The List

‘The Alternative Christmas List’ tells the story of a little boy named Alfie, who gets carried away with the excitement of writing a Christmas List, before realising that it’s the little shared moments that really matter. The film sets up the idea of the value of family time over the materialistic aspect of Christmas, reminding the UK what’s important during the festive season.

A central task for the Framestore team was to build and execute Alfie’s Christmas list in CG. “Some of the unique festive contributions to the project came from the children of crew members who designed their own Christmas lists which were used on parts of the practical/digital build which was a really beautiful way of getting that authenticity into the list design” explained Framestore’s VFX Supervisor Ross Wilkinson.

He added: “The project didn't stray too far from the traditional VFX workflows. Scanning in 40ft worth of paper front and back took some time, but once we had that, alongside the shoot material, we were in a strong position to deliver our assets and shots seamlessly”.

Framestore also used VFX to give the ad a festive feel throughout, by frosting up and replacing green trees, blowing leaves, and adding in an abundance of Christmas decorations.

Colourist Steffan Perry at Company3 graded the campaign, and the soundtrack, recorded by Becky Hill, is an enchanting, festive rendition of Yazoo’s iconic track, ‘Only You’.

Ross said: “It was a pleasure collaborating with Tom Hooper and of course the team at Leo Burnett to deliver a really beautiful body of work that we are all very proud of.”

‘The Alternative Christmas List’ marks another festive collaboration between Framestore and Leo Burnett for McDonalds, following the success of ‘Imaginary Iggy’ and ‘#ReindeerReady’.