Summary
Even the most skilled internet shopper should feel compelled to seek out some good old fashioned store shopping after watching Crispin's most recent spot for Best Buy. This ad featuring the effervescent Amy Poehler and her faithful Best Buy companion looks straightforward enough, but the practicalities of how it had to be shot tells a different story.
Circumstance dictated that that pair needed to be filmed
in a studio against a green screen roaming around a practical set
build. Director Bryan Buckley and The Mill NY's VFX Supervisor and
Head of 2D, Westley Sarokin, worked together to ensure that the
performances were carefully choreographed and rehearsed, camera
moves were accurately plotted and the real story's lighting setups
were replicated on the stage.
After two days watching Poehler deliver the script's
killer copy (and often ad-libbing on her own accord), a separate
night shoot took place within an actual store to capture all the
background plates needed to extend the practical set. Camera
lenses, angles and moves had to match the main performance plates
to ensure this footage could be composited into the scenes as
seamlessly as possible.
Flame artist Martin Lazaro and a team of Mill Flame
artists set about keying foreground elements and marrying them
together with corresponding background plates. There were also
multiple separate screen comps necessary as well as some
augmentation to the real location.
The end result is a charming, lighthearted
spot that should have you rushing to your nearest Best Buy for some
proper touchy feely retail therapy.
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