MADNESS

Imagine drowning in a plastic sea of our own making. Being unable to surface, to breathe, due to the sheer weight and volume of our trash. Wasteminster is exactly that- a unique depiction of what would happen if the plastic waste the UK exports each day was instead dumped on Downing Street. 

Voiced by two of Britain’s best impressionists, Jon Culshaw and Matt Forde, the animation is intended to raise a smile at the impressions of Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, and to place the politician’s dummy-personas in direct conflict with the invisible consequences of their own actions and raise awareness of the plastic pollution crisis the UK is creating overseas.

By taking critical big data about humanity's impact on our planet and creating a visual representation, we lift the veil of a reality thus far unseen.

Method

‍With satellite imagery, MNM™️ created a digital twin of 10 Downing Street to serve as the location for the commercial. Over 60 unique mannequin models were created, with special attention given to the Boris and Gove mannequins. 

Using our virtual camera rig, we were able to work closely with the directors at Studio Birthplace, allowing us to organically find the best angles to portray each scene and retain that immediate natural creativity you find on traditional film sets. Using 67.7 million digital pieces of plastic, we choreographed and directed the plastic waste wave with the help of bespoke software and tools.

In total, the two minute film required roughly 14,600 hours of render time, or 20 months, to create the final shots. The CO2 emitted by our render farm was compensated for.

Impact

With 6 million views in five days, our “Wasteminster” concept gets the often social-media lauded tag of being “viral”. Vimeo’s Staff Pick, and shot’s Campaign and Ad of the week, The Greenpeace investigation spurred Turkey — where Great Britain sends 40% of its plastic waste export — to announce its ban on UK plastic waste imports.