The directing duo Si & Ad of Academy Films, and agency Peterson Milla Hooks brought their 'Holiday Magic' ad for Kohl's to The Mill to create a digital reindeer double.
This snow filled spot features a father taking his son on a trip, a drive to the same magical place his father used to take him.
Director:
Si & Ad
Production Company:
Reset
Agency:
Peterson Milla Hooks
The Mill transformed the Canadian landscape, where winter had just barely hit, into a winter wonderland. Mill creative director Adam Grint led the 2D team in adding atmospherics like snow falling and frost on the tops of trees, as well as extending snowy environments into the distant background. This was achieved with multiple 3D passes of snow interaction and fog dynamics. Adam said, "We had beautiful raw footage to work with, courtesy of Si & Ad. It already had a wonderful cinematic quality, just a little nudge here and there was enough to achieve what we needed and maintain the look of it being entirely shot in camera."
Let's not forget about a fully CG reindeer. Lead CG artist Nic Yiallouris explained, "We had to do a full digital takeover of the reindeer for it to leap into the air and fly off into the night. It was re-built from data captured on set and we used our proprietary fur system to match the the live action reindeer fur. The end result is a CG reindeer that seamlessly blended with the live action one, the difference being that he could leap five feet into the air!"
This magical story is sure to warm your heart this holiday season.
Agency: Peterson Milla Hooks
Senior Producer: Sean Healy
Executive Creative Director/President: Dave Peterson
Senior Art Director: Paolo Guerrero
Account Director: Ryan Boekelheide
Production Company: Reset
Director: Si & Ad
Executive Producer: Jeff MacDougal
Producer: Ahnee Boyce
Director of Photography: Trent Opaloch
Assistant Director: Greg Dobbin
Managing Director: David Morrison
CMC Executive Producer: Christian Allen
Production Designer: Peter Kirkegaard
Editing Company: Channel Z
Editor: Jim Stanger
Edit Assist: Kelly Nelson
VFX & Design: The Mill
Executive Producer: Andrew Sommerville
VFX Producers: Sumer Zuberi, Alexandra Paton
Shoot Supervisor: Adam Grint
2D Lead Artist: Adam Grint
3D Lead Artists: Nic Yiallouris, Ian Baxter
2D Artists: Gavin Camp, Dusty Diller
3D Artists: Jessica Soderstrom, Joshua Merck, Hillary McCarthy, Vasilis Pazionis, Quentin Sauvinet
Matte Painting: Henrik Holmberg, German Casado, Aurelien Ronceray, Leonard Mercier, Jiyoung Lee