to wear body suits. "The design of the characters is such that one gets
fooled into thinking it is animation," shrugs Rao, which was indeed the
very illusion that had to be created. "In a sense, it is 'live'
animation!" he quips, referring to the fact that it was all shot live.
Prakash Varma, ad filmmaker, Nirvana Films, has directed the
commercials, and reveals that the Zoozoos were a big challenge to
create. The practical aspects of how they will move, talk, gesticulate
and emote were very important. Essentially, costume design and artwork
were crucial elements.
"It took me three weeks of pre-production to understand how it will
work," says Varma. There were two fabrics that were considered for the
body suits, and one was rejected for it had too many wrinkles and was
shiny. The wrinkles would have shown when the characters moved, thereby
shattering the illusion of animation. "So we chose the more practical,
thicker fabric," Varma explains.
The production team divided the outfit into two parts: the body and the
head. The body part of the outfit was stuffed with foam in some places,
while the head was attached separately. To make it look bigger than a
human head, a harder material called Perspex was used, which in turn was
stuffed with foam (with scope for ventilation).
If one wishes to understand the size of this head, here's a fact: a
human head would typically reach up to the mouth level of this giant
Zoozoo head. "We kept the hands and legs thin, which is why we cast
women - and occasionally children - wearing the costumes," says Varma.
The thin limbs, contrasted with big bellies and a bulbous head, all add
to the illusion that these creatures are 'smaller' than humans. Sets
were created to suit the size of the Zoozoos.
Cinematically, this 'size' was a trick: the creatures look smaller than
they actually are on screen, to portray a different world of sorts. For
this, the speed of shooting was altered: Nirvana shot it in a high-speed
format to make them look the size that they do.
Furthermore, simple sets/backdrops were created and spray painted with
neutral Greys - a colour of choice so that attention isn't diverted from
the main characters. For a supposedly 'outdoor' shot, even the shadow of
a Zoozoo was kept 'live' and not done in post production: it was painted
in a darker shade of grey on the ground. An even lighting was maintained
throughout.
There was virtually no post production work done.
The films were shot by Nirvana in Cape Town, South Africa, with the help
of a local production house there, called Platypus. Incidentally, the
same combination of people also worked on the 'Happy to Help' series
last year. When asked whether Cape Town is fast becoming a tourist spot
for Vodafone and Nirvana, Varma laughs, saying, "Oh no! It's just that
we are very comfortable with the team there and know what sort of work
to expect from them."
Nagpal adds here that the production cost had to be minimal for
unveiling such a large number of commercials. "Otherwise, our production
costs would exceed media spends," he quips.
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