From the get-go, the concept of building a fully CG anthropomorphized snail that was delivering a bit of bad news had The Mill creative team excited. 3D lead Christian Nielsen worked closely with The Martin Agency creatives to figure out the snail's personality, quirks and mannerisms. Made to be slightly cuter and rounder than the average snail, much attention was given to how it would actually wear glasses.
Producer Colin Blaney adds "This was The Mill's first fully CG photoreal snail. Building completely from scratch always takes a good amount of research and many hours of referencing footage, pictures and anatomy to get the right look and feel for the character."
The snail ended up being sculpted, then textured by hand in the CG environment. A proprietary tool was built by the R&D team specifically to animate his amorphous shape. The trail of slime was particularly tricky to get right. After experimenting with various slimy substances, rubber cement won out as being the most like a snail trail's goo.
The question of how the snail actually puts on the glasses and tie each morning was a topic of much discussion among the CG team. But some things need to stay a mystery!
Agency: The Martin Agency
Executive Producer: Molly Souter
Producer: Alex Scheer-Payne
Junior Producer: Emily Taylor
Chief Creative Officer: Joe Alexander
Group Creative Directors: Steve Bassett, Wade Alger
Copywriter: Neel Williams
Art Director: Justin Harris
Group Account Director: Brad Higdon
Account Supervisor: Parker Collins
Account Executive: Meg Ingraham
Production Company: Radical
Director: Steve Miller
Executive Producer: Gregg Carlesimo
Director of Photography: Eric Schmidt
Line Producer: Barbara Benson
Editing Company: Whitehouse Post Chicago
Editor: Matthew Wood
Edit Assist: Caleb Helper
VFX & Design: The Mill
Executive Producer: Zu Al-Kadiri
VFX Producer: Colin Blaney
Shoot Supervisor: John Leonti
2D Lead Artist: Randy McEntee
3D Lead Artist: Christian Nielsen
2D Artists: Antoine Douadi, Randy McEntee, Emma White, Gavin Camp, Miyuki Shimamnoto, Michael Sarabia
3D Artists: Jeff Lopez, Tom Cushwa, Tom Bardwell