Three Mobile don’t just produce advertising, they have also positioned themselves as a curator of the Internet’s weird and wonderful - creating silly content for the public to pass around.
Over the years there has been a spate of self-filmed Internet mega hits - with people lip-syncing to famous songs. Building on this cultural phenomenon here we see a little girl and her cat, lost in the moment together, belting-out the rock track ‘We Built This City’ while the girl cycles around the cul-de-sac outside her home.
The little girl, filmed from the POV of her world, delivers an outstanding adult performance, while the exceptional one-of-a-kind cat rides in his bike basket and sings along with his best friend to Starship’s iconic 80s anthem. The VFX team developed and animated a digital double of Bronte the cat, complete with skeleton, muscle structure, luxurious fur and intricate animation in order to achieve the cute look and emotional character performance.
The team chose to cast a real cat and develop a perfect replica CG double for the final spot. The intricate ‘Digital Double’ was complete with skeleton, muscle structure, luxurious fur and intricate animation in order to achieve the cute look and emotional character performance.
A real cat was cast for the perfect reference. ‘Bronte’ was chosen based on his look, colouring and relaxed personality.
An exact model was then crafted using leading 3D software. A substantial study of cat anatomy was undertaken. Due to Bronte’s fur depth, the hairless Sphynx was also studied and referenced extensively as their joints are visible.
A rig was then carefully created to reproduce Bronte’s bone structure and intricate muscle system.
The real Bronte was captured on-set in every scene. On-set lighting conditions and substantial measurements were taken to be replicated in the VFX studio. Cutting-edge proprietary software was used to develop the complex fur dynamics and depth. A 3D model of the entire set was also re-created to ensure the shoot conditions were replicated.
Working on his movement and attitude, he was transformed from a shy little kitten to a full-blown performer. An actor was filmed lip-syncing. The detailed facial movements were then recreated and combined with the cat’s natural range of movement. Special attention was paid to the cats eyes as they were key to his charisma and a team of animators developed a further range of expressions, using reference of cats yawning and snarling, to inject additional emotion into his performance.