Five bucks aka male deers sing in a barber shop quartet group

Five Bucks

Dry, dead-pan humour, where just one surreal element is off-kilter inside an otherwise perfectly normal world? That’s what director Tom Routson of Framestore Pictures does best. Photoreal CG characters with soul? That’s one of the many things that Framestore does best. It’s a perfect match. 

five cg animated reindeer bucks wearing striped quintet waistcoats. they are standing in front of a red stage curtain
two cg animated bucks wearing striped quintet suits looking at each other in front of a red stage curtain

The Characters

With a singing quintent of bucks, a freedom screaming eagle and a spirited finger-spokesperson, Framestore brought to life seven CG characters for this delightfully odd campaign for Cox Communications. With the premise harmonised by a straight-faced delivery, the Framestore Pictures crew delivered elegant simplicity and an eagle-eye for detail. 

It’s all about the details: The tiniest twitch of a whisker. The way our eagle’s feathers moves. The way the finger becomes convincingly human-like. The way the costumes fit (or mis-fit) the deer based on their personalities. Small things make a big difference. But big details matter too, like the way each deer has a distinct personality - in terms of both look and performance. The script already gave them all distinct character traits, and Framestore expanded them. 

Five Buck Quintet

Customers can save five bucks with this five buck quintet in these 30" and 60" films. Extra quirks and behaviors for each character make it all feel less rehearsed, as well as giving the audience an extra smile each time. Things like the deer clearing their throats before they begin singing, stepping on each other’s lines, or an internal power-struggle as to who stands half a step in front of who. The stuff that happens in real barbershop groups.

five cg animated reindeer bucks wearing striped quintet waistcoats. they are standing in front of a red stage curtain

front side view of cg animated five reindeer bucks wearing striped quintet suits singing in front of a red stage curtain
two cg animated reindeer bucks speaking with each other in front of a red curtain stage

No Brainer

The eagle describes the No Brainer for signing up for Cox Communications.

a cg animated eagle opening its mouth in shock sitting at a marble kitchen top. there is a plate that has a dead fish on it and an ipad with a tuna fish on the screen.

Freedom Eagle

Our eagle screams for freedom in this spot.

a cg animated eagle standing by a landline telephone looking back towards the camera

a cg animated eagle opening its mouth in shock sitting at a marble kitchen top. there is a plate that has a dead fish on it and an ipad with a tuna fish on the screen.
a cg animated eagle standing by a landline telephone looking back towards the camera

Fingerface

Moving cable providers is as easy as a tap of the finger. And, as always, much of it character's personality comes down to the eyes...even if they are drawn on a fingertip with a biro pen.

index finger with a smiley face drawn on it

a person sleeping on a sofa with their index finger pointing upwards
index finger with a smiley face drawn on it

Credits

Production Company
Framestore Pictures
Director
Tom Routson
Creative Director
Ben West
Producer
Bridgette Spalding
Head of Production
Bethan Thomas
Managing Director
James Razzall
Cel Animation
Regis Camargo
Modelling
Aamir Karim, John Pagan, Michitaka Inoue
FX
Mark Ingle, Tom Lynnes, Mohamed Echkouna
Match Moving
QL Beans
CG Lead
John Cook, Jessica Groom
Lighting
John Cook, Yuo Tengara, Yayu Chen
Groom
Jessica Groom, Aamir Karim
Composition
Jon Howard
Hiero
Jake Keller
Senior Colourist
Beau Leon
Ad Agency
FCB Chicago
CG Animation
Kevin Rooney, Jessica Wang, Joshua Merck, Bryce Erickson, Peter DeSalvo
Texturing
Yuo Tengara, Yayu Chen, Joel Durham, Josh Suyemoto
Rigging
Keridan Elliott
Flame
Narbeth Mardirossian, Sarah Marikar, Julian Ford, Gavin Camp
Coordinator
Jamie Runkle, Patience Rector
Junior Colourist
Jonah Braun
Editor
Brett Bedrum
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