'The New Kid' is a charming story about the DICK's Sporting Goods products coming to life once the customers have left and the shop has closed. Taking inspiration from feature film Night at the Museum, the objects, from Nike and Adidas shoes, to Louisville Slugger golf clubs, roam freely around the store and play games before the shop reopens and normality is resumed.

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Fully CG objects were cast as the main characters, so animation was key in bringing the narrative to life. There was a staggering volume of characters that had to be built and animated by hand, and we had over 40 unique objects which required bespoke key-frame animation.

We needed to create an emotional connection with these characters, and as they don't have faces, we had to convey emotion through motion and behavior. Research was carried out on the movement of animals that have similar proportions, e.g., incorporating the elegant movement of a flamingo's neck into the golf clubs and making the hockey stick's gliding movements similar to a dolphin.

The challenge was to take animated objects and place them in a live-action setting in an authentic way. E.g., we needed to make it look like the shoes were walking on their own - not like someone is walking in them.