Specsavers 'Eerie'

STRANGELY SPECTACULAR
Framestore recently lent some subtle VFX touches to Eerie, an atmospheric spot for Specsavers. The spot was created by agency Warts & All, produced by Sam Lock and directed by Daniel Kleinman for Rattling Stick Productions.

Eerie sets out a series of tableaux across a small US township, as the power supply mysteriously cuts off. A barber trimming a boys mop of hair slips as his clippers cut out; as blue neon bug zapper tube flickers off as fly alights on it, granting it an unexpected pardon; a traffic junction's lights have failed, causing a small-scale four car contretemps; the screen in an adult cinema goes dark at just the wrong moment for its lonely clientele: and all the while an ominous synth-based soundtrack tells us that something is very, very wrong.

The mystery of the vanishing power is finally solved as we hear the roar of a chainsaw and we cut to a lumberjack stepping back with satisfaction as another huge ‘trunk’ tumbles in front of him. But we cut to the top of the ‘trunk’ as it keels over, to see that it is in fact a power line support pole. A long shot reveals a line of such power poles felled, complete with shorting cables, and the tagline “Should’ve gone to Specsavers” appears.

Consciously evoking the rural, lumber-based American townships of an indeterminate (but definitely other) era – anything from the ‘50s to the ‘70s – Eerie is a witty homage to Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet. The look of the piece, the casting and the all but silent dramas we witness are the essential elements, with the visual effects performing a complementary, supporting role, rather than carrying the spot. The fly that approaches the zapper is CG, a flock of birds that fly up off a lake are a digital grace note to the shot, as were the fish that appear in a tank, and the electrical sparks that fly off items at various points could not have been done practically.

VFX Supervisor Tim Greenwood attended the four day shoot, which took place in and around the town of Hope in British Columbia, while William Bartlett – Kleinman’s usual collaborator at Framestore - created the post work. Several versions were created – some, with a much grimmer line in humour, aimed at a post watershed audience. The right grade was essential to complete the work, and Senior Colourist Matthew Turner worked closely with both the DoP and Kleinman himself to achieve a cinematic, realistic feel and a print look to the finished spot.