Best of Stash 2022: VFX!

JOHN LEWIS “UNEXPECTED GUEST” TVC
Issue: STASH 151
VFX supervisors Adam Droy and Pete Hodsman lead The Mill creature crew into a holiday adventure in bipolar hyena hilarity with Blur Films director Chris Balmond for Amazon Prime.
Transforming live-action footage into wondrous, surreal, or outright insane worlds with digital visual effects remains an essential narrative tool that reliably delivers striking visuals while it evolves with tastes and techniques.
“The schedule consisted of a nine-day shoot followed by four weeks for the concept and build of the ship as well as four weeks from the date of approval for all VFX and post.”
 
 
 
Category: Advertising, Best of Stash 2022, Featured, Short Films, VFX · Tags: Amazon, Artjail, Builders Club, Burberry, CyW, Doritos, Framestore, John Lewis, Mark Zibert, Megaforce, Nineteentwenty, On Running, Rainfall Films, Riff Raff, Sam Balcomb, Sick Kids, Steve Mottershead, The Mill, The Vanity, Three Ireland
Helen Randall, producer at Builders Club in London: “We were brought on board to direct, shoot and produce the campaign with an objective to appeal to new runners or those looking for a suitable trainer to help them push to a new goal.
Jon Hurst, managing director at nineteentwenty in London: “The brief was to enhance and help build a truly stunning cinematic piece of work; to work closely with the director and agency to bring the script to life. DORITOS “ANOTHER LEVEL” TVC
Issue: STASH 152
“EVENVEIL” Short Film
Issue: STASH 156
SICKKIDS “BE A LIGHT” TVC
Issue: STASH 151
“On set, the team used a taxidermy bearded dragon for lighting references. In addition, they 3D-scanned each scene and captured as many references as possible to help reconstruct each shot environment.”
 
 
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These eight projects (seven commercials and a short film) highlight the achievements of both small and large VFX teams as well as the breadth of insight and emotion they can help achieve.
“Mark wasn’t sure what this should look like but he knew he didn’t want it to feel VFX-y. So during our initial first rounds of look-dev, we embraced an old-school optical printer animation approach. In 2D perspective, we animated a reveal matte and filled it with pure black and overlaid it on the footage.”
 
 
 
Produced thru agency CyW and anchored by a cover of Nat King Cole’s “Smile” by UK singer-songwriter Joy Crookes, the story centers on two mismatched outsiders bonding over streaming comedy.
 
 
  THREE IRELAND “JEFF’S WORLD” TVC
Issue: STASH 154
Megaforce: “‘Open Spaces’ was about the joy of freedom. This year we wanted to express the bold attitude that it takes to dive into the unknown: the fearless and playful spirit of adventure.”
 
 
 
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In a sci-fi follow-up to their magical 2021 “Open Spaces” film for Burberry, Riff Raff directing collective Megaforce choreograph a new round of aerial adventures with help from The Mill VFX crew.
ON RUNNING “THE CLOUDGO. GAME ON” TVC
Issue: STASH 156
“The whole spot was planned to be a constant transition through all the fads and trends that have come and gone and some futuristic ones that haven’t even happened yet.”
 
 
  Steve Mottershead, CD/owner at Artjail in New York: “The brief from the agency GS&P and Reset director Henry Scholfield was very ambitious. The concept was to show how trends come and go but Doritos has always been relevant and popular since it’s been around.
Sean Cochrane, VFX lead at The Vanity in Toronto: “Early in the project and before any footage was shot, director Mark Zibert engaged us to create a look for the ‘darkness’ effect.
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“The idea was to merge the runners’ urban journey with a gaming aesthetic and experience. This core idea struck our team as the ideal metaphor for showcasing the Cloudgo’s unique technology and ability to level up and achieve your goals.”
 
 
  Framestore VFX supervisor Jules Janaud in London: “It was a challenge to come up with something interesting that was real and comical. Our star Jeff had to be believable but at the same time we needed to create something beyond the boundaries of realism.
All films were published in The Stash Permanent Collection during 2022 and are listed here in chronological order by the issue of publication.
 
BURBERRY “NIGHT CREATURES” TVC
Issue: STASH 156
Sam Balcomb, director and partner at Rainfall Films in Burbank, CA: “This was an internal project, inspired by a desire to push ourselves creatively and technologically. [embedded content]
“Evenveil was filmed in a relatively small space, our studio in Burbank. The main area is only about a thousand square feet, not very big by shooting stage standards, especially once you fill it with cast, crew, and equipment.
 
 
Watch all the Best of Stash 2022 Collections.
 
 
 
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AMAZON PRIME “AN UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP” TVC
Issue: STASH 151