In Part 1 we saw how the script came together for the Nickelodeon Store ad. Now we had to make the final spot.
The script was written with the budget in mind, which was limited. I never worry too much about budgets – the idea is to do what you can with what you have and make it look like more than the sum of its parts.
In terms of assets we were well provided for. We had vector artwork of lots of the product, the product itself and footage shot for the launch of the store. I then set about converting the products into usable assets. As there wasn’t budget for a whole new shoot, I chose to photograph them.
This I did in two parts. First I ironed all the clothes, oh the glamour! Then I made a simple rostrum camera. With a couple of light stands, a cross brace and a super clamp I was able to suspend a DSLR vertically over a table with some chroma paper on it. I then lit and photographed the individual products and did a little simple stop frame for them too. In the final spot we didn’t use much of the stop frame, but it was a good option to have.
For the plush toys I took a separate approach.
Earlier in the year I’d made another spot for Nick for some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutations figures.
I’d shot the figures on some chroma paper and turned them around on a circle I’d marked on the paper. As I turned them I changed the body parts making the figure ‘mutate’. It worked well in the finished spot but the original footage was frankly a bit wobbly. Sholto from Crowmotion did a great job in stablising the footage and compositing it into the 3D world he built (you can see the finished spot below) but I thought I could do a bit better this time.
For Spongebob I used the eMotimo turntable. It’s a turntable add on for my eMotimo motion control head. It’s super easy to use as you can see below.
I made a quick jig from a piece of wood and some threaded rod and bolts and cut a hole in the toys to mount them. Shooting against a sheet of chroma paper on the wall, I created some simple turnarounds for the toys. I shot them as a sequence of photos, but you could do this as video too.
This spot was composited and designed by Stefano Ottoviano. We used the Nickelodeon style guide to get the colours and textures to keep everything on brand. It took a couple of drafts to get to the finished spot. Along the way we simplified quite a lot and restricted the colour palette and patterns. We used a variety of products from all the different lines including the localized products unique to the UK. The finished result I think works really well.
The final stage was voicing with Lewis MacLeod. We went for an Austin Powers style main narrator voice to fit with the music, and then had a lot of fun with lots of silly voices shouting, 'pants!'
Looking back on the initial brief, this is what we were asked to include:
- it's in Leceister Square, London
- there's a range of products for different properties
- it's a fun experience and not just somewhere to buy stuff
- everything is available online
- there is lots of localised product exclusive to the London/UK shop
- it needed Nickelodeon's attitude
I think we covered everything either explicitly or visually, all with added pants!