The concept was to put the texts from the classic gothic horror novels, Bram Stokers Dracula, Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Grey and Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, on different skins that were sewn together. Specific lines of text from each of the novels were 'stitched' together to reveal a new sentence that is read in the voice over by each character from the new series.
Prosthetic skins were created. They were sculpted, molded and cast in silicone to create many different skin textures. The pieces were then painted and sewn together by hand. This way, a realistic skin texture and scarring was achieved.
Classic animation techniques were used to compliment the practical FX; such as shooting the muscle fatty tissue that was ripped apart in camera and then playing it backward in the cut, adding to the dreamlike and surreal vision.
The Mill 2D team created the tattooed look for the type, burning it into the skin and making it feel progressively more infected as the spot progressed. The image was warped and distorted to give it life in places and to enhance the dreamlike/nightmare quality of the spot.
The spot is a beautiful combination of in-camera practical FX with a dash of CGI, resulting in a metaphoric representation of the shows concept of bringing the characters from these classic novels together for this series.
Visit our blog for behind the scenes coverage of the spot.
Agency: Showtime
Producer: Ian Brier
Creative Director: Erik Friedman
Senior Art Director: Rudy Jaimes
Senior Designer: Jason Hogg
Line Producer: Lorraine O'Connor
Production Coordinator: Venus Nix
Production: Mill+
Director: Rob Roth
Executive Producers: Ian Bearce, Zu Al-Kadiri
Producer: Tia Perkins
Director of Photography: Khalid Mohtaseb
Production Designers: Joe Sciacca, Jacqueline Valega
Editing Company: The Mill
Editor: Andrew Jenson
VFX & Design: The Mill
Executive Producer: Zu Al-Kadiri
VFX Producer: Christa Cox
Shoot Supervisor: Christien Nielsen
Creative Director: Rob Roth
2D Lead Artist: Leon Woods
3D Lead Artist: Christian Nielsen
2D Design Lead: Shaun Leong – Williams
FX: Ryan Coster
Designer: Ariane Irle