Creative & Directed by Hello Shovel’s Adam Connolly, while at Visual Domain
NRL My League App
NRL My League App Explainer – Take the clubhouse everywhere you go
The problem with most app explainers is they explain everything and say nothing. Screen recordings. Floating UI. A voiceover nobody remembers thirty seconds later.
NRL needed a launch film for the MyLeague app that clubs would actually watch. Something that could explain the platform clearly without feeling like homework. So we dug past the obvious solution.
Instead of showing people on phones using the app, we asked ourselves, why can’t the phones be people and do it themselves?
About the project
Created during Adam Connolly’s time at Visual Domain, this 60-second launch animation was developed for the NRL’s MyLeague app across digital and social platforms. Adam led the concept and creative direction, working alongside lead motion designer Steven Bunyan to bring the entire world of a local NRL club to life through Cinema 4D and After Effects.
The core idea was simple: if the app is designed to connect players, coaches, volunteers, supporters, and clubs, the phones shouldn’t just display the experience, they should become it. So we built a miniature rugby league world entirely out of mobile devices. Phones became players. Coaches. Clubhouses. Entire teams moving together as one connected system.
The project balanced clear feature communication with a playful visual twist, creating an explainer that felt more like a short animated film than a traditional product walkthrough.
By treating the phones as characters instead of screens, the app’s functionality became part of the entertainment rather than an interruption to it. Features could be introduced naturally through movement, interaction, and visual gags, keeping the pace fast while making the information easier to absorb.
The final piece gave the MyLeague app a launch campaign that felt energetic, unexpected, and unmistakably NRL. Built for social, digital, and web rollout, the animation proved that even utility content can have personality when you stop following the usual playbook.
