Working closely with agency Hot Cakes Creative, LEAP Film and Post created two commercials for LV= insurance. The ambitious creative concept required magically appearing props and wardrobe changes, a large cast of supporting characters and the precision of a continuous 60-second camera move. LEAP’s successful execution and delivery exemplified the dedication and expertise of our production and post teams.
Pre-visualisation
The technical challenges of achieving the creative vision required many of the same skills and equipment used to produce feature films. Intensive pre-visualisation preparations were crucial. Our creative director and director blocked out the script in the studio to calculate the distances between the lead actors’ paths and camera, and they selected camera lenses accordingly. They fed their data into Maya for the creation of a virtual set. Within the 3D space, they mapped out the timings and positions of characters and large props to confirm the scale of the set build.
Production
LEAP’s producers marshalled a crew of 27 people and assembled a cast of 13 actors, including children and dogs. The set build required two days of pre-fabrication in the workshop and an additional day to assemble in the studio. We used a Milo Motion Control Rig, the same kind of robotic camera arm that has been used for major motion pictures from the Matrix to Marvel’s Avengers. Our camera, the Arri Alexa was fitted with Cooke S4 prime lenses, favoured by DoPs for their cinematic capabilities.
On the shoot day, we used the camera data from our CGI set to programme the motion control camera rig, making some on-set tweaks to factor in the male and female lead actors’ heights. The extensive pre-vis prep maximised time and cost efficiencies, saving a day of cast and crew rehearsal and avoiding extraneous set construction. This meant we could film both commercials in a single day.
Post-Production
An intensive post-production phase followed the shoot with our editors and VFX artists combining selected elements from each of the 15+ full-length, 60-second takes to show our leading man walking through his home with the accessories of his life and even his wardrobe popping onto screen. We did the same again for the female lead character. Once the edit was complete, we imported the scene into Maya along with the camera rig data to allow our CGI artists to seamlessly superimpose 3D graphics into the real-world setting.
No effort was spared to ensure the commercials were technically perfect and looked on-brand. Our colourist was even tasked to transform the hero’s PJs from the blue ones he wore on set to the LV= brand-friendly green.
Following our successful delivery for broadcast and adaptations for social media, the commercials were shown on TV and distributed across LV=’s digital and social platforms.
To discuss your next commercial, speak with a LEAP producer.