GE 'Invention Donkey'

With GE’s 'Invention Donkey', the possibilities are endless. New best friends, a money-making app, maybe even a new way to power the world? Framestore’s New York team collaborated with BBDO and director Steve Miller to deliver this hilarious new spot, featuring real-life donkey actress Bella-Bella. VFX Supervisor Raul Ortego was present on set where the donkey was shot against a green screen, with David Hulin also in attendance to take CG references from the animal actress. “We needed to know in advance how much smaller the donkey was supposed to be in the commercial as well as what type of surface it would be standing on” Raul explained. “Radical were the Production Company and built a scaled-up replica of the ground for the donkey to be shot on. Having this prop on set we were able to get good shadows and a correct bouncing light, which really helped further down the line.” The team wanted to capture as much of Bella-Bella’s style and overall look in their CG double, so everything from fur clumping to the size of the donkey’s teeth was scrutinised over. Framestore’s in-house grooming system was used to create the style of the fur, whilst the rendering and character development was done in Arnold. "From the start we loved story and the creative that BBDO and Steve Miller came up with” summed up Framestore Producer Raven Sia. “The team make it look so easy to produce this miniature, talking donkey but it all comes down to the extremely talented artists we have here."