Film Craft > Post-Production
ELECTRIC THEATRE COLLECTIVE, London / COCA-COLA / 2024
Overview
Credits
Why is this work relevant for Film Craft?
Year after year, Marvel creates blockbuster films that set new production standards for the global film industry. This was the benchmark we aimed to meet with our work. From storytelling to CGI to the score and everything in between, we strived for the same level of quality as a Marvel production.
From the very beginning, we thought of ‘The Heroes’ as a mini-film, a piece of work that could seamlessly fit into the Marvel Universe. Our goal was to remain loyal to the characters and maintain high production values throughout.
Please provide any cultural context that would help the Jury understand any cultural, national or regional nuances applicable to this work.
With 1.3B Marvel fans globally, Coca-Cola saw an opportunity to foster a deeper connection with an enthusiastic and engaged fan base. The goal of this work is to build cultural equity for Coca-Cola within the Marvel fan community.
We wanted the campaign to embrace the wonderful feeling Marvel fans experience every time they go to the cinema. ‘The Heroes’ is an uplifting film that takes a lot of inspiration from one of the greatest storytellers of our generation.
Write a short summary of what happens in the film.
The story showcases a woman who accidentally puts a comic book world in danger and how the Real Magic of Coca-Cola unites with the Marvel Universe to save the day.
On the counter, we see an uninspired employee in a Juggernaut shirt that leans over a Captain America comic, causing Juggernaut to leap from the shirt into the comic. Inside the comic book Juggernaut creates a massive stomp that sends a shockwave across the store alerting Daredevil.
Using echolocation, Daredevil detects the danger: the girl's leaning puts the comic book city in danger. He needs to make her lean back and finds the perfect solution: a Coca-Cola.
Daredevil grabs a Coca-Cola from a fridge. Along with Colossus and Black Widow, they deliver the Coca-Cola to the girl. As she drinks, she leans back, making the Juggernaut in her shirt exit the comic book city and return to where he belongs
Background:
To bring illustrated & sculpted Marvel heroes to life, and seamlessly embed them in the real world of a comic shop - telling a dramatic story whilst retaining a unique look for each character based on the medium they originated from: comic book, t-shirt, or collectible.
With dynamic camera work and physical interactions, we decided the base of each character had to be CGI. To maintain authenticity, we used tradional 2d animators, illustrators & painters throughout process to add hand-made elements into scenes. This approach allowed us to bridge the worlds of comic book art & high end CGI.
Tell the jury about the visual effects and summarise any relevant challenges or techniques.
Curated references and hand crafted original concept art formed our design bible. We had to be true to the Marvel universe, while also zeroing in on the style of each character, contrast between the looks being a major consideration.
With inspiring character designs our 3D team began sculpting the models and developing FX systems bespoke to each character. Daredevil posed one of the biggest challenges; his entire look is a constantly evolving water colour painting, with pencil and charcoal details. This was achieved by first creating a realistic shaded version of the character and then transforming that light and shadow information into organic blocks of colour and texture which evolved each consecutive frame.
Working closely with the director, we created a detailed previs of the film, and then crafted the animations of the characters in each of the shots, trying to evoke the personalities of these classic Marvel icons.
More Entries from Visual Effects in Film Craft
24 items
More Entries from ELECTRIC THEATRE COLLECTIVE
19 items