Our film is a very different version of the classic fairy tale, The Ugly Duckling. It’s different because it tells the story backwards. We see a beautiful swan gradually change back into being an ugly duckling – and beyond. All of which demonstrates that when things go backwards (like when you reverse a car) there isn’t always a happy ending. Which is exactly why the Vauxhall Astra has a reverse camera as standard…

We chose pure CGI to create this film as it allowed us the freedom to create a completely unique and stylistically pure visual style – one which could allow our central character to transition from angelic swan to ugly duckling. We also wanted to give this classic story a very modern and different appearance, to reflect the fact that the story is told in a very different way. The characters were all developed over several stages of experimentation, then crafted individually to fit each one’s journey. The environments were also painstakingly created with a stark contrast between the angelic beginning and the unhappy ending. The aesthetic style was derived from the graceful look of a swan - so everything is given an elegant and elongated, slender appearance. From initial concepts to finished film, the work took thousands of hours to create.