HOW WE DID IT

Using a found globe and post, and working from various reference photos of Metro lamp posts, we modelled a replica Dervaux mast out of wood and perspex. We wired it all up to illuminate the sign and globe, then created some quick paint effects to dirty it down a little so it didn’t look too new. It was a lot of fun to work on this one!

HOW WE DID IT

We were tasked with making a pie with the Magpye logo baked into the crust. We suggested to the client that making a real pie would be preferable to a model make in terms of timeframe and budget. They agreed, so we made a stamp to emboss the pastry, and food stylist extraordinaire Holly Cochrane baked it to perfection.

Our second pie related make was the pie-scope seen at the end of the ad.

We also offered up the hire of our backless oven which allows you to shoot from inside. 

One problem we couldn’t solve was whether it’s best to have pie with chips or mash. I say both.

HOW WE DID IT

To allow for the various in-camera effects we built a series of bottle rigs. Some simply kept the bottle in the right place for the shot when different flavours were being filmed, or allowed for small adjustments.

Our favourite was the Ribena catapult that we designed to throw the bubbles further out of the mouth of the bottle. We replaced the bottom section of a bottle with rubber sheet. This was then manipulated in different ways to propel the liquid upwards. It was a lot of fun to make and play with in the workshop! We also created a rig to spin the lid away from the bottle. This action was then enhanced in post.

HOW WE DID IT

We went through many design iterations but the basic concept was the same throughout. We would make three sizes of cube with a colour change for each event and a variety of stacking formations. Our final design was birch ply cubes – either whole, or split into halves at an angle, with interchangeable laminate panels. There were 5 variations on the laminate banding which allowed for a huge range of possible visual arrangements.

We chose a core palette of birch ply, dark grey, and a pale grey/orange terrazzo as a playful nod to traditional corporate office design. Each event had a core colour so we matched our laminate to the palette chosen by Facebook and set about building a vast city of cubes. 

The idea was to have 1m cubes as a base with 1/2m and 1/4m cubes stacked in various formations to create dynamic arrangements within the event spaces. The smaller cubes could nest within the larger split cubes to cut emissions when transporting them. The nesting also optimised storage space in between sessions. There were also 4 light-boxes made with the Facebook logo to act as focal points within the various spaces.

We designed a different style of arrangement for each event, beginning with the split cubes ’emerging’ out of the ground for the opening event and ending with a regular, solid wall of whole cubes for the last event. The concept was that the set built-up and solidified across the talks, alongside the participants’ knowledge.

Spanner in the works

Then… along came a global pandemic. The large, in-person events we had been preparing for were all cancelled. The series moved online, with speakers appearing over Zoom and talks filmed in small studios for video on demand. That is where the design truly came into its own. The nesting nature of the cubes meant that we could easily deliver several 1/2m and 1/4m cubes to the speakers’ homes. They could then set up their own personal arrangements to appear in the background of their videos.

HOW WE DID IT

The spinning table had to flip 180° quickly and then stop level, all in one movement to match the pace of the dialogue.

We used a solid oak worktop and CNC routed the underside to mount bearings and axel to ensure the alignment was accurate a possible. The turning motion was hand-o-matic by a crank on the opposite side of the table. This low fi method gives a broad range of control and is instantly variable.  

We were also responsible for the plasterers wall components. We took an illustrator file of the website layout and extracted the required vectors we needed to CNC route out the component parts. This had to be accurate and match the approved layout as it was being cut to in the edit. Callum Andrew’s construction team took care of the assembly and painting on set.

We also made a rig for an actor to perform a wheelie on a bike. This was dropped due to it being perceived as irresponsible by Clearcast – safety first kids!