Framestore has helped AMV and Partizan's directing collective, Traktor, find surprising ways to spend hypothetical money for the latest Lotto campaign. Comprising four TV commercials, the campaign shows hilariously over-the-top ways to splurge a Lotto jackpot win. Framestore's diverse VFX brief included primate face replacement, building a 3D spaceship and bringing a robot to life.
Monkey Sanctuary sees a generous Lotto winner donate their stash to a sanctuary in order to give the animals five-star luxury; Rocket sees a father take Guy Fawkes night to a whole new level of neighbourly competitiveness; Bath sees a kooky woman install a supposedly serene bathtub into her stretched limo; and Robot centres on a lotto winner who's too pampered to dress himself.
Framestore's creative director, Mike McGee, provided on-set supervision to offer creative and technical solutions that complemented the directors' vision in what was a complex VFX project completed over a short schedule. McGee then oversaw the VFX process back in Framestore's HQ to ensure hi-end results were delivered on time.
For Rocket, a 3D spaceship was built in the style of craft from NASA's halcyon days of early space exploration. Model lighting was key as the scene needed to feel Spielberg-worthy: grand and dramatic with light from fireworks interacting with and reflecting off the rocket. The biggest challenge was posed by the 3D rocket's scale. At 400ft, this 3D rocket had to reach high into the sky, which was filled with live-action fireworks. To help visualize how the CG rocket would fit into the live-action plates, McGee created a precision technical pre-vis. Measurements of the garden were recorded on set and taken into Maya. He then factored in the scale and size of the rocket and used the resulting data to calculate that an angle of 34-degrees was needed to get the rocket 'fitting' correctly. Maya was also used on-set to enable lens changes and shot framing. It also provided a safety net by confirming that the rocket would sit well into the live-action plate.