Fonic has partnered once again with Nexus Studios and director Johnny Kelly to provide sound design for the commercial for Austrian energy company Energie AG’s ‘Feeling Good’ campaign, developed with Studio Sonntag.
The commercial reimagines everyday electricity outlets as singing sockets, combining live action and animation to create a warm and characterful depiction of connection and energy. Kelly, who previously worked with Fonic on his acclaimed award – winning Chipotle commercials, returned to collaborate with the studio on this distinctive production.
Johnny Kelly explains, “I wanted the realism of a live shoot, but the control of an animated performance. Tracking 3D-animated lips onto real sockets gave us the best of both worlds. Our goal was to breathe more humanity into these sockets than we could into any actor, and if you feel like your own sockets are watching you afterwards, we’ve done our job.”
The soundtrack features a new recording of Newley and Bricusse’s classic Feeling Good, made famous by Nina Simone, performed by UK-based SIPHO. His performance gives each socket its own sense of personality and style; from the softness of a single socket, to the chorus of a three-way extension lead, to the strong vibrato of a vehicle charging point. Fonic built upon SIPHO’s track to create a detailed and dynamic mix, adjusting the reverb of each socket to reflect its specific space and environment.
Fonic’s foley recordist Stephen Maxwell, working with foley artist Andrea King, created a series of sound cues to enhance the realism of the animation. Maxwell notes, “Creating the subtle blend of live and animated action requires the foley stage to be handled with finesse. It is down to the combination of the correct items and foley performances that help sell the reality of inanimate objects coming to life. Andrea King and I were sure to add the right materials in order to immerse the listener in a world of audio that they more than likely recognise — the light flowing fabric of the curtain or the hard hollow plastic of the extension cable. All of the human elements were also performed to create a seamless blend straight from the start, the person sitting and relaxing with headphones to the feet traversing from hardwood to carpet. These performances were then used in the final mix to blend all elements of the sound together.” The final audio mix, led by Christopher Swaine, combines the foley-created soundscape with SIPHO’s reinterpreted soundtrack to reinforce and complement Kelly’s vision.
This collaboration continues a creative relationship between Johnny Kelly, Nexus Studios and Fonic, uniting distinctive storytelling, craft, and technical expertise to give sockets some soul and bring the ‘Feeling Good Campaign’ campaign to life for Energie AG.
Credits
Client: Energie AG
Agency: Sonntag
Production Company: Nexus Studios
Director: Johnny Kelly
Executive Producers: Jo Bierton, Antony Austin
Producers: Luke Tierney, Tyler Antin
Director of Photography: Luke Jacobs
Sound Design: Fonic
Mix Christopher: Swaine
Foley Recordist: Stephen Maxwell
Foley Artist: Andrea King
Song performed by: SIPHO
Client: Energie AG
Agency: Sonntag
Production Company: Nexus Studios
Director: Johnny Kelly
Executive Producers: Jo Bierton, Antony Austin
Producers: Luke Tierney, Tyler Antin
Director of Photography: Luke Jacobs
Sound Design: Fonic
Mix Christopher: Swaine
Foley Recordist: Stephen Maxwell
Foley Artist: Andrea King
Song performed by: SIPHO
