We are, of course, very very fond of all of our Clients, but we do have to admit to having a very special place in our collective hearts for the ones who say things like “oh, feel free to be as creative as you want with this!”

Payara were one such Client. They approached us with a brief for a 90 second animation that needed to be funny, tongue in cheek and to appeal to an audience made up of 30 something computer geeks fans.

And, as a studio made up primarily of 30 something computer geeks fans, we put our heads together and decided to theme the film like an old 32 bit computer game. Because we all know that computer geeks fans and retro games go together like Mario and Princess Peach… or they would if she didn’t keep getting captured all the bleedin’ time.

This is a film with lots of hidden meanings and symbols littered through it – some subtle, some less so. We thought carefully about the imagery, aiming to find that precarious balance between funny and, you know, libellous.

It tells the story of the little GlassFish (a piece of software that’s no longer being supported by Oracle) who is abandoned by a “wizard” and left to fend for itself in the dark and murky seas. The fragile GlassFish is mocked and laughed at by various creatures, and is attacked by bugs until it is too weak to stand on it’s own. Then, just as it reaches the end of it’s life, it is sucked in to a machine and transformed in to a mighty PAYARA fish! It’s health is restored, and it is now big, strong and able to kick butt.