We thought we would share with everyone our behind the scenes process of the new Ford Everest TV spot.

After receiving the script, our first step was to create our fluffy hero. We went through tons of reference and even bought a whole bunch of little keyring bears. We then drew some concept sketches to present to director Greg Rom from Humanoid and the creative team at JWT, lead by Paul Strappini.  These concept sketches allowed us to really think about the personality of the hero. This is such a vital step that often gets left out, especially in TV commercials, but the difference it brings to a character is day and night.

The design process of the hero bear was one of the toughest challenges. At the end of the day, we all felt that the hero must be an “accidental hero” who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. So the design of the bear should be your average keyring bear you can find in any store. We felt this would get more empathy from the audience. So we decided on the final concept design below.

Next we sculpted the final approved character. This not only helps to sell the character, but really helps the 3D modelers with an exact approved shape in 3D to work from.

Click on image above to see more of our sculpted work

Now the fun begins. We take all the input we have received from client and start in 3D. Paul Meyer from Luma directed the animation and visual effects. Below we included some work in progress of our lighting tests and ambient occlusion renders, as well as work in progress animation.

Ambient Occlusion Test

Lighting Test

OpenGL animation

Ambient Occlusion Pass

We also had to produce a matte painting for some of the backgrounds to really enhance the setting. This was done using a combination of high res stills shot on the day of the shoot, together with added elements of lighting effects and sky replacements.

Finally, it all comes together, producing the commercial you now see on TV. If you haven’t seen it, click on the movie below.

If you want to see more, scroll down to the gallery! (Warning, may contain weird looking people!)

Credits:

Luma

Paul Meyer – Supervising Animation and VFX Director
Erik Kruger – Team Leader and VFX supervisor
Tim Morar – Lighting and animation
Sue Sauer- Modelling and animation
George Bergh – VFX and tracking
Ryan Crocker – Tracking
Martin  Sen   – Animation, Lighting
Sam Cutler  - Animation
Charl Smit – Character designer
Brendan Noeth – Matte Painting
Jean du Plessis – Compositng/Flame

Nikki Shackleford  – Producer

Humanoid

Greg Rom – Director
Julia Schnurr - Producer

Cathy Day – Production manager

JWT

Paul Strappini – Creative Director
Neil Lindsay – Art Director
Aadil Dhalech – Copywriter
Cathy Collins – Producer

Luma wishes to thank everyone for a job well done!