Bent
Image Lab partner Chel White directed the campaign's Best Holiday Ever and The Holiday Which Almost
Didn't Rock, and
Bent's Rob Shaw helmed the Little Helper spot as well as the interstitials staged as
behind-the-scenes testimonials. In the interstitials, each character gets to
tell his version of how the events of the commercials went down.
White
and Shaw were given artistic license to develop the spots and interstitials.
According to White, the backgrounds were given tremendous detail, so viewers
can see something new each time the spot plays.
The
agency, he recalls, was looking for an updated style that still had its roots
in the look of classic Christmas stop-motion specials. "We
immediately started talking about a 1970's arts-and-crafts look, making things
out of cardboard, burlap, fabrics and wood," says White, "so it's very tactile
looking with a lot of texture in the background, and the architectural angles
were whacked out. We also brightened up the overall color palette to get away
from the faded old film look."
Shaw
adds that the studio worked at a slightly larger scale on this project - about 20
percent larger, allowing cameras to get in closer to the action. In
addition to production, the spot was edited at Bent by Eric Gorski, with Jon
Weigand serving as editorial supervisor.
Jim
Barrett and Jake Buff of Portland's Downstream handled color correction.
Compositing and sound design was performed there as well.