The campaign begins with ‘Promo’, or what appears to be just another round of chitchat between Fox NFL Sunday’s Terry Bradshaw and Curt Menefee. Observant viewers will notice a slight wardrobe malfunction.
Just before halftime, a panicked Bradshaw rushes to find a solution to the ‘Stain’ that’s been called out by the entire Big Game audience. And later, in ‘Restain’, the stain is back with a 4th quarter vengeance – but this time, it’s chosen a new victim.
Bringing this epic continuous story to life required careful planning before the shoot even began, including the creation of a fully CG NRG Stadium to replicate the Houston arena.
Given the topical nature of the campaign and the fact that filming took place before anyone knew which teams would ultimately make it to the Super Bowl, the team had to prepare for a number of different outcomes ahead of time.
The Mill’s Shoot Supervisor and Lead 3D Artist, Chris Bayol, says, “When we shot the commercials, the Conference Championships hadn’t been played yet. To cover ourselves, we needed to shoot eight different combinations of the Falcons, Packers, Patriots and Steelers.”
An unexpected force of nature also played a role in how the VFX was handled. Chris continues, “We endured a lot of rare Southern California rain during our football portion of the shoot, and subsequently had to augment what was shot. For example, the field turf was soaked in rainwater for half of our footage.”
One of the biggest challenges the team tackled was turning around the VFX in six days from receipt of the plates to delivery.
Ultimately, it’s the little things that make it worth it. “Terry Bradshaw was hilarious on set; we all had a great time,” Chris says. “He told stories to the crew at every opportunity. He’s a very good storyteller.”
Be sure to catch the full campaign below.