Framestore dishes out Christmas cuteness with the “cutest ad ever,” including puppies, kittens, piglets, and a gloriously incongruous CG Narwhal.
Together with Grey London and Smuggler director Randy Krallman, Framestore is dishing out a huge box of Christmas sweetness this year, overflowing with a traditional selection of puppies, kittens and punch-dwelling miniature narwhals.
It's McVitie's first Christmas ad in 30 years, and has people asking if it's the cutest advert ever. It takes the “Sweeet” campaign to a new level with 11 animals, some shot in the family's arms, others on green screen, which Framestore then composited into the living room. The gloriously incongruous Narwhal was built by Framestore’s 3D team and placed in a bowl of CG punch.
The first glimpse of an animal provided Framestore’s most difficult shot. The puppy was filmed climbing out of a green screen box to provide some depth, then composited into the Victoria Biscuit Selection. Framestore then needed to digitally rebuild the all-important re-sealable foil as he interacted with it.
Next came Framestore’s role as the spot’s digital Gareth Malone. The animal choir’s mouths were animated to bark, meow and quack their way through Yazoo classic Only You. There were some subtle touches too, such as making eyes cuter and adding sparkles to the box at the end.
The narwhal adds a bit of comedy to proceedings as it surfaces from the punch bowl. Framestore replaced all the liquid, but kept the little sip from the duckling. Framestore then brought them all together for the choir shot, including the reindeer, whose spindly legs we shortened slightly to give him the perfect baby-like feel.
Source: Framestore
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
