Sainsbury's "Red Nose Day 2015" for Comic Relief by Liz Murphy

Red Nose Day is upon us again!

The fundraising extravaganza in aid of Comic Relief wouldn't be complete without it's number one VIP - and we're not talking about Lenny Henry (sorry Lenny!). The famous red nose has always been centre to each of the charity campaigns and this year's nose is back to the power of 9: nine specially designed noses are available to buy at Sainsbury's, each with their own individual personality.

The naughty noses are shown 'in the wild' in this latest short spot, lensed by the magnificent Liz Murphy. They giggle with delight as a Mum and her son spot them frolicing in the veg aisle.

It's a fun little spot for a fantastic cause: since 1999, Sainsbury's has raised £94 million for Comic Relief, with the charity using the cash to help vulnerable and disadvantaged people in the UK and in Africa.

See more of Liz's work over at the Nice Shirt website.

Toffifee "No Place Like Home"by Liz Murphy

Liz's latest wants us to spend some quality family time.

Dad and the kids are getting arty and crafty at the kitchen table. Mum is being helped-but-not-really-helped putting new sheets on the bed. The kids are making sure every last bubble is popped on the bubble wrap. Liz's film revels in these simple, cosy family moments we all can relate to, whilst also reminding us to put down our phones and enjoy time spent together as a family, with all its messes, giggles, shouts and fun. Even the dog gets some love. Top the whole thing off with some delicious chocolate treats and you've got the perfect day. 

Our day spent with the Toffifee family is beautifully observational as we get right in amongst their day spent together. We get the prefect family portrait where paint is spilled and pans boil over, all directed with a tone and subtlety we've come to expect from Liz's wonderful work. Plus the family plays balloon football in scuba flippers, so you've really got no reason not to watch. 

See more of Liz's fine work over at the Nice Shirt website:

http://www.niceshirtfilms.com

Petplan "My Job, Your Job"by Liz Murphy

Pets hard at work, hardly working.

What if pets had jobs? It's a thought that had crossed our minds and both entertained and horrified in equal measure (octopus dentist).

Thankfully, Liz's latest asks the same question and keeps us more than entertained, with lashings of cuteness thrown in on the side. It's our jobs as owners to look after our pets - so what, then, are our pets' jobs? We see lots of critters hard at it in the film, and yes, there are kittens involved.

Liz further demonstrates her unique diversity, getting some amazing performances from our animals, subtly framed by some delightful music and VO. David Reviews awarded it Five Stars and we tend to agree. 

Front Page News

There's a familiar image on the front page of this week's Campaign magazine... Why, it's from Liz's National Trust spot! Catch the cover star here:

Answers on a postcard as to what time in the spot the still comes from. 

National Trust - Creative Review

Creative Review loves Liz's awesome National Trust film as much as we do! 

The spot has made it onto a round-up of the week's best work - watch it here:

National Trust "50 Things" by Liz Murphy

Liz Murphy directs an extremely fun campaign for the National Trust.

The delightful film sees a bunch of very bored-looking children stuck indoors with very little to do. Then, in a blink of an eye, we're thrown outside with the kids into the joy of the great outdoors and all manner of encounters at National Trust locations. 

The film is the centrepiece of the National Trust's '50 Things To Do Before You're 11¾' initiative to get children back-in touch with nature - in every sense - from holding creepy-crawlies and rock-pooling in the hunt for crabs, to the simple joys of rolling down big hills and sitting out under the stars for a spot of stargazing. All lovely clean, wholesome stuff. And lots of great moments to GIF!

The young director follows up her critically-acclaimed childhood bereavement charity spot with a film that evokes strong childhood memories of days gone by. 

See more of Liz's work here.

Liz Murphy's brilliant Grief Encounter spot has been gathering further acclaim, this time from Campaign magazine's Private View feature. 

After being made Ad of the Day on the magazine's website, two industry figures were invited to pass comment on Liz's charity film in a round-up of the week's best work across all advertising mediums, with both columnists heaping praise on the emotionally-charged film.

Gemma Butler, creative director at MRY, remarked on how successfully the film connects with its audience on an emotional level, with Indy Saha, director of strategy at Google Creative Lab, calling the spot "an awesome ad".

Read more about what they had to say about Liz's fine film here.

Grief Encounter on LBBO

Since it debuted earlier this week, Liz Murphy's heart-breaking new film for Grief Encounter has been widely acclaimed. Little Black Book Online for their 'Your Shot' feature talked to Liz about how she made her emotional and poignant new spot. 

Click here to read!

Grief Encounter 'Where's Mum?'by Liz Murphy

Every 30 minutes in Britain a child loses a parent. Liz Murphy's new spot for bereavement charity Grief Encounter shows the immense effect the loss of a loved one can have on a young boy.

As he goes about his everyday life around the home, we begin to sense that something is missing. As he fends for himself, he is accompanied only by his toy bear. We leave the boy clutching a photo of a missing loved one. He gazes out the window and lets out a sigh that hints at something troubling and more profound - the heartbreaking and saddening question of 'where's Mum?'.

It's a deeply moving film that powerfully gets its message across without the use of any dialogue. Liz Murphy coaxes a performance from the young chap that is as mature as it is vulnerable as he negotiates a life now with his bear and the definite sense that someone is missing. The spot was printed onto film in post-production, lending to the feature film feeling.

The TV commercial spot is accompanied by a short documentary Liz also directed that increases the awareness of the important work Grief Encounter does with helping families and young people deal with bereavement. People who have directly benefitted from the charity's support give heartbreaking testimonies about their losses and explain how much the counselling and help Grief Encounter has provided them come to terms with life when a loved one is no longer here. The variety of stories from the people the charity has helped at first-hand are as poignant as they are inspiring - the film ending at an event organised by Grief Encounter that symbolises the newly-found hope the bereaved has found through the help and guidance the charity has given them.

'Heartlock' at the London Short Film Festival

Something for the weekend? We're very proud to share the news that our Liz Murphy's short 'Heartlock' is part of this year's London Short Films Festival.

'Heartlock' is not your average girl-meets-boy story, but a touching & tender update to the oldest, most wonderful story of all time, with windswept romantic piers, aquariums and a bit of smooching. Peep the trailer here:

Very romantic, we're sure you'll agree. 'Heartlock' will be shown as part of the festival's 'A Winter's Matinee of Romantic Films' screening at 1pm this Sunday. Bring a date or come alone and find someone to fall in love with.

Tickets can be bought here.  

Forevermark by Liz Murphy

Nice Shirt Films is excited to announce the arrival of Liz Murphy to its growing roster of talented directors.  A young talent belying her large repertoire of work, Liz grew up in Australia and relocated to London four years ago.

Liz, like so many other directors, racked up the plaudits throughout her early years - but no other filmmaker can lay claim to her Canberra Ballet School's Award for Excellence, aged only 9. A creatively diverse development followed: at home where she made her own DIY animations right through to film school, where she directed tender, emotional art films.

Upon graduation, Liz was shortlisted for the CFP-E/Shots Young Director award at Cannes with her first ever job. After winning more awards for Suncorp and conducting a frantic symphony in a marvellous Telstra ad, Liz continued her knack for developing and creating an array of beguiling films including complex stop-frame animation in her intricate RAC and Homebase commercials.

One of the most diverse directors we've come across, Liz's debut collaboration with Nice Shirt is a spot for the Debeers diamond brand, Forevermark.

The spot is a beautiful one; giving us a captivating glimpse into an emotional connection between a man and a woman. Liz encapsulates the affection the couple share with each other with a palette of warm colours, intimate focus and touching performances.

Liz has also recently completed "Heart Lock"; a self-written, self-produced short film about a boy meeting a girl with an intriguing secret. It has comfortably found its place on the 2013 festival circuit, premiering at the Atlantic Film Festival in Canada.

The folk at Nice Shirt commented, "Liz wowed us with her intelligence (she's a self-confessed technical nerd), tenacity and remarkable attention to detail.  She's also very funny and great fun to work with. She is a director with many strings to her bow and we are very much looking forward to developing her talents in this market."