The Gate Film's latest collaboration with Injury Lawyers 4 U is a great example of the level of VFX technology that is now part of TV and online content; not just something reserved for cinema. Showing real-to-life 'Lion' lawyers, this new campaign gives the audience something to chew on with this technological marvel, boasting the lawyers as brave, determined patrons of the law who will stop at nothing to 'fight for you.'

For those that might not be familiar, IL4U are a not-for-profit marketing consortium founded in 2002, promoting honesty and transparency between solicitors and their clients. The Gate Films have a long standing history with the brand, a relationship that spans over fifteen years, having produced a number of their striking, provocative ads (including Campaign’s ‘Most Irritating Ad’ award - we can’t forget that one!), so when this brief landed, we couldn’t wait to rise to the challenge….

THE NEXT CHALLENGE...

The films, devised by our very own In-House creative team, use lions to personify Injury Lawyers as majestic lawyers, symbolising confidence, strength and tenacity in their pursuit of justice for their clients. To achieve this; we would have to utilise a seamless blend of live action and CGI, coupled with a compelling storyboard, striking cinematography and powerful performances from the ‘lions’ themselves to really bring this to life. 

Leading this project required an experienced, seasoned director who had previous knowledge of working and shooting live action and CGI projects. With large campaigns under his belt for clients such as House of Fraser and Very: Jump into Summer, James Clancy was the perfect candidate.  James was involved in this project from it's conception, from the initial scrawlings of the lions, to the treatment, the CGI Lion designs, to the final storyboard. Not only did this mean that there was a consisent look and feel to the lions throughout but there was a clear vision everyone was working towards.

BRINGING THE 'MANE' ATTRACTION...

To realise the vision and to make sure that the lions wouldn’t fall flat, we knew we needed to collaborate with the best talent in the field. We also knew that we needed to use real actors to provide the performances of the lion lawyers so that the animators at Tag Bangkok had something tangible to animate. That is where Asylum came in; Asylum are a high-end model making company providing special effects assistance for film and tv since 1983. Once the actors had been cast; we needed to fit them with the 'lion heads'  - the physical helmets that Asylum had expertly crafted, that would assist the animators in post whilst also helping the crew in terms of lighting, framing and styling. For the talent that had to star in scenes opposite the lions, the physical heads were a great reference for their eye-line; an essential detail needed to create a sense of realism and continuity, grounding their performances in reality.

Another crucial part of pre-production was preparing the on-set VFX assistance. For a project of this scale, there needed to be consistent guidance and planning in order to guarantee that the link between production and post was as succinct as possible. We needed an extra camera unit on the sidelines at all times, capturing the footage the A cam was getting at 180 degrees to provide extra lighting reference for the animators which would help to create more detail in the realisation of the lions.

THE LIONS ON SET...

Now the locations had been selected, costumes designed and call sheet sent to crew, it was time to turn over. A three day shoot, with three locations, one set build and a street closure; production had to come together like a well oiled machine to ensure this complex, VFX heavy shoot could proceed as smoothly as possible.

The shoot began on a cold February morning in a courthouse in Southport, shooting one of the pivotal scenes of the film of the Lion 'Victor' fighting his client's case in front of the judicial system. The whole crew were poised, excited to see how this vision would all come together on set, never mind in the edit; but once the 1st AD Stevie Fylan yelled 'action', the shoot hit the ground running. 

From shooting in a courthouse, to a set-build at Foundry, to a warehouse in Trafford; Production, Art, Camera, Lighting, Styling, VFX and all of the above came together at the top of their game bringing this vision to life. Every shot had to be crafted with incredible attention to detail; if anything was missed it would have been incredibly detrimental to the end quality of the film. The VFX team remained at the sidelines like a pride of hungry lions, ready to pounce between takes to capture the essential footage needed, always in communication with the post team in Bangkok, nurturing the synergy needed to ensure post would run like clockwork...

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE...

Once the final 'wrap' had been called, it was time to get into the edit suite and start pulling together this huge project. Whilst the team in Bangkok got underway realising the lions, the post team at the Gate with director James put their heads together in cutting the footage, creating the offline sans lion heads. 

Imagination was a huge part of the offline process; having to constantly remind ourselves what the end film would look like in order to remain on track with the post process. Patience is a virtue when it comes to such a heavy CGI project; things that require a high/ premium level of quality need a lot of time and detail to ensure they live up to the creative vision that was initially concieved.

Bit by bit, VFX came through and the team at the Gate grew more and more excited by the progressing edit; the Lions began to take life, the city started to take shape and the soon approaching finished film was starting to look like the king of the pride lands. Our friends down at Smoke and Mirrors completed the grade, providing a masterclass in colour correction, adding another level of class to the film. 

The dedication and craft on display from all involved on this project was something to behold; the props, the lion tie-bar, each hair in the mane - everything came together to create a brand film that not only lives up to the vision we first set out to create but is a testament to everyone's hard work in bringing this film to life...

Do you have a project that needs world-class VFX? Get in touch.