Hands across the savannah for WWF's â€œSave The Cerradoâ€ campaign

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GLOBAL – LONDON, UK, JUNE 2011 – WWF-UK has collaborated with creative agency Neo and award-winning mixed media and animation company th1ng for the “Save the Cerrado” campaign.

Directed by Kirk Hendry, the film exclusively uses hand shadows to tell its story and raise awareness of the devastating effects of commercial agriculture in the Brazilian savannah, Cerrado, urging consumers to take action to save it.

Hendry, who was chosen the ‘Most Promising Newcomer’ at the Creative Circle Awards 2010, directed the film working together withArgentinean shadow artist El Mago Serpico. The film was commissioned by Neo, which designed the concept.

The film shows the diverse world of Cerrado recreated through carefully hand-shadowed shapes featuring the land’s architecture, plants and its unique animals. The hand shadows are complemented by the use of light effects, music and voiceover.

Kirk Hendry, director, said: “In researching this project and discovering the rich and precious variation of life in the Cerrado, and then working with the hand magician to create these ‘living animals’ with nothing but his two hands, has been a very memorable experience. One that we hope will make people feel a connection with these majestic creatures the way we did”.

The original use of hand shadowing applied in the film has only been attempted on few occasions. This prompted WWF-UK and the th1ng team to create a short video about the making of the project. The video features interviews with the filmmakers, the hand magician and music composer and gives an insight into the complexity and unusual nature of creating the unique “Save the Cerrado” film.