The One Show
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Opera
Agency Broken Heart Love Affair / Toronto + Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) / Toronto + Chemistry Film / Copenhagen + Revolver Films / Toronto
Category
Cinematography / Single
Annual ID
OS25_MI091M
Background
In 2022, ROM launched a new brand platform, ‘Immortal, transforming the museum's role from a passive viewing space into a dynamic catalyst for cultural discourse. ROM's core offering is comprised of three main pillars: Human History, Natural History and Fine Art. While our initial launch focused on Human History, this second iteration faced a specific challenge within Natural History - our exhibits, though extensive, were failing to create meaningful connections with visitors. We needed to transform these static displays into emotionally resonant experiences that would inspire people to see their relationship with the natural world in a new light.
The audience target is comprised of a psychographic thread that spans multiple segments as defined by Environics, expanding the audience from 20% of available adults to 60% of Canadian adults. The target audience are adults who seek educational and cultural experiences and appreciate exploring new ideas.
The audience target is comprised of a psychographic thread that spans multiple segments as defined by Environics, expanding the audience from 20% of available adults to 60% of Canadian adults. The target audience are adults who seek educational and cultural experiences and appreciate exploring new ideas.
Creative Idea
Building on ROM's "Immortal" platform, "Opera," features a chimpanzee who delivers an unexpected and moving performance. As the chimpanzee stares out onto the vast expanse of earth, she sings an operatic aria from L'elisir d'amore - an impassioned love song to our planet and all the species that shaped its history. Through her eyes, we witness the beauty, chaos, destruction, and rebirth of the natural world, creating profound moments of sadness, wonder, and awe. The earth revealed through the chimp’s performance is equally brutal as it is beautiful, encouraging viewers to reconsider humanity's place within Earth's vast timeline and learn from our planet's past five mass extinction events.
This emotional connection through the chimpanzee’s performance was key to reframing how visitors engage with ROM's Natural History exhibits. By establishing this deep, empathetic link between humans and nature, we aimed to inspire not just museum visits, but a lasting commitment to environmental stewardship - perfectly aligned with the broader "Immortal" campaign's mission of preserving our world for future generations.
Opera was featured as a 3-minute film with :60, :30 and :15 second cut downs. The 3-minute piece is an exhibit within ROM, like its predecessor, and ran online. The :60, :30 and :15s ran in cinema, ConnectedTV and in OLV.
This emotional connection through the chimpanzee’s performance was key to reframing how visitors engage with ROM's Natural History exhibits. By establishing this deep, empathetic link between humans and nature, we aimed to inspire not just museum visits, but a lasting commitment to environmental stewardship - perfectly aligned with the broader "Immortal" campaign's mission of preserving our world for future generations.
Opera was featured as a 3-minute film with :60, :30 and :15 second cut downs. The 3-minute piece is an exhibit within ROM, like its predecessor, and ran online. The :60, :30 and :15s ran in cinema, ConnectedTV and in OLV.
Insights & Strategy
The experience of natural history in museums is often seen as static and quiet because fixed displays are not typically put in context. The truth is nature is anything but static. The natural world is chaotic, violent, beautiful and it is serene, sometimes all at once. The human moment is merely a blip in the story of time, and it is the enormity of the world before us that, if we listen carefully, can help us understand who we are, where we come from and how we can navigate our future on this planet. The natural world is anything but static, it is the most dramatic story ever told.
Our strategy was to overwhelm people with the emotion of the beauty and chaos of the natural world.
Our strategy was to overwhelm people with the emotion of the beauty and chaos of the natural world.
Execution
To create the chimpanzee, the VFX team animated everything by hand, emphasizing a deep commitment to authenticity and craft. Absolutely no AI was used in its creation. Every aspect was meticulously crafted by hand and every muscle movement, nostril hair and eye twitch was carefully designed and added. Finding the balance of beauty without being uncanny took a lot of fine-tuning and the crew dedicated significant time to studying chimpanzee behavior through various media to ensure authenticity in Luna's design and movements. They aimed for a naturalistic yet immersive, enhanced feel to the imagery, drawing from the unique environment of Utah where filming took place. Overall, the extensive effort put into understanding and animating Luna resulted in a deeply personal connection to the character.
Results
The objective of the campaign is to shift public perception of ROM and at this moment brand health metrics are not available, though a study is in field.
2025 Awards
Total Points: 3
Merit
Credits
Agency
Broken Heart Love Affair / Toronto
Media Agency
Cairns Oneil / Toronto
Client / Brand
Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) / Toronto
Production Company
Revolver Films / Toronto
Post Production Company
Chemistry Film / Copenhagen
Animator
José Luis de Lucas
Devika Nagarkar
Art Director
Jaimes Zentil
Chief Creative Officer
Craig McIntosh
Jaimes Zentil
Chief Marketing Officer
Sally Tindal
Chief Strategy Officer
Jay Chaney
Composer
Jonas Horstad Larsen
Copywriter
Craig McIntosh
Creative Director
Mikael Balle
Director
Rune Milton
Director of Photography
Paul Meyers
Editor
Adam Nielsen
Producer
Olivier Rosset
Sound Designer
Kevin Koch
Executive Producer
Richard Cureton
Luc Frappier
Camilla Nilsson
Lead Animator
Gabriela Popov
SVP, Executive Producer
Erica Metcalfe
Business Affairs
Makoto Nakata
Casting Company
Bao Casting / New York
Casting Director
Damian Bao
CG Artist
Daniel Karlsson
CG Generalist
Dennis Bahnson
CG Supervisor
Kim Fersling
Character Artist
Dmytro Teslenko
Character Technical Director
Dennis Bahnson
Choreographer, Performer
Jennifer Rose
Colourist
Nurali Kushkov
Compositor
Bruno Edelman
Victor Beckmann
Director, Client Success
Jake White
EVP, Managing Director
Rachelle Claveau
FX Artist
Esben Bjerring
Grigoriy Voyakin
Lead Lighting Artist
Aleksei Dorokhin
Line Producer
Andrew Peterson
Manager, Marketing
Katlyn Olo
Emily Wright
Managing Director
Tim Hughes
Pipeline Technical Director
Esben Bjerring
Post Coordinator
Rose Aspöck
Jakob Witt
Record Company
Warner Classics / Erato / Paris
Stock Footage Company
Stock Film Supply / Forth Worth
VFX Supervisor
Mario Maruska
VP, Brand Marketing
Kathryn Brownlie
VP, Client Success
Cass Farry
VP, Strategy
Carly Miller
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