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National Lottery

Hero's Return

Summary

The National Lottery has launched the 'Life Changing' campaign, created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, which spotlights the good causes it supports. It kicked off with a powerful new TV spot featuring a World War II veteran's poignant return to Burma.

The 60 second commercial follows Jack Jennings as he returns to where he saw active service.  He is immediately transported into a vivid and dramatic battle in the Burmese jungle and comes under attack from enemy soldiers, as 'Jack' stands, eyes closed tightly in the middle of the action. When he opens his eyes, we share his relief that he is back in the present day - still in the same clearing, but the war is over, and it becomes clear that the battle had been taking place in his memory.

Richard de Carteret, who was our lead 2D artist on the spot and also attended the shoot, said: The Main brief from the Director, John Hilcoat, was to create an air attack by the Japanese bombers, extend and clean some of the sets, add birds and smoke, enhance muzzle flashes and explosions and finally removing any sign of modern living. It was an absolute pleasure creating these effects because we were given such a beautiful piece to work on."

The shoot itself took place in Thailand, five hours drive north west of Bangkok on an army base. "This allowed us extensive use of pyrotechnics and firearms and was the perfect setting for such a production," Richard adds. "The set was designed by Ricky Eyres who was Art Director on Speilberg's Saving Private Ryan and along with our historical advisor, Taff Gillingham, every detail was completely covered resulting in a truly accurate and believable piece."

James Bamford graded the film and explains "The DOP Benoit did a fantastic job in shooting this epic commercial using old Russian anamorphic lenses on an Alexa. The director John, gave me a brief with The Thin Red Line  and Apocalypse Now and by using different grading techniques to recreate this filmic look with rich skin tones and a printed feel, and I was happy with the look I achieved."

The campaign will run until Saturday 31 March.

Credits

Agency

  • Agency: AMV BBDO
  • Producer: Olly Chapman
  • Creatives: Alex Grieve, Adrian Rossi

Production

  • Production Company: Stink
  • Director: John Hilcoat
  • Executive Producer: Malachy MacAnneny

Editorial

  • Editing Company: Trim
  • Editor: Tom Lindsay

Post-Production / VFX

  • Post-Production / VFX Company: The Mill
  • Mill Office: London
  • VFX Producer: Matt Williams
  • Shoot Supervisor: Richard de Carteret
  • 2D Lead Artists: Richard de Carteret
  • 3D Lead Artists: Jamie Lancaster
  • 3D Artists: Luke Tickner, Claudia Carvahlo
  • Colourist: James Bamford
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