The ad reconnects the spirit of Courvoisier with its strong cocktail heritage by literally and metaphorically shattering the stereotypical image of cognac as being drunk neat after dinner. Viewers wearing the required Colorcode 3-D glasses see a cosy image of cognac in a balloon glass being exploded. Glass splinters and cognac shoot out at viewers and then spin into a vortex that forms a cocktail sitting next to a bottle of Courvoisier Exclusif.
Upon discovering Channel 4 was running a 3D season, White Label successfully pitched Courvoisier’s owner, Maxxium, with the idea of running a 3D spot where the underlying message is of presenting cognac with another dimension. White Label chose Atticus Finch for the complex production because the agency was a big fan of Atticus Finch’s animation work for the likes of Snow Patrol, plus the production company had already started investigating stereoscopic production techniques.
Atticus Finch’s brief was to develop the spot in a contemporary style so as to appeal to young-minded individuals. The decision was taken to create the content in photoreal CGI to add controlability over a live-action route, particularly to the glass shattering and fluid dynamics. Spectre VFX was brought in to undertake the CGI build and animation, using Maya to create the glass fragments and animation and Realflow for the fluid simulation. Maya’s built-in stereo camera rigs were particularly useful and compositing was done in Nuke which was the ideal tool thanks to its well-developed stereoscopic worklfow.
The usual production challenges were all present: engage the audience, make the product look great, get the music and voice right. However this ad posed a whole further dimension – the Z axis – which made the production even more challenging. The creative of hero action in a black space, with no foreground and background objects to mark the Z axis depth, didn’t lend itself naturally to the stereo medium. So all depth comes from the shattering of the glass and the flow of the liquids. As this happens in a super-slo-mo look, the further challenge was to make the fragments travel a large distance to create the depth, whilst not appearing rushed.
Another complex consideration was making the spot is a one-shot ad where the scene is transformed through impossible camera moves by working in stereo format. The edit was kept to a relaxed pace to the eye is not constantly having to readjust to new scenes and Z-axis set-ups at edit points, but is taken on a fluid journey.
Within Maya, the stereo camera rig is similar to a live action rig where virtual cameras are placed 64mm apart, the average separation between human eyes. Such logistics are much simpler in CGI than ‘the real world’ as it is impossible to get two regular film or HD cameras to sit 64mm close together. In Maya, a left eye image stream can be rendered alongside a right eye image stream and composited together.
All testing through the production process was done using standard anaglyph encoding and viewed using red and cyan lensed glasses. However Channel 4’s chosen broadcast format is the Colorcode 3-D system which requires the completed ad to be delivered to 3D specialists, Can, for encoding and delivery.
Maxxium’s Marketing Controller for Courvoisier & Imported Whiskeys, Eileen Livingston, said: “We challenged White Label to deliver an innovative campaign to drive reconsideration of Courvoisier as a mixable spirit and felt the 3D TV commercial opportunity was a great fusion of message and media. Clearly showcasing Courvoisier as ‘cognac with another dimension’, it also perfectly fits with the ‘revolutionary spirit’ embodied by the brand for the last two centuries.”
White Label’s Creative Director, Greg Saunders, said: “We're really excited to be working on this project with Atticus Finch. It's new and exciting territory for us all; our first TV spot, the first UK TV commercial for Courvoisier and broadcast on the first ever night to screen 3D advertising on terrestrial TV.”
Atticus Finch’s Creative Director, Chris Richmond, said: “Delving into Stereo for the first time has been surprisingly fun and satisfying experience – I have to admit to having a good degree of stereo-scepticism before! But the heady mix of White Label’s boundless enthusiasm and creativity with Courvoisier’s strong brand essence made it natural that we were doing something new and pushing the boundaries of advertising in this way.”
CREDITS:
Project: Courvoisier ‘Cognac With Another Dimension’
Airdate: 16th Nov 09 (for Channel 4’s 3D week)
Client: Maxxium
Creative agency: White Label UK
Copywriters: Greg Saunders / Drew Shannon
Art directors: Greg Saunders / Drew Shannon
Production company: Atticus Finch
Director: Chris Richmond
Producer: Jim Waters
CGI: Spectre VFX
