Moving Picture Company produces classic 3D animation in its spots for Schwartz the French chef. Courtesy of Moving Picture Company.

Although currently engaged in a number of major movie jobs, not least Troy and Harry Potter and The Prisoner Of Azkaban, Moving Picture Co. remains committed to broadcast, most recently having completed ad spots for Orange and Schwartz. The Schwartz job involved some classic 3D animated character work, with MPC using motion capture to drive the animation of a stylized but perfectly composited French chef. Lighting and shadow work of a depth comparable with the studio’s movie work was made possible through the use of a custom in-house occlusion plug-in.

Framestore CFC has been producing impressive idents and ads. Above is a spot for the Post Office. Courtesy of Framestore CFC/Publicis/Love.

For the Orange cellphone campaign, six spots were shot by three renowned directors: Traktor at Partizan, Stacy Wall at Epoch Films and Dante Areola at MJZ. MPC handled post-production, contributing additional vfx to three. The campaign started last November, with two still to air.

Conspicuous by its absence in recent output from most of the studios is ident work, though it’s likely this is indicative of a temporary dip in demand, rather than any shift away from digital branding. One of the few of note is Framestore CFC’s work on the end devices for an Eclipse Mint and Gum campaign in the U.S. There are four ads in all, each parodying a different film genre and so carrying individual logos that cheekily reference classic film logos.

The studio is another concurrently turning out a number of impressive ads alongside film work for the aforementioned Troy and Harry Potter (along with Thunderbirds). Following last year’s acclaimed work on spots such as Audi Fish, John Walker Fish (no relation), and Audi Bull, the recent run includes spots for car manufacturers Renault, Daewoo and Land Rover, drinks brands John Smiths, Carlsberg and Tropicana, plus Goodyear, Halifax and the Post Office. Particularly impressive are the lava lamp-like effects in the Daewoo spot, the seamless integration of digital car models in the snowbound live action ad for Goodyear and the hyperactive family of CG ants in the Post Office campaign. Two ant-filled ads have been broadcast so far. A third is still in post-production.