This was a wild one. It's one of the biggest projects I've done, for a big client such as LEGO, and most of it was new ground for me. The challenge of incorporating heavy animation elements was a fairly new landscape, so there was a lot of learning and listening to the needs of the production. Weeks of prepping involved lots of testing and research, trying to enhance what was possible, given that the finished product is only 30 seconds. We also worked to ensure that every department got what they needed, from capturing light settings on location for the post team to match later, to making sure key visuals were being covered for the LEGO team to use later as part of their ad campaign.
Day 1 took place in Singapore, where we worked with several toddlers and their actor parents. It was no easy feat considering the age ranges and what toys needed to be featured. All in all, things went well, and we managed to get the shots we needed while battling weather issues.
Day 2 took place remotely. A lot of research went into finding gardens in bloom around the world that fit what we were looking for, from layout to veggie patches where the LEGO character could inhabit. We settled on a nice one in Australia and directed a team there remotely.
I came up with character backgrounds for each LEGO veggie, including their personality type and favorite emotions. This became useful during post-production when working on their expressions and sound effects.
I'm happy to call this a great success, not just because the LEGO team was happy with the work, but also because of all the learning and growth that happened along the way. I couldn't have accomplished it without the team at Play Films, who are always supportive and encouraging of ideas.
