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'Labels',
a new spot for Miller Genuine Draught in the U.S., features
thousands of beer labels peeling themselves off their bottles
and filling the streets and skies in migratory flocks. The
spot was created by The Martin Agency and directed by Bruno
Aveillan for Believe Media, with spectacular digital VFX courtesy
of Framestore CFC.
'Labels' is a case study in the new ways of working that are
continuing to evolve in the global marketplace. Through judicious
use of state of the art production tools, Framestore CFC was
able to coordinate events over three continents, to create
a sophisticated 30 second spot in just a few short weeks.
In a gentle dig at the beer fashionistas who place style over
content, 'Labels' poses the question, "If you took away the
labels and all that was left was the beer, which beer would
you choose"? As the question is asked, we see the labels on
bottles peeling off and fluttering up and away, at first singly
or in pairs, then in ever larger groups as the labels' exodus
gains momentum. The spot culminates with the sight of thousands
of labels taking wing over a baseball game. The point - that
you would choose a beer whose simple, classic virtues will
win out over passing fads - is wittily and strikingly made.
The project came to Framestore NY with little advance warning,
and VFX Supervisor Mike McGee flew to Auckland without even
a storyboard to start from. Working closely with the director,
Bruno Aveillan, McGee swiftly began to home in on the VFX
the production would need. The 2 ½ week shoot included
six days in Auckland for the city shots, as well as the more
suburban looks that were filmed in and around Queenstown.
Aveillan's enthusiastic style certainly impressed McGee. "Bruno
is exciting to work with because he sees it all through the
camera," he notes, "He picks the camera up and runs to the
place he wants it to be."
Meanwhile, back in London, Head of 3D, Commercials, Andy Boyd
began creating some sketch animations of possible movements
for the flapping labels. These tests were sent to Aveillan
and McGee on the shoot via 'front', Framestore CFC's proprietary
suite of production tools. "Using front, we could make the
12 hour time difference work in our favour," recalls McGee,
"I would brief Andy in the evening and get results on my desktop
the following morning."
The main dilemma revolved around the precise nature of the
labels' flying motion – whether it would be more imitative
of that of birds or that of butterflies. Eventually a compromise
was reached, with the labels behaving in bird-like fashion
– flying in a purposeful and directed way - in the flocking
long shots, and with more fluttery, dancing moves in closer
shots.
With flexibility always a keynote in his approach to problems,
Boyd used two different software packages to create the animations
he needed. "For the 'hero' label shots – which were
close-up, hand animated shots – which we did in Maya.
For the flocking shots, which involved up to 15,000 individual
labels, we used Houdini, which is just perfect for this sort
of thing. Houdini gave us the ability to add a lot of complexity
to the movement, as well as allowing us – via its procedural
workflow – to easily change the composition and nature
of the flocks, for example, if more or less labels for a particular
brand were required."
The animated labels were created over two weeks of intensive
work. As they began to roll off the production line, they
were sent to Framestore NY, where compositors Maryanne Lauric
and Murray Butler seated them snugly in their locations. Lauric
says of the experience, "It was a seamlessly smooth work flow,
and I think that Bruno was particularly impressed at the way
the full might of Framestore CFC's Commercials 3D team could
be piped in to our New York operation, as easily as if they
were downstairs." The finished shots were, in turn, relayed
to McGee back in London, to Aveillan in his Paris office,
and to the agency in Richmond, Virginia.
The term 'global village' has been much abused, often referencing
nothing more impressive than a transatlantic phone call. But
when you're discussing a spot that was created over three
continents, using a talent pool based in LA, Richmond, New
York, London, Paris and Auckland, then a global village –
and a glimpse of the future - is truly what you're looking
at.
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