Director: David Skinner
Art Director: Adam Cutts
Copy Writer: Peter Humphries
Producer: Sacha Evans
Today is the first tx of our latest advert for Freesat’s Freetime service, featuring the cute and tenacious Sheldon the Snail.
It will be aired across the network over the coming weeks in peak-time programming such as Corrie, TOWIE, Uefa Champions League Football, and X-Factor.
The ad features Sheldon, a snail who regularly misses his favourite shows because life, leaves and The Great British weather gets in his way. Sheldon’s problems are solved when he discovers the new Freetime service, which allows him to watch his shows in his own time.
The Concept
Freesat asked TellyJuice to pitch some ideas, of the 8 we put forward there was a huge consensus to proceed with Sheldon.
We came up with the concept, storyboarded and scripted the ad, filmed it and edited it. For the amazing CG and snail animation, we employed the services of Framestore.
Shoot Day: The Devil’s in the detail
For the four different seasons shown in the advert, we shot four different sets of props that had been pre-weathered.
Framestore printed a 3D model of Sheldon, which in reality is much bigger than the CG snail you see in the advert. Alongside the Framestore team, we shot the 3D model against a black background (as opposed to green screen, which would cause too many problems in the reflections.)
To make the snail as realistic as possible, the 3D model was used to film the different seasonal effects and his reaction to them. For example in the rainy scene, we poured water over the model Sheldon, which was later keyed over the 3D rendered snail in 2.5D to create realistic patterns and behaviour of the raindrops on his shell.
In order to accurately reproduce Sheldon’s slime as he lifts his head, the team even shot the movement of some KY Jelly between two boards as they are peeled apart. Again, the effect was layered on beneath the snail.
Breaking the Mould
TellyJuice Creative Director, Dave Toomer says,
This project is poignant for Freesat and TellyJuice as it’s a perfect example of how brands can create a quality campaign, without the cost and complex process of a traditional advertising agency model.
At TellyJuice we were able to use our core capabilities: idea generation, script writing, directing, motion design and by collaborating with Framestore, we were able to add world class CG as well.
This means it is possible for any brand to create a high end, creatively conceptual AND cost effective advert, all whilst allowing the client to be closer to the creative.
Contact Us
Ready to start your video journey? TellyJuice is a Creative Video Agency, we make adverts, TV promo campaigns, Corporate Video Productions, Brand Films and Explainer videos. We come up with an idea suitable for your brand, then write, shoot, design and deliver. What are you waiting for? Get in touch: give us a call or drop us an email now for a free quote.
