Siege

Framestore created an entirely CG 60-second film, Siege, for Coca-Cola's 2011 Super Bowl outing. Design and direction was by Nexus' Fx & Mat, for Wieden + Kennedy Portland.

Concept Design

Animation

Creatures

Characters

Visual Effects Supervisor

cg animation of a battle field that has fire breathing dragons

Siege is an epic battle of good versus evil set in a fantasy world where a huge army of fire-warriors storm a peaceful mountain village belonging to the good creatures of Coca-Cola. Seemingly outnumbered, the defenders pull off an unexpected victory using their secret weapon: a bottle of Coke buried within a giant ice dragon. The film uses a rich and painterly visual style to tell a story filled with grandeur and humour.

cg animated warrior creature in a helmet, looking at a bottle of coca cola as there is a war waging on in the background

two cg animated warrior creatures looking at each other in agreement

'This production was one of Framestore's most ambitious commercials. Not only because of the sheer volume of work needed to create the world and action in the film, but also achieving the final visual style', commented VFX Supervisor, Diarmid Harrison-Murray. 'Fx & Mat really wanted to achieve the rich detailed painterly feel of this kind of concept or fantasy art, and were keen to avoid creating something that felt too CG.'

This difficult look, combined with a demanding VFX breakdown that included large amounts of character animation, furry characters, a range of complex effects, crowd simulations, environments and a three-month schedule, meant the commercials team had its work cut out.