NIVEA
Landing a NIVEA campaign while still in film school. Not bad, Arne.
Back in 2016 and 2017 — while Arne was still studying at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg — he somehow also found the time to create two commercial spots for NIVEA Sun. Which is either a sign of impressive ambition or a very relaxed approach to sleep. Probably both.
The first spot was published online and broadcast across three European countries. The second was for web only. On both, Arne served as head of the visual department — responsible for story development, editing, animation, compositing, and puppet construction. A fairly full plate for a student project. A very full plate for anyone, really.
The Puppet Problem — and How He Solved It
The brief called for puppets that looked as close as possible to NIVEA’s actual product dolls — recognizable, on-brand, faithful to the originals. The catch: the original dolls were made from hard plastic and completely unanimatable.
So Arne took them apart and rebuilt them. The arms and legs were replaced with rigged silicone pieces, giving them the flexibility needed for animation. The head was made moveable. The eyes were replaced entirely.
The animatics for both spots were developed together with Tobias Pinegger — an early collaboration that helped lock in the visual language before a single frame was shot.
Why This One Sticks With Us
The NIVEA spots are a reminder of where this all started. Before the studio — there was a film student in his workshop, pulling apart plastic dolls and figuring out how to make them dance.
Credits
- Production & Direction: Kathrin Rodemayer, Johanna Röder
- Puppets & Animation Direction: Arne Hain
- Animation: Vincent Suttner, Arne Hain
- Storyboard: Tobias Pinegger
- Camera: Michael Throne
- Music: Alerxander Wolf David