Christmas Advert 2022

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Ministry of MotionCampaign2022

The studio's own Christmas advert, made to show how a festive campaign comes together from the first brief to the finished film.

Our own Christmas advert for 2022, a character film made to show how we put a festive campaign together from the first brief to the finished piece. It was made the way we make a client film: brief, script, character design, storyboard and animatic, then build and animation. Once signed off, a film like this is exported in 16:9, 1:1, 4:5 and 9:16 with alternative calls to action, social cut-downs and translated versions, and the same approach extends to an animated Christmas card, batch rendered with individual names and logos from a spreadsheet.

The making of Christmas Advert 2022

Brief

Brief slide headed Objective: a short feel-good story made on a fraction of a big advert's budget, with a toy biplane
Brief slide headed Approach: a piece that reflects the studio's personality and mixes 3D, 2D, character animation, compositing and audio, with toy letter blocks
Brief slide headed Outcomes: raise brand awareness, show a range of styles and give a real-time look at the working process, with two elf characters
Brief slide headed Positioning: a step-by-step explainer of the project process on LinkedIn with behind-the-scenes content, with a mug and a plate of biscuits on a stool
Brief slide headed Formats: primary 16:9 and 1:1, secondary 9:16 and 4:5, with a sprig of holly
Brief slide headed Timeframes: as soon as possible, fitted in between client work, with an orange cat character

Script

Script page headed Idea, Vibe, Need and Duration: Santa's fortunes take a downturn and he learns new tricks, uplifting and tongue in cheek, aiming for 90 to 120 seconds
Script page of visuals and notes: a once successful Santa, then a scruffy Santa in his chair, the doorbell and a disappointing post delivery
Script page of visuals and notes: Santa watches the news, worries at his desk in the workshop, falls asleep and wakes up in shock
Script page of visuals and notes: the elves wheel in a whiteboard plan, Santa's eyes light up and a montage of short social videos begins
Script page of visuals and notes: Santa goes viral, the Christmas spirit graph recovers, the doorbell rings and letters flood out of the post van
Script page of visuals and notes: the postman takes a selfie with everyone and the final shot settles into a picture frame, with a reindeer illustration

Designs and character development

Character sheet for Scruffy Santa: front and side views in striped pyjamas with a patched sleeve
Character sheet of Santa expressions: six heads showing tired, surprised, happy and other looks
Character sheet for Smart Santa: front and side views in the red suit, belt and boots
Character sheet for the elves: a large front view in a green hat and tunic, with back and side views
Character sheet of elf expressions: six heads with winks, frowns and smiles
Character sheet of additional characters: a postal worker in a high-vis vest with a bag, a man in a suit, a mouse and an orange cat

Storyboard and animatic

Christmas animatic

Build and animation

This is where we rig the character, continue the illustrations, build the scenes, animate the character, refine the edit, add in sound effects and all that jazz.

Christmas 2022 case study behind the scenes

Alternative brand uses

You give us a spreadsheet and we automate the rest.

Personalised Christmas card

Next project: ColloquyColab Health (agency)Character2022

Christmas Advert 20222022

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