Nerds Candy
Teaming up with director Reynald Gresset and Befeur Production, we brought the NERDS Gummy Clusters world to the streets of Seoul for the brand’s Korean launch.
This was a character project from the first frame to the last. A towering jelly giant covered in candy walks through the city, while crowds of tiny Nerds jump out of a bus, stick to the windows and pour off the rooftops.
For our team it was a rare chance to combine CG characters, soft body simulation and crowds with live action photography, and to have real fun doing it.
OVERVIEW
Client NERDS
Production Befeur Production
Director Reynald Gresset
VFX Tailormade
Production Befeur Production
Director Reynald Gresset
VFX Tailormade
To launch NERDS Gummy Clusters in South Korea, the brand adapted its global Gummy Monster campaign for a local audience. Tailormade was brought on board to handle the CG and VFX side of the project, from character rigs and animation to the final online, across several films and a key visual.
CHALLENGE
The campaign had to stay true to the global character design while living in a real Seoul street shot on location.
The Gummy giant needed to feel soft, heavy and alive, wobbling with every step yet keeping a clear silhouette and a readable face. Hundreds of Nerds had to move as one crowd and still show personality in the foreground.
On top of the character work, the project combined packaging integration, city localization and several market versions, with an approval chain that ran from the director and the agency to the brand’s global team in the US.
The Gummy giant needed to feel soft, heavy and alive, wobbling with every step yet keeping a clear silhouette and a readable face. Hundreds of Nerds had to move as one crowd and still show personality in the foreground.
On top of the character work, the project combined packaging integration, city localization and several market versions, with an approval chain that ran from the director and the agency to the brand’s global team in the US.
OUR ROLE
Tailormade was responsible for the CG, animation and online on the project, including:
- On-set VFX supervision during the shoot in Seoul
- Rigging and animation of the Gummy giant and the Nerds characters, based on the brand’s character models
- Soft body jelly simulation for the Gummy and candy scattering across its body
- Crowd simulation for the Nerds, with hand-animated hero characters close to camera
- CG packshots and pack replacement with tracking across live action shots
- A full CG candy and swirl transition
- City localization, billboard content replacement and a custom NERDS bus livery
- Cleanup, roto, compositing and conform
- A high resolution key visual
- Final masters for the Korean 15 and 20 second films, the Chinese 15 second film and the Director’s Cut
COLLABORATION
Working with Reynald Gresset is always a creative dialogue, and his clear vision kept every iteration focused.
A production in Beijing, a director in Europe and a brand team in the US meant three time zones and a long approval chain. We kept the work moving with weekly WIP rounds and stayed with the project through the Director’s Cut months later, tracking new takes, updating the packaging artwork and finishing the color pass with a letterbox.
Big thanks to Befeur Production and Reynald for the trust and the shared ambition.
A production in Beijing, a director in Europe and a brand team in the US meant three time zones and a long approval chain. We kept the work moving with weekly WIP rounds and stayed with the project through the Director’s Cut months later, tracking new takes, updating the packaging artwork and finishing the color pass with a letterbox.
Big thanks to Befeur Production and Reynald for the trust and the shared ambition.
CREATIVE APPROACH
We treated the characters as performers, not as effects.
The Gummy was built as a soft body with a firm core and a jelly layer on top, so its belly, arms and cheeks react to every move while the hands, feet, eyes and mouth stay locked to the animation. We tuned its height from 10 to 20 meters until the scale felt right in every shot. Nerds were scattered over its surface in seven color varieties, with density and color balance art-directed shot by shot.
The crowd was simulated in Houdini on top of a library of animation loops for running, jumping, rolling and falling. The hero Nerds closest to camera were animated by hand to give them the timing and attitude a simulation cannot.
Everything came together in deep compositing, so thousands of characters could sit naturally in front of and behind real objects in the plate.
The Gummy was built as a soft body with a firm core and a jelly layer on top, so its belly, arms and cheeks react to every move while the hands, feet, eyes and mouth stay locked to the animation. We tuned its height from 10 to 20 meters until the scale felt right in every shot. Nerds were scattered over its surface in seven color varieties, with density and color balance art-directed shot by shot.
The crowd was simulated in Houdini on top of a library of animation loops for running, jumping, rolling and falling. The hero Nerds closest to camera were animated by hand to give them the timing and attitude a simulation cannot.
Everything came together in deep compositing, so thousands of characters could sit naturally in front of and behind real objects in the plate.
RESULT
The Korean launch films bring the global NERDS world to Seoul with a local feel and a lot of character. The Gummy giant and its crowd of Nerds feel playful, tactile and right at home in the city.
For us, NERDS became one of the most character-driven projects in our portfolio, and a rare character animation campaign in Reynald Gresset’s filmography.
For us, NERDS became one of the most character-driven projects in our portfolio, and a rare character animation campaign in Reynald Gresset’s filmography.
CREDITS
VFX and animation Tailormade
Creative director & VFX supervisor Ivan Oputin
Executive producer Kir Skaletski
On-set supervisor Ivan Oputin
Team Sergey Polyanskiy, Slava Sych, Yuriy Mamontov, Alexander Largin, Alexandr Korobeinikov, Alexey Khatsko, Eugene Mischenko, Igor Surin, Katya Bukatova, Egor Borisko, Maxim Aleshin, Alexander Chiknaev, Andrey Sharapko, Ruslan Rukin, Andrey Sokolov, Vladislav Enshin, Shohruh Safarov
Creative director & VFX supervisor Ivan Oputin
Executive producer Kir Skaletski
On-set supervisor Ivan Oputin
Team Sergey Polyanskiy, Slava Sych, Yuriy Mamontov, Alexander Largin, Alexandr Korobeinikov, Alexey Khatsko, Eugene Mischenko, Igor Surin, Katya Bukatova, Egor Borisko, Maxim Aleshin, Alexander Chiknaev, Andrey Sharapko, Ruslan Rukin, Andrey Sokolov, Vladislav Enshin, Shohruh Safarov
Matchmove Matchmove machine
Client NERDS
Product NERDS Gummy Clusters
Production company Befeur Production
Director Reynald Gresset
Executive producer Yi Chuan, Da Bai
Producer Sharon Wang
Post producer Chris Xia
Product NERDS Gummy Clusters
Production company Befeur Production
Director Reynald Gresset
Executive producer Yi Chuan, Da Bai
Producer Sharon Wang
Post producer Chris Xia
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