Grand LIA
Music & Sound
| Entrant: | The Monkeys, Part of Accenture Song, Sydney |
| Brand: | Sydney Opera House |
| Title: | "Play it Safe" |
| Corporate Name of Client: | Sydney Opera House |
| Client Company: | Sydney Opera House, Sydney |
| Client Company Brand Lead: | Joanne Been |
| Client Company Chief Customer Officer: | Jade McKellar |
| Client Company General Manager Marketing: | Stephen O’Connor |
| Client Company Event Account Manager: | Daniel O’Connell |
| Client Company Production Manager – Creative Studio: | Natalia Scherer |
| Client Company Production Coordinator: | Emma Paterson |
| Agency: | The Monkeys, Part of Accenture Song, Sydney |
| Agency Chief Executive Officer: | Mark Green |
| Agency President: | Mark Green |
| Global Chief Creative Officer: | Scott Nowell |
| Chief Creative Officer: | Tara Ford |
| Executive Creative Director: | Barbara Humphries |
| Senior Copywriter: | Jake Ausburn |
| Senior Art Director: | Alex Polglase |
| Agency Head of Production: | Penny Brown |
| Agency Senior Producer: | Penny Brown |
| Agency Producer: | Izzy Robertson |
| Agency General Manager: | Kezia Quinn |
| Agency Senior Account Director: | Fizzy Keeble |
| Agency Planning Director: | Tim Wilson-Brown |
| Agency Planner: | Raghav Iyer |
| Production Companies: | Revolver, Sydney/Somesuch |
| Production Managing Director: | Michael Ritchie |
| Director: | Kim Gehrig |
| Executive Producer: | Pip Smart |
| Producer: | Pip Smart |
| Director of Photography: | Stefan Duscio |
| Production Designer: | Steven Jones Evans |
| Post-Production Companies: | TRIM, Sydney/ARC Edit, Sydney |
| Executive Post-Producers: | Daniel Fry/Noreen Khan |
| Post-Producers: | Kani Saib/Tatyana Alexandra |
| Production Company Online: | Eugene Richards |
| Production Company Choreographer: | Lucy Guerin |
| Production Company Costume Creative Director: | Vanessa Coyle |
| Production Company Costume Stylist: | Olivia Simpson & Nicchia Wippell |
| Edit Facility: | TRIM, Sydney/ARC Edit, Sydney |
| Editors: | Tom Lindsa/Elise Butt |
| Color Companies: | TRIM, Sydney/ARC Edit, Sydney |
| Colorist: | Trish Cahill |
| Recording Studio Engineers: | Rose Mackenzie-Peterson/Brad Hasiuk/Bob Scott |
| Sound Design Company: | MassiveMusic, Sydney |
| Sound Designer: | Simon Kane |
| Sound Mixer: | Jamieson Shaw |
| Music Production Company: | Turning Studios, Sydney |
| Music Executive Producer: | Elliott Wheeler |
| Music Producer: | Carla de Menezes Ribeiro |
| Music Arranger: | Elliott Wheeler |
| Music Composer: | Tim Minchin |
| Music Lyricist: | Tim Minchin |
| Music Performed By: | Sydney Symphony Orchestra/Australian Chamber Orchestra/Sydney Philharmonia Choirs |
| Song Title: | Play it Safe |
Description:
This wasn’t just an opportunity to honour the House’s legacy. With Australia’s once defiant creative culture being stifled by an increasingly conservative social and political climate, the House’s anniversary would also be a clarion call for artistic bravery. The project also sought to undo the elitist connotations that had come to be attached to this global icon, with the message that the Opera House – like art itself – belongs to everyone.?
As a celebration of unbridled creativity, it seemed only appropriate to do this in song.
Play It Safe was written in collaboration with Australian actor/playwright Tim Minchin, and features performances from each of the Sydney Opera House’s eight resident companies, including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.
Cameos from Australian performers such as Jimmy Barnes, William Barton, and Elma Kris also paid tribute to the House’s pivotal role in the Australian arts community.??
The final song comprises over 800 audio tracks arranged by Elliot Wheeler – a musical journey from quiet self-doubt to a joyous explosion of pure self-expression. The music video, directed by Kim Gehrig, was released online and quickly reached 1.8 billion people with 662 pieces of media coverage.
The track was also released by Tim Minchin on Spotify, where it has received over 100,000 plays to date. From Australia to the other side of the world, its message resounded: if we ignore the little voice in our heads that tells us to ‘play it safe’ – there’s no limit to what we can achieve.?