Maybe, just maybe

Written by The Corner agency and directed by Roland Kennedy through Iconoclast, the film follows a young girl who wakes up to a snowy Christmas morning and builds herself a snowman hoping it will come to life and take her on a magical Christmas adventure just like the one in Raymond Briggs' famous book and animated film.

Roland Kennedy knew Framestore's Saruta Puff Pisanwalerd from their days at the National Film and Television School – and was excited that she would be the VFX supervisor on the project.

Framestore worked on 35 shots in just three weeks for the 1'45" film – making live action filmed in the daytime appear to be taking place at night, and adding snow in post to trees and rooftops and even adding the snowman's friendly smile. However, it was the film's most important shots that provided the biggest challenges.

The very final shot showing a shadow passing over the roof of the house suggesting the snowman and girl have taken flight – was the one that required the most work. Puff explains: “Referencing The Snowman book as inspiration for the art direction we rebuilt the house in post using photographs I’d taken on set as a digital matte painting. We added snow on the roof and surrounding trees, lit it so it looked like it was bathed in natural moonlight and, ultimately, created the flying shadow effect that brings the film to a magical close that encapsulated the ‘maybe, just maybe’ sentiment.”

The film appears on Barbour’s website and on the brand’s YouTube channel.