In this instance, the interruption causes toy store employees and
customers to lose their juggling skills, causing robots and stuffed animals to
come crashing to the floor.
The spot was conceived by TBWA\Chiat\Day and directed by
Randy Roberts of Sticks and Stones, Los Angeles. Many of the actors were adept
at juggling, but to create the appearance of toys being thrown in the air,
Radium puppeted a variety of playthings against a greenscreen. Toys were then
animated and tracked into the actors' hands, creating the illusion of juggling.
In one sequence, the hero mom bobbles a toy robot while stopping to write a
check. The robot and her hand holding it were both re-created in CG, as well as
the action of the toy falling to the ground.
Autodesk Inferno was used to integrate the toys into the live action. Morphing, time-warp, tracking and
stabilization techniques were applied to heighten the realism. The studio used
Autodesk Maya to model the robot and rendered it in Renderman with different
passes for shading layers, reflections, etc.
Bill Chessman at Santa Monica's Cosmo Street edited :60 and
:30 versions of the spot. Lime, also in Santa Monica, handed the mix. Venice, CA's Machine Head provided sound design.