Introducing the new Karamel Sutra(TM) premium flavour to European cinema, TV and online audiences, Ben & Jerry's has turned to the artists at Brand New School. Rolling out the new premium core flavour in keeping with Ben & Jerry's signature visual style, Brand New School director/creative director Dennis Go and his colleagues married photo-real food imagery with a "lo-fi" homemade feel. Tapping into the mind of Woody, the brand's world famous spokeswoman, the spot primarily uses stop-motion animation to place her in wildly imaginative situations that describe the ice cream's flavours and the caramel core at its centre.
As Dennis explains, "Since we shot the majority of the spot in stop-motion, we had to build larger-than-scale models of ice cream that were disguised as volcanos, caves and planets so that it wouldn't melt but would still look real and appetising. We then built a practical set for the ice cream models to live in. We didn't necessarily go completely lo-fi but they had a crafty feel that worked well with the premium brand. We also had the challenge of infusing Woody with life, as she has no facial features and only two legs. Along with all of her movements being very purposeful, I felt like this added extra charm and wit to her character."
After completing their design phase, producing an animatic in Autodesk Maya and gaining client approvals, the BNS crew shot for five days on stage at London's Clapham Road Studios. Editing, additional CG enhancement and all finishing took place at the BNS studio in NYC.
Client: Ben and Jerry's
Production Company: Brand New School
Director / Creative Director: Dennis Go
Executive Creative Director: Jonathan Notaro
Cinematographer: Toby Howell
Managing Director: Danny Rosenbloom
Executive Producers: Devin Brook, Kayt Hall
VFX Supervisor/Editor: John Williams
Lead Compositor/Animator: Andy Mastrocinque
Animator: Scott Balles
Designers: Justin Fines, Emeric Trahand, Adam Wentworth
3D Animation: Scott Denton, Anthony Jones, Young Lee, Alec Vacura, Jeff Bryson
3D Lighting/Texturing: Scott Denton, Joseph Ibrahim, Young Lee
Rotoscoping: Anna Heironymus
Model Maker: Paul Baker
Stop-Motion Animator: Matt Cooper
Rigger: Gee Staughton
Producer: Samantha Proctor
Music: APM Stock "Hi-Lo Rag"
Audio Post Company: Sound Lounge
Engineer: Glen Landrum
Asst. Engineer: Craig LoGiudice
Executive Producer: Vicky Ferraro
Producer: Darcy Gerbino