Case Studies • Soreen Lift Bar Campaign
SOREEN
NEW LIFT BAR CAMPAIGN
Client: Soreen
Agency: Cheetham Bell
In 2023, the masters of malt loaf goodness, Soreen, released a new product: The Soreen Lift Bar. They wanted an ambitious campaign which literally ‘lifted’ someone into the air. The catch? They needed it for a purse-friendly budget. Challenge accepted.
Tasked with titillating the audience's taste buds, we set about producing a set of playful assets, working collaboratively with Cheetham Bell to bring the creative campaign to life. Did you use green screen you ask!? Absolutely not. In true Jist fashion, we went the extra mile to make content the very best it could be. We hauled a crane into a Greater Manchester park to properly ‘lift’ our talent into the air, before enlisting the help of our wonderful VFX whiz Alex to bring a bunch of fruity-looking balloons to life.
Initially an online and out of home campaign, the content played everywhere from people’s Insta feeds to digital six boards dotted around the country’s bus stops, university campuses and supermarkets. The campaign was so successful that it then ran on TV and VOD too.
Services:
Pre Production
Storyboarding
Casting
Production
VFX
Animation
Colour Grade
TV / OOH Delivery
Our services spanned from creative development of the campaign concept to animation, VFX and an ambitious production.
Hero asset animatic
Camera movement test pre visualisation
VFX pre visualisation test
From the original creative treatment right the way through to final delivery, Jist’s collaborative spirit, creative eye and technical know-how made every step of the production process seamless and enjoyable! I can’t wait to work with them again on the next project.
Luke Dixon, Account Director, Cheetham Bell
So, where did we start? Well, the initial brief dreamt up a scenario in which real balloons would gently lift an actor into the air in a sunny city-centre park.
A tad nervous about the notorious Manchester rain, we initially looked at going down the green screen route, hoisting our actor into the air in a studio before compositing him onto a VFX background. We dove headfirst into 3D modelling, conjuring up balloons made out of raspberries and raspberries made out of balloons. But it wasn’t long before we realised that this would be exceptionally costly if we wanted to achieve a realistic look.
So, we opted to shoot in a real-life setting, with a sprinkle of VFX magic. We scoured countless patches of grass until we stumbled upon Wythenshawe Park, our golden ticket. It didn’t have a city skyline, but we’d figure that out later.
With the location sorted, it was time to tackle the logistics of lifting our actor into the stratosphere. After some intense pre-vis action, we decided a crane would allow us to nail the ‘lift’ shot. Storyboarding and animatics brought our vision to life, mapping out the shots, beats and the soundtrack.
Then came the big day - the shoot. True to the city’s stereotypes, giant grey clouds rained on our parade, but we arrived armed with brooms to sweep the water away. The park manager opened up the gates for us, and in came a giant crane. Art director Andrea made slits in our actor’s jeans, attached him to the harness and with the push of a button from our qualified crane operator, off he went into the air. An Alexa mini and a beautiful set of cooke lenses ensured each shot was the very best it could be.
The post team pulled together the best shots from the day, and carefully crafted the balloons so that they had just the right amount of texture and movement. The city skyline grew from nothingness. The spotty grey sky miraculously turned blue. And those pesky crane strings? Vanished into thin air.
After animating Soreen’s branding to create fruity-themed end-cards, the final step was the grade, making those colours come to life on screen.
9-16 final asset
9-16 animatic
