with the players, logos, colors and regional landmarks of each team, giving fans a hyper-local game experience. Lava’s design team, headed by CD David Woodward, brought in 152 unique deliverables and multiple toolkits to keep things exciting for every live game.

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• Related Projects

  • MLB Central
  • MLB Tonight Show Package 2020
  • MLB Network Showcase
  • Intentional Talk
  • Lava Sports Reel
  • MLB Tonight 2018

Inside The Lava Studio - Virtual Sets

• Description

  Lava’s David Woodward shares a behind-the-scenes look at the production process of working with CGI virtual sets and LED screens.

• Museum of Pest Control

• Termite-nator 2

AI Animation v2.0

• Description

  Lava continues to explore the potential for production-ready character animation based on live footage. Here we share our latest samples, and demonstrate the progress made since our original AI demo just a few months ago. Stay tuned for more Inside the Lava Studio.

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• Related Projects

  • Inside The Lava Studio - Virtual Sets
  • Streamlining Productions with Virtual Sets

MLB Central

• Description

  Lava Studio and MLB Network have created a non-traditional on-air package for MLB Central that doesn’t use just one look, embracing instead a diverse mix of elements and styles that work great together to keep up the fun throughout the three-hour morning broadcast. Bumps and transitions were sourced out of the original collection of seven unique opens, and additional show elements were inspired by that variety as well. Lava’s design and animation team valued the chance to break some rules and explore an array of styles.

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• Related Projects

  • MLB Tonight Show Package 2020
  • BIG3 on CBS Sports
  • MLB Network Showcase
  • CBS Sports Branded Graphics

Columbia Sportswear

• Description

  CYLNDR
  Columbia Sportswear
  Infinitely Warm multi-platform campaign

  Lava turned up the heat for Columbia Sportswear with full postproduction for this multi-pronged product launch campaign. Lava enhanced CYLNDR’s live action assets with lots of vfx, and created a wide variety of deliverables to accommodate their massive digital media buy. In addition to the traditional content spots (:15, :10 :06), Lava delivered multiple high-resolution, multiformat OOH still and video versions for airports, commuter rails, hotels, restaurants, retail kiosks, billboards and sports venues.

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• Related Projects

  • WhatsApp Business
  • Regeneron - Spectacular Science Series
  • Mahatma/Carolina Social Animations
  • Guy Harvey Heroes

Discovery #Mindblown

• Description

  Lava’s Creatives worked closely with Discovery for the development of Discovery #Mindblown, a new STEM brand for kids. We participated in the evolution of #Mindblown leading up to its launch as a popular product brand with a unique interactive digital experience. Lava designed the #Mindblown video style, and wrote and produced the #Mindblown Blast series! David Woodward directed our young cast, and Lava’s Design and Animation Team created 25 unique and engaging episodes, exposing kids to fun facts about science, nature and tech.

• Discovery #Mindblown Reel

• Discovery #Mindblown - Moon

• Discovery #Mindblown - Time Travel

• Discovery #Mindblown - Planes

• Discovery #Mindblown - Climate

• Discovery #Mindblown - Eclipse

The Most Hated Woman in America - Titles

• Description

• Outro Titles

• Related Projects

  • The Forever Purge - Main Titles
  • American Refugee Main Titles

Regeneron - Spectacular Science Series

• Description

  Lava brought a fresh look and a lighthearted approach to Regeneron’s Spectacular Science series. The short videos educate, inspire and show how Regeneron is changing the future of medicine and health technology. Lava was honored when the series was a Shorty Award Finalist in Pharma & Healthcare.

  The Spectacular Science series contributed significantly to Regeneron’s overall marketing success.

  Engagement stats:

  • combined ~100M impressions (exceeding their goal by 211%
  • 28.8M qualified views with over 25% completion 
  • 171.8K clicks to site, driving an 808% increase in visitors to site.
  • users spent an average of 4:24 on the landing page, watching multiple videos and journeying forward to relevant pages.
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Cash Castle

• Description
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• Related Projects

  • Guy Harvey Heroes
  • Margaritaville
  • Gold Rush

The Forever Purge - Main Titles

• Description

• The Forever Purge Main Titles

  Lava Studio took an unexpected approach to the main titles for the fifth installment in the popular Purge film series. Lava’s design team created idyllic watercolors of Americana that are fractured to reveal the sinister underside, replete with Purge masks and imagery exposing violence, racial tension, anti-immigrant sentiment and societal decay.

• Related Projects

  • American Refugee Main Titles
  • The Most Hated Woman in America - Titles
  • Just Beyond

MLB Tonight Show Package 2020

• Description

  MLB Network called on Lava Studio to follow up their Promax Gold-winning and Emmy-nominated MLB Tonight show package with a whole new look for the new season (and yet another Emmy nomination!). Lava’s concept was to use the iconic home plate shape as the visual motif for the broadcast package redesign. The home plate shape anchors everything from the show open to animated graphic elements and live set content, giving MLB Tonight a unique branded look that baseball fans love. Play Ball!

• MLB Tonight Package Elements

• Related Projects

  • The NFL Today on CBS Sports
  • BIG3 on CBS Sports
  • MLB Network Showcase
  • MLB Tonight 2018

Streamlining Productions with Virtual Sets

• Description
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  Not every virtual production employs animated CG sets, Unreal and sweeping crane shots. Sometimes we shoot simple setups on virtual sets just to save time, money and stress! Here we look behind the scenes of Lava’s Hulett shoot to show how we employed static CGI, stock photos, and a little ingenuity to produce two spots in one day. We traveled to 8 unique locations without leaving the studio, offering our client great value without huge production costs, and minimizing the compositing and postproduction headaches of green screen.

  Yes, Lava does those incredible CG sets with Unreal as well, but sometimes it pays to keep things simple!

• Related Projects

  • Inside The Lava Studio - Virtual Sets

Just Beyond

• Description

  Lava created VFX for over 150 shots for the supernatural anthology series Just Beyond on Disney+. These included physical transformations, magic effects, retouching and CGI props.

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• Related Projects

  • Lava VFX Reel
  • WhatsApp Business

Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection - Safety Montage

• Description

  Lava Studio handled design, copywriting, production and postproduction for Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s on board safety video. Our task was to communicate instructions clearly while maintaining the tasteful elegance of the brand.

• Ritz-Carlton Safety Video

Guy Harvey Heroes

• Description

  Assignment:  Conceptualize and produce a distinctive campaign to promote the Florida Lottery’s co-branded scratch-off game, supporting the marine life foundation of the conservationist and nautical artist Guy Harvey.

  The Big Idea: Lava’s Director David Woodward brought in an ocean of inspiration by proposing a unique blend of original live action, stock footage, animation and vfx. Sea creatures swirl around the artist as he paints in an enchanted Caribbean studio. 

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  The Process: Lava built an artist’s space furnished with creative supplies and nautical artifacts. Due to limited time, we pre-plotted each shot with a stand-in prior to Guy’s arrival. Shots were designed with compositing and vfx in mind, to match preselected stock footage of marine life, which was later rotoscoped and integrated into the final scenes. Postproduction included compositing and animation, fluid simulations, particles, and 3D type integration.

  Results: A simple concept cleanly executed with unexpected visual interest, and another successful partnership for the Florida Lottery, raising $4.6 million for education, supporting conservation, and supporting the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation’s community outreach programs.

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• Related Projects

  • Margaritaville
  • Monopoly Florida Edition

BIG3 on CBS Sports

• Description

  We’re excited to share Lava’s latest project promoting the BIG3 on CBS Sports. With David Woodward as Director, Lava headed to Vegas to shoot basketball legends and all-stars, and the founder of the BIG3 himself, Ice Cube. From concept to completion, Lava produced a 5 spot campaign for the 2019 season.

• No Clock

• All-Stars

• Great Things

• 3 On 3

• Related Projects

  • MLB Tonight 2018
  • MLB Network Showcase
  • Mercedes-Benz Stadium 360º
  • The NFL Today on CBS Sports
  • CBS Sports | Super Bowl LV

Mercedes-Benz Stadium 360º

• Description

  Assignment: Create branded content for 8 founding partners on the largest video canvas in the world; the unique multi-screens at the home of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United.

  Engage the crowd with sports-themed takeovers of 20 LED screens of all shapes and dimensions.

  The Big Idea: Adapt each sponsor’s brand to appeal directly to the live sports fan during games.

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  The Process: Lava worked directly with each brand and their agencies to develop exciting football and soccer themed content into their 360º game experience. We established a bond with fans by showing that these major brands share their passion for the game. 

  Results: Brands connected to their audience. Many doubled down and asked Lava to create additional content for in-game promotions and related content for other venues and other sports.

• Related Projects

  • Environmental Reel
  • Miami Marlins

Margaritaville

• Description

  In this magical spot, Lava’s production and vfx team transforms a humdrum day at the office into a colorful vacation in paradise, one scratch at a time. Director David Woodward.

  Lava’s Margaritaville spot for the Florida Lottery makes use of most of the tools in Lava’s bag of tricks. We held castings in Miami and LA to find the right comic tone for the spot. We shot on two locations, an office interior and one of our beautiful South Florida beaches. Our Edit and Postproduction Team put it all together with a variety of VFX and CGI. Watch our behind-the-scenes video to see how we did it.

• Behind the Scenes

• Related Projects

  • Guy Harvey Heroes
  • Gold Rush
  • Monopoly Florida Edition

MLB Network Showcase

• Description

  The hottest live games on MLB Network got hotter with Lava’s redesign of the MLB Network Showcase show package. Lava’s concept for the show was to take the viewer on a fast paced ride through 2D compositions that unexpectedly transition into 3D space and back again, always playing with viewer’s sense of space. Lava’s design integrates three star players from each team into animated graphic environments. It was essential that the design be customizable for each specific game matchup, as if the open was made to order for every game.

• MLB Network Showcase Graphics Package

• Related Projects

  • MLB Tonight Show Package 2020
  • MLB Tonight 2018
  • The NFL Today on CBS Sports
  • BIG3 on CBS Sports
  • Lava Reel

Monopoly Florida Edition

• Description

  It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Birds are singing, the sun is shining…and giant dice are tumbling through the streets! SJ&P wanted to roll the dice in their spot, but not with their production. That’s why they tapped Lava to take this spot from storyboard to completion. Director David Woodward and Lava’s creative team built a community of Monopoly millionaires by combining live production, animation and VFX. Enjoy the spot and take a look behind the scenes to see how Lava made it happen.

• Behind The Scenes

• Related Projects

  • Guy Harvey Heroes
  • Margaritaville
  • Gold Rush

MLB Tonight 2018

• Description

  Diehard fans can’t live without their nightly dose of live baseball on MLB Tonight. Lava’s unique design wraps the excitement in a network show package that is a radical departure from traditional sports graphics. We see the construction of an abstracted baseball, and inside it we see ballparks, highlights, and all the textures associated with our national pastime. Winner of Promax Global Gold, North American Gold, and two Silver awards for Art Direction and Design, and nominated for a Sports Emmy Award.

  In addition to the open, Lava’s Design and Animation Team created over 40 additional unique graphic elements for the show, and each makes unexpected creative use of the textures and materials of the game.

• MLB Tonight Bumps

• MLB Tonight Behind the Scenes

• MLB Tonight Package Elements

  https://vimeo.com/163296403

• Related Projects

  • MLB Tonight Show Package 2020
  • The NFL Today on CBS Sports
  • BIG3 on CBS Sports
  • MLB Network Showcase

MLB Central

• Description

  Lava took a fun and unconventional approach to graphic design and production for MLB Central, seen every morning on MLB Network.

  We created a world in which everything is baseball, and each detail refers to the game. Every component of this epic broadcast package contains visual gags and wordplay that tie in with MLB culture and history.

  The centerpiece of the MLB Central package is the show open, which takes place during rush hour in MLB City. Twenty-one All Star players commute to work, along with fans, mascots, vendors, and more. Lava’s production crew shot in four cities, and spent five months in animation and post to produce all the inventive and richly detailed components of this signature series for MLB Network. Watch the behind-the-scenes video to see how Director David Woodward works with celebrity athletes.

• Scene Breakdown

• Behind the Scenes

• Bumps

• Package Samples

• Style Frames

  

  

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• Related Projects

  • MLB Tonight 2018
  • MLB Gladiators
  • The Rundown
  • Miami Marlins

• Related Downloads

  • MLB Central Storyboard

Faces of PSC

• Description

  With Faces of PSC, Lava Studio raised awareness of Primary Schlerosing Cholangitis, a rare liver disease that affects nearly 30,000 individuals in the US alone. Lava interviewed patients and caregivers, physicians, researchers and organizers to shed light on this devastating and little-known condition. Lava produced Faces of PSC for PSC Partners to inform patients, encourage support, and to advance their mission of seeking a cure for PSC.

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Robert Kirkpatrick

Owner/Creative

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  Robert founded Lava Studio in 1999 after years as a Creative Director in New York and Miami.  He is a two-time Emmy winner and eight-time nominee for Graphic Design and Animation. Lava is Robert’s long-term passion project. He has assembled an All Star team of visual virtuosos with the perfect blend of enthusiasm and experience. Robert studied Film and Painting at New York’s Pratt Institute. He has visited 5 continents and 49 states, and lived in Chicago, LA, New York, and Lagos, Nigeria. He loves painting, movies, baseball, Indian food, and traveling with his family.  His dream is to find more time to enjoy them all.  Fun fact: Robert competed on Jeopardy against GOAT Ken Jennings (guess who won).

David Woodward

Director / Creative Director

Dana Bonomo

Exec Producer / Managing Director