The Craft
Q&As and behind-the-scenes info on the latest and greatest
commercials, shorts and music videos.
How Partizan helped bring Iron Maiden and Eddie to life on stage
When Iron Maiden decided to set off on a world tour, they also decided to ramp up the live experience and introduce a new way of watching the band. Enter Partizan, Red Knuckles and a team of people who brought the Iron Maiden, its mascot and its songs to life for a new generation of fans.
Bryan Buckley’s resistance in motion
The Oscar-nominated director and the choreographer Matt Steffens share how their viral dance video ResistDance, produced by Hungry Man, found a new way to express the anguish of the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti.
How Isle of Any and Coinbase made NPCs the MVPs
Oscar Hudson's new film for the brand sees a video game character break free of his shackles and escape into the 'real' world. The twist – the lo-fi visuals and angular textures aren't CG; instead, the MJZ director used impeccable production design and canny lighting to trick us into mistaking physical for digital. Jamie Madge caught up with Hudson and Isle of Any founders Toby Treyer-Evans and Laurie Howell to download the details.
How Riff Raff and Black Kite put a spring in Telstra's step
Kicking off March and April's Movement Focus, VFX Supervisor at Black Kite Studios, Dan Moore, and Riff Raff directors Smith & Foulkes walk us through the whimsical behind-the-scenes details of Telstra's Wherever We Go campaign.
How Waitrose took its love of food to the stars
In The Gastronaut, the supermarket brand showed just how crappy life can be without access to sufficient middle-class morsels. shots caught up with Wonderhood creatives Tad Buxton and India Penny, and SMUGGLER director Tom Speers, to find out how they gave a space station such a quirky atmosphere.
How Michael Hili personified motoring monsters
This campaign, created for Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Authority by McCann NZ, urges drivers to take a speed check and resist the monstrous urges forcing them to drive faster. Wanting to visualise these urges with as much authenticity as possible, director Michael Hili and the FINCH production team set about making a trilogy of fiends purely by hand.
How MANSCAPED is giving the Super Bowl a shorn serenade
In what might be the most snack-unfriendly spot of this year's Big Game, Quality Meats and The Perlorian Brothers are bringing clumps of hair to life to perform a painful plucked power-ballad. shots caught up with the creative team to find out just what makes an offcut croon.
How NOMINT and BBC Creative torched the Winter Olympics
Taking something as unpredictable as combustion and utilising it in stop-motion is a uniquely deranged undertaking... so step forward, seasoned element wrangler Yannis Konstantinidis. Jamie Madge caught up with Konstantinidis and BBC Creative's Paul Bailey to find out how they started the fire.
Some recent interviews in our "How To" series.
It takes two to Tango; The making of Canal+ and BETC's new campaign
With a hugely impressive, multi-award-winning partnership behind them, Canal+ and BETC's often comedic approach to ad campaigns stepped to a different beat in their most recent collaboration.
From 'feeling the pinch' to the Grinch: creating Asda's Xmas ad
shots speaks with Joe Bagnall, Head of Film at Lucky Generals, about how their team brought Dr Seuss Enterprises' legendary sourpuss, The Grinch, to life for ASDA's seasonal offering.
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How Knightley & Wilkinson made Waitrose's Christmas
This year's Christmas ad avalanche brought a flurry of great spots, but it's Waitrose's rom-com that won hearts and minds. Here, creative team Jen Ashton and Oli Short, along with director Molly Manners, discuss perfect casting, balancing pace and performance, and getting Richard Curtis's blessing.
How Tesco found the funny in flawed festivities
Tesco’s latest Christmas campaign, That’s What Makes It Christmas, delivers a series of relatable, perfectly imperfect festive moments instead of one glossy seasonal epic. shots caught up with BBH ECD Felipe Serradourada Guimaraes and Biscuit Filmworks’ Jeff Low to learn how they brought a bit of honesty to holiday storytelling.
How Michael Gracey portrayed a child’s safe haven for Shelter
The award-winning Partizan director Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman, Better Man) talks about the creation of the homeless charity’s Christmas ad: including the casting of a boy who could convey the film’s emotional duality – both its harsh realities and the emotional refuge that childhood glee and imagination offers.