In this spot, a Lotto winner donates a sizeable portion of her jackpot to help monkeys at a sanctuary, turning a zookeeper-type into the manager of a five-star resort for primates, constituting part of a campaign from AMV BBDO, London, which shows hilariously over-the-top ways to splurge one’s Lotto winnings.
We see gorillas, chimps and/or orangutans getting full body massages, jet skiing, going ape on a golf driving range, even hot tubbing.
Directed by the Traktor collective from production house Partizan, the spot was advanced by the visual effects acumen of Framestore, London.
Framestore’s creative director, Mike McGee, provided on-set supervision to offer creative and technical solutions that complemented the directors’ vision in what was a complex VFX project completed over a short schedule. McGee then oversaw the VFX process back in Framestore’s headquarters to ensure high-end results were delivered on time.
“Monkey Sanctuary” was filmed using performers dressed in orangutan, chimpanzee and gorilla suits. Framestore’s 3D team, led by Simon French, created and animated face replacements for the chimp and orangutan by stamping animated faces over the actors’ suited faces to make for more exciting and realistic expressions. This started with modeling and texturing faces to match reference supplied by the directors and then matching the fur from the suits to create a seamless and convincing blend. Traktor wanted performances that reflected natural, anatomical monkey behavior rather than anthropomorphic expressions. So the 3D team combed natural history footage for references and matched them to the actors’ performances, mimicking how a real-life creature might behave in this scenario. The gorilla’s face was animatronic and so only required some augmentation in 2D, with the VFX team adding life to its eyes and expression to its brows. Face replacement work was blended in by finessing hairlines.
Lead animator Nigel Rafter, said: “Because we were working with monkey suited actors, we didn’t have a blank canvas. This meant we had to create realistic facial expressions that matched the actors’ performances. Once we’d established some basic subtle snout and mouth movement, the process just flew along. The next difficulty was in getting the rig to handle extremes: everything from a stretched pout with curved and puffed lips, to chewing mouths. But we managed to overcome these problems with a bit of 3D ingenuity.”
“Overnight Success” Has Been More Than A Decade In The Making For Meghann Fahy and Eve Hewson
Meghann Fahy and Eve Hewson, two of the stars of Netflix's whodunit "The Perfect Couple," have news for you if you want to call them breakouts: They've been working in this business for more than a decade.
Fahy made her TV debut in 2009 in an episode of "Gossip Girl." Hewson's first big film role was in 2011's "This Must Be the Place." They do concede, however, that it's recent TV roles — "The White Lotus" for Fahy and "Bad Sisters" for Hewson — that have led to new frontiers of opportunity.
Susanne Bier, who directed "The Perfect Couple," says both Fahy and Hewson are "going to be big stars."
"They certainly have proper, profound star quality, Both of them in very different ways," Bier says. "Both are incredibly creative, incredibly smart, and also have a impressive insight as to who they are. You can be a great actor or actress and not necessarily really know who you are yourself. And they do."
Hewson, 33, whose dad is U2 front man Bono, may have grown up in a famous family but she's now in demand in her own right. She will next be seen in a second season of "Bad Sisters, " out in November. She's in Noah Baumbach's next film, alongside Adam Sandler, George Clooney and Riley Keough. She's also been cast in Steven Spielberg's next production and is set to star opposite Murray Bartlett in a racing series for Hulu.
Fahy, 34, is in production on a limited series with Julianne Moore and Milly Alcock called "Sirens," written by Molly Smith Metzler ("Maid") for Netflix. She also has two films in the can with Josh O'Connor ("The Crown," "Challengers") and Brandon Sklenar ("It Ends With Us").
The two actors spoke candidly about this phase of their careers. This interview has been condensed for clarity and... Read More