Bent Image Lab Felt Up Boston Pizza

With all of the photo-realisitic CGI-whizz-bangery the industry expertly generates for all media, it's sometimes nice to see something with a more textured, tactile, crafty feel. Utilising colourful felt pieces and some cheeky wit, Bent Image Lab's delightful six spot series 'Festive Fakery' for Boston Pizza managed to combine slick visuals with a charmingly homemade aesthetic.

Director Paul Harrod designed the flat felt sets, with character design by Lead Animator Jen Prokopowicz, which were then cut into geometrical felt shapes and carefully layered in place. The characters were created by hinging together the character's limbs with sticky wax at various joints to allow for animation. Brilliantly, all of the elements in the spots are felt, with the exception of the Boston Pizza gift card which is practical and a cat who is made of faux fur and hair sprayed for an erratic effect.

We were fascinated by the hands-on approach and unusual materials, so grabbed a few moments with Executive Producer Ray Di Carlo and Director  Paul to chat all things felt.



How did you get involved in the Boston Pizza 'Festive Fakery' campaign?

Ray Di Carlo - We were approached by Taxi Toronto who we worked with on the Koodo campaign. These spots were great well-written, funny and the tactical style of animation was something we new we just had to do. It was jib-jab meets the ultimate crafter and we wanted to bring these animations to life.

When did the decision to use felt come up? Are you a big felt fan?

Paul Harrod - Felt was always the medium that the agency had in mind, and we at Bent thought it was a brilliant choice. By using a material generally associated with home craft projects, and one that seems to just shout "Christmas", the form and the message become perfectly intertwined. When I visit home for the holidays, my mother will trot out these clunky felt crafts projects I did as a kid and decorate the house with them. You never quite get over your love for felt.

How long was the shoot? Did you run in to any problems?

PH - The physical shoot was roughly around three weeks. We spent another couple of weeks on Compositing. We shot the spots on a classic down shooter style, though we did shoot the background and props as separate elements to be composited in Nuke. The team was lead by Jen Prokopowicz, who skillfully animated and designed the characters.

The films cover a variety of familiar family situations. Could you relate to many? Any autobiographical touches?

PH - I think there's stuff here that pretty much anyone can relate to. We've all had to put on a game face at some point upon receiving a gift that somehow created more of a feeling of dread than one of joy. But at the heart, I don't think it's quite as cynical as all that. The point is that you get these gifts from someone you care for, and who you know only wanted to make you happy. The onus is on you to not hurt that person's feelings by reacting honestly to the gift. Hence festive fakery. The scripts were written entirely by the creative team, so I didn't have much input there, but we put a lot of ourselves and some of our own histories into the design and performance.



The films have some charming character designs. How important is it to get things like that right before setting up camera?

PH - Jen had a great feel for what would work both aesthetically and physically. By the time we got to fabrication, it was crucial that everyone be on the same page as far as the characters were concerned. Basically, with down shooter animation, all of that has to be completely nailed down well before anything can happen under the camera. This is all physical creation, so if something isn't working, it's back to the drawing board and you have to fabricate something entirely new and reshoot the entire scene. It's very different from CG animation in that regard, where some (limited) aspects of the decision making process can continue through production.

It sounds like an odd question, but is it tough to light a technique like this? There's a shallow depth to the image that gives it a great, physical feel.

PH - Lighting isn't that complicated, but it still has to be thought out. You want the light to cover the whole down shooter platten, without any vignetting, but at the same time you don't want it so flat that you'll lose the texture of the felt. We maintained an overhead key light, but then brought in a little side light that would create a shadow on all of the layered felt elements and bring out the texture. The shallow depth of field that we got is actually a little bit of a cheat. The characters and backgrounds were shot separately, so our Nuke compositors, Cameron Carson and Adam C. Sager were able to create subtle focal shifts.

The spots are airing online, with one going to air. Do you prefer seeing your work on the net? Do you ever check out the response?

PH - I'm getting used to seeing more of my work on the net, and I take some comfort in the idea that that's where it has the potential to go viral. What's nice about a broadcast spot is the idea that all these people are seeing it at the same time, creating a sort of communal experience in that moment.

Do you feel that with the prevalence of digital animation at the moment, audiences relish the tactile nature of less conventional forms like paper craft or working with felt?

PH - Well I know I do. As the digital technology gets better and better, and what was hailed as ground-breaking a couple of years ago seems primitive today, one appreciates the simple, handmade, lo-fi work for what it is. Of course I do a lot of CG spots, and I love seeing just how limitless we can make those worlds and how convincing we can make all the textures, but there is so much to be said for work that feels a little more personal and accessible. It's kind of like the difference between seeing a giant stadium concert and attending an acoustic set in an intimate club. They both have their merits, and I'm not going to say one is better than the other. It's just nice to have the option.

What's up next for you?

PH - It's looking like the next year could be very busy. Right now I'm really not at liberty to talk about any of it, but I'm hoping for a healthy combination of stop-motion, 2D and CG projects. We've been doing some work for China which has been an amazing education. My goal is to stay challenged and to not limit myself to any one style or medium. I have a couple of live action web projects I'm hoping to get off the ground soon as well. I really enjoy working with actors, so any opportunity there is usually welcome. And if all goes well, I'd love to do some more Boston Pizza holiday spots in this same vein.