Behind the Work: How Sky and FAMILIA Blasted Between Worlds of Entertainment
It’s a feeling to which, now more than ever before, so many of us can relate. Sat on our sofas, longing for something amazing to leap out of our screens and blow us away. And in the latest series of ads promoting Prime Video on Sky, that fantasy comes to life in jaw-dropping fashion.
In a bid to find an amazing film to share with his sofa-bound boyfriend, the ad’s protagonist is swept between the worlds of various high-profile hits, including The Wheel of Time and Reacher.
The transitions between the different worlds are silky-smooth, and add up to an energising ad which shows off Sky and Prime Video’s vast content library whilst having fun along the way. To find out how it all came together, LBB caught up with director David Mellor and FAMILIA partner and EP Toby Walsham.
Above: FAMILIA’s David Mellor brought this ad - named ‘Broken Leg’ - to life with a myriad of visual effects combined with expertly-crafted practical filmmaking.
LBB> Hello, Toby and David - congrats on a great ad! What was the initial brief from the client, and what were your reactions to it?
David> Thanks. The initial brief was very much about a human story, about a loved one trying to entertain and cheer up their partner. That was our starting point. Where it goes from there is our protagonist being pulled through a series of different worlds as Sky and Amazon present options to them.
It was a brief which struck a chord with me, because I like it when there’s one foot in reality and the other in fantasy. So having that foundation and then tilt reality a little bit was immense fun.
Toby> Advertising the content of streaming services is now quite a crowded marketplace, so it’s important to be able to do something new and interesting with it. What we landed on here is simple but effective - essentially a match cut on action. We could have easily done something where we transition through a crazy space portal to get to the next shot, but what we went for was effortless and elegant.
LBB> It almost feels as though we’ve opened up a streaming app and are being shown short clips of each amazing show we can watch… was it your intention to capture an extremely cinematic version of that feeling?
David> That’s interesting - we definitely wanted to reflect the UI, but that was never an outwardly stated intention of ours whilst filming. If that’s what you took from it, I love it!
Above: A behind the scenes film documenting how this ambitious and memorable shoot came together.
LBB> When it came to the ideation process, how smooth was this project? Was there a lot of back-and-forth?
Toby> In order to make things as smooth as possible, we did a tonne of work in pre-production which really paid off. It was weeks and weeks of animatics, and we’re absolute pixel pests at FAMILIA. It’s also testament to the director and DP who treated this at times like a science rather than an art, making sure the shots lined up perfectly.
David> Yeah that was a case of reverse-engineering a lot of shots, not only from the art direction but the lenses and cameras that were being used.
LBB> I understand that both of you guys come from a post production background. Was that ever an advantage in this project because of the attention to detail required?
Toby> It’s useful knowledge for any modern creative person to have, because it helps you visualise a project on a very practical level from start to finish. If everyone - or at least most people - on a set can buy into that visualisation, things invariably go smoother.
David and I actually met while working in post production together. We’ve done some amazing projects together - I remember shooting in the Andes, in Rwanda, and China. At one point we worked on a film which involved us taking 16 flights in two weeks. I’d say that’s the kind of process which would really help you get to know someone! So we are very familiar with how each other works.
LBB> What were the biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
David> I think the overriding challenge here was to recreate what’s on the other side of the camera. In some cases, especially on TV shows, this angle hadn’t even been released. The 360 spin is rare in TV because you generally have all the lights and cameras on one side, and we had to recreate the behind-the-camera angle which is never seen in the show content. That was a huge challenge.
LBB> And do either of you have a personal highlight from this project?
David> The Wheel of Time set was the most cinematic moment for me. The transition became a practical one, which was a huge challenge but linking those worlds together - marrying the living room with Wheel of Time - was extremely rewarding.
Toby> The highlight for me was the team we put together. No single person makes a film, and this was a brilliant and cohesive team effort that brought this project to life. The team at Sky and Amazon were on board with the approach needed to pull off this creative and it made things easier to all be pulling in the same direction.
LBB> Finally, is there anything you’d do differently if you had your time again?
David> Overall, we’re absolutely delighted with how it turned out. Perhaps there were some shots where we could have been even more dynamic and cinematic - and I would of course have liked a longer directors cut - but by and large this was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and we’re proud of the outcome.
Toby> There’s some technical stuff I might do differently like how we built the rigs, but this was a project with a group of people who love their craft, were consistently on top of the detail, and created an amazing film. What’s not to love?
