Dynamic Duo LiMu Emu and Doug Are the Stars of Liberty Insurance's New Campaign

The Mill collaborated with Goodby Silverstein & Partners and director Craig Gillespie of MJZ to bring to life LiMu EMu; the new face of Liberty Mutual Insurance.

LiMu EMu is joined by Doug to form a fictional dynamic duo who appear in a series of spots; 'The Board', 'Reflection' and ‘Dealership’, to spread the word that Liberty Mutual customises coverage so you’ll only pay for what you need.

The VFX team started by shooting a real life emu to create reference footage that has then been matched to build a fully CG bird; a digital double. This impressive creation drew upon numerous skillsets, tools and software solutions. Lidar scans of the set, paired up with HDRI lighting references for every single shot, ensured LiMu could be placed into every environment seamlessly. The Mill’s proprietary fur and feather system was used to groom LiMu, with a bespoke configuration required given how each area of an emu has vastly different feather types. Various additional CG elements were crafted such as sunglasses and the security badge, with particular attention to photoreal reflections on these objects. Cloth and material simulations were applied to create the shirt and tie, which had to respond dynamically to each movement. An intricate level of detail and quality was required for flexibility in use of the assets across broadcast, digital, social and print.

Ed Boldero, lead 3D artist comments: “We received brilliant direction from Craig Gillespie in bringing his vision to life. He was very accommodating of all of our technical requirements to make the most realistic LiMu EMu possible. A great moment in the project was during an early review session, where the attending agency clients thought our CG LiMu was the real reference emu.“

Tim Rudgard, lead 2D Artist adds: “The CG team did such an excellent job of rigging and lighting the LiMu EMu that it ensured the compositing process was seamless. Having a real emu to match against provided a fantastic reference, especially when it came to lighting, look and texture. The comparison to the real emu also ensured we kept the animation believable. This was a truly collaborative project; with the client, agency and director all coming together to craft an end result we are incredibly proud of.”