THROUGH THE DARK
Interactive Music Video
Talbot says the poignant animation managed to reduce a room full of hardened, cynical creatives almost to tears. “It wasn’t just something new, but something beautifully executed,” she says. “It’s a music video that does something very different to what you’d expect a music video to do. It gave me goosebumps.”
‘Five things that most impress D&AD Judges’
Through the Dark is a 4 ½ minute 3D-animated interactive film I wrote & directed for Google. It’s an experience that’s viewed in a web browser and rendered in real-time, allowing the user to experience the story by changing the camera’s perspective and moving between two worlds.
The project was a collaboration with Hilltop Hoods and features their song of the same title. The track was written by one of the band members, Daniel Smith, when his eight-year-old son Liam was diagnosed with leukaemia and spent six-months in hospital. Based on this experience, the film tells a poignant story of a boy and his father struggling with their fears of losing one another.

Through the Dark has found a lot of success, having been awarded over 50 accolades at international award shows. However I feel its merit is better measured by the stories I’ve heard of how much it’s affected people emotionally and inspired them creatively.
Experience Through the Dark here:




Client: Google
Music: Hilltop Hoods
Creative Director: Michael Armstrong
Associate Technology Director: Blake Kus
Executive Producer: Kim Wildenburg
Animation Studio: XYZ Studios
Design: Eran Hilleli
Storyboard Artist: Xavier Irvine
Lead Animator: Marco Palmieri
CG Lead: Stevie Watkins
Senior TD: Richard Osellame
Animation Producer: Garett Mayow
Agency: R/GA Sydney