RUSHES COMPLETE CO-OP COMMERCIAL

LONDON post production house Rushes have recently completed an Aardman Animations commercial for the Co-op.
The thirty-second commercial was created by advertising agency Partners BBDH and features a family of comical sheep enjoying the Christmas spirit. The commercial seeks to remind the public that “You’ll find everything you need at the Co-op this Christmas”.
Rushes Fire artist, Groucho, said: “ In the latest Co-op ad there is the return of the Sheep Family at Christmas. The ad was made in a slightly different way this time. As usual the backgrounds were shot for real, but, unlike the others, all the characters were added to the backgrounds at Rushes. Aardman supplied the characters and their mattes for me to composite in Fire.
“Some shots had up to five layers of animation over the background and a further foreground layer of food. There was also a need for some extra Co-op branding, so I made up a Co-op sign and added it to an in-store shot, so that it looks as if it is hanging from the ceiling. This required re-lighting, changing the focus and adding grain using Fire to match it into the shot.”
Director Will Byles said: “Working on this commercial gave us the opportunity to develop the characters of the sheep and to learn more about their day to day lives. It’s rare that we get the chance to develop the narrative in commercials and we look forward to seeing the sheep again!”
(GB)