Cloud First

The team worked closely with Kleinman to create a detailed pre-visualization that flowed from one concept to the next. The scenes were then primarily shot on green screen in a studio or on location at a beach, then stitched together in post, which meant that planning out the camera movement and timing was key to the continuity of the film as a whole. LIDAR technology was also employed for accurate data capturing of the sets. Each studio set was duplicated and extended digitally in 3D to create a more expansive world that integrated with the cloudscapes.

“The greatest creative challenge was defining how the clouds should be represented,” said Vicky Osborn, Creative Director at Framestore. “It was always clear that they should not resemble real clouds too closely, so we had the freedom to play with color, scale and movement that would complement each scene.”

With that in mind, artists streamlined the process by building a library of CG clouds that could mix together in shape and color in order to generate the expansive cloudscapes required to fill each scene. Close attention was paid to composition, layout and color palette of each different space, and in particular how the color flowed through to connect each scenario.

“As with any one-shot commercial, it was a feat in organization and planning to effectively execute the shots and link them to their respective cameras,” said Gigi Ng, Framestore VFX Supervisor. “We had to be flexible with the transitions to ensure everything flowed seamlessly.”