Plover Animation is an animation studio focused on developing high quality NFTs, metaverse assets and films. But it is so much more than that at the same time.
With over 20 artists, animators, writers, and producers, Plover Animation was founded in 2022 to empower women, people of colour and underrepresented communities. Its mission is to serve as a significant participant in solving inequalities and inclusion issues by partnering with like-minded organizations and creating initiatives with a positive impact.
This cohort of creatives aims to include these sectors of society in co-creating and collaboratively participating in building exciting new worlds and solving inequalities and inclusion issues by partnering with like-minded organizations and initiatives. And the metaverse perfectly presents that opportunity.
Founder and CEO of Plover Animation, Jennifer Hotai, explains her vision: “We are in the midst of a technological revolution. I believe creative minds shape the future, and we are responsible for setting the cultural standards of communities in the future. I strongly believe accelerating inclusion is a way for creatives and Plover Animation to make a difference in society – not only in the representation of our animations and artist outputs but in our hiring processes too.”
Women and women of colour make up an abysmal 19% and 7% of head positions in the animation industry.
Plover wants to be part of the global initiative to have more inclusion in workplaces and to discontinue the historical legacy of exclusion in the animation industry. Plover’s staff comprises a diverse team of people of color (POC), females, and non-binary persons, who strongly support LGBTQ+, Autism Speaks, and POC organizations.
They bring a collective experience and knowledge of over 150 years to the table whose previous body of work includes a collective 110-plus projects, grossing $8.2 billion worldwide. Such projects include Dreamworks’ Puss in Boots and The Penguins of Madagascar, 60 Minutes, The CMT Music Awards, CBS Evening News, XBOX 360’s Ghostbusters video game and many others. Their backgrounds include the most prominent studios, including Disney and Sony, and each staff member’s goals are aligned with Plover’s vision of creating for the good of the future and society.
It creates animated films and metaverse assets that promote female empowerment, POC and LGBTQ+ communities.
It also provides internship opportunities for youth from low-income communities. This animation studio believes it will add value to the metaverse in three ways. First, by partnering with web3 companies making a positive difference in virtual and IRL communities. Second, Plover will grow the metaverse community by aiming to become the premiere animation studio for web3 companies and projects of all sizes. Lastly, it prioritizes inclusion and promotes diversity in the metaverse.
Its current work includes an educational AltspaceVR gallery to bring awareness of the Yazidi genocide with the non-profit Nobody’s Listening, and creating animations for the NFT collection ‘Joe Ravioli’ by i-Create.
When it comes to the relevance of this work for the new industry of the metaverse and beyond, Plover views the transition from web2 to web3 as simply a change in purpose for the use of art assets. Jennifer explains: “The character development work can easily be shifted to the metaverse as the virtual representation of users is the same concept as seen in video games and TV series. The many customizable variations needed to create NFT animations can easily be used by those same workflows.”
Jennifer details her inspiration for launching this startup: “I feel the passion for making something new and innovative. The metaverse is the perfect place to do that because it’s new and exciting. The other side of forming an animation studio is the ability to show your creative side by bringing ideas to life, seeing a story with characters and worlds move in real-time that was once only imagined in writing. That is one of the most inspiring things one can experience. I cannot think of a better way to use talent and teamwork.”
Plover believes they will define how the world views the metaverse. It creates awe-inspiring animations and art for web3 virtual worlds, NFTs, and the next generation of films.
