Arcana's Brand Story
Arcana
• 2021
Creative Direction
+ 3D & VFX
+ Motion Design
The Question
How do you visualize data extraction when the pain is invisible and the solution is infrastructure?
Brief
The team at Arcana had an interesting problem, and a voiceover script that opened with "We all deserve a world where we don't have to sell our souls to the powers that be."
Beneath that language was a structured problem statement: that Web3 embedded privacy at the protocol level, but the tools developers needed to build over it extracted private data, often at every level of implementation. You either chose privacy or functional apps, not both. This penalty meant developers who chose privacy had to accept slower production or a lack of tools. It ripples across broken UX. Simply stating this problem wouldn't push anyone to care, especially when half the world was averse to the world "blockchain".
Arcana had built infrastructure that eliminated this penalty. And they needed a story to go with it. A visual, visceral story to show the invisible pain of extraction and the ease of data security.
Approach
Following a rapid animatic stage and discussion, we framed this as a state change problem: show extraction as a condition people live under, then show what normal looks like when that condition ends. Arcana just happens to be catalyzing it.
Given the creative freedom from the client, we leaned into a fully 3D production, including a bold attempt at the holy grail of 3D: convincing human models. This created a space for genuine collaboration on the technical details that would make the world feel credible to their audience.
We chose a few pointed worldbuilding devices:
Extraction of memories <> A (not entirely inaccurate) symbol for how private data is treated, even today.
A terminal with brutalist and art-deco styling <> antiquated ideas of privacy, and automation built to extract.
An off-world Dyson sphere <> a visualization of the vast magnitude of data extraction. A global penalty.
The Privacy (W)reckoning <> Arcana's presence and vision as a catalyst in this extant world.
Making of
The holy grail of humans in 3D is always a complex technical challenge. Getting to "convincing" is difficult, leave alone photorealism. In the week-long sprint, we aimed for "convincing" to a non-technical person's eye. I also drew on a prior visual device from my personal explorations: silver metallic tattoos. Or silvering, as I called it. We used this as a mark of "extraction" on the humans. Beautiful. Striking. Deadly.
I conceptualized a retro-futurist workstation with gold detailing and a countdown display labeled "Privacy (W)Reckoning." Given that we had a terminal running code, and given that Arcana's leadership are developers, I asked that they take part in the process, and write realistic code for that terminal. Sure, it wouldn't compile in any real way, but it certainly made space for equal collaboration in our distinct subject matters.
I enlisted Roshan's chops in making a strong, memorable two-sided musical motif. Between the soaring lines of a fretless bass, accented with the alarming, unconventional resonance of a Manjira, we had an excellent atmosphere and backdrop for the spot.
Along the way, a major focus for Arcana was in grounding this correctly. I proposed multiple early solutions: a data ouroboros (which is, ironically, exactly where we are today), a liminal "digital" space, and more abstract metaphors, all of which simply weren't as direct as a warm, safe, lived space. So we saturated that space with easter eggs for atmosphere, and let the human envision and live in this future, too.
Impact
At the time of making this short, there was still a lot of market optimism around Web3. However, the crypto crash (a few weeks after this was made) meant Arcana had to pivot. Ultimately, the best thing this film does is to reinforce that a focus on privacy isn't a far-fetched idea at all. It was also a deeply collaborative, fearless project for a fearless client.
Credits
Creative Direction - Niranjan Raghu
Strategy - Ishtaarth Dalmia
Music and sound design - Roshan C Machayya
At Arcana:
Strategy - Mayur Relekar, Aravindh Kumar
Chief Design Officer - Sharan Grandigae