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LEAP has been providing Spark44 and their client Tetley with integrated advertising production services across a number of their multichannel marketing campaigns in recent years. Their latest commission was to create and deliver social media, digital marketing and press ads for Tetley Herbals’ ‘Need a Me Moment?’ campaign. Spark44’s creative scenarios feature a cup of perfectly blended herbal tea as a comforting gesture to lift the spirits of three hapless heroes coping with a mini food-fight, DIY disaster, and make-over mishap.

Spark44 producer Elizabeth Newton says, "Working with LEAP is always a really great experience. For our social campaign they looked after the whole shoot and edit process alongside seamlessly arranging the deliverables and managing the digital and press elements. They collaborate really well with our creatives and client which makes life easier for the whole team".

Although filming during a pandemic presented challenges, LEAP’s production team, under the creative direction of Danny Coster, found effective ways to maximise efficiency and ensure Covid-safe compliance. The production team set up a direct video link from the camera output and a remote editing station using an Atomos Sumo playback system. This enabled clients and creatives to approve a ‘soft’ edit via Microsoft Teams without having to wait for camera rushes to be ingested into an editing suite. After the shoot, agency creatives were able to attend the final postproduction grading and finishing sessions via video links.

Danny explains, “The overall experience was very fluid, and in a way more productive than a regular shoot. The clients only needed to stay tuned into the camera output during the actual filming. It allowed us to change the set very quickly in between scenes, then reconnect with the wider team when the directors were ready for more feedback”.

Pre-production including online casting sessions, storyboarding and set design further supported efforts to keep things running smoothly on the shoot day. The team even conducted camera and stunt tests to ensure they could safely capture the scene of a foot crashing through the ceiling.

To avoid the need to film with babies, LEAP’s VFX editors worked with the developers of Mug Life to use facial mapping and 3D animation to manipulate a photo of a baby. The baby’s spaghetti-smeared expression could then set the scene for Mum’s need for a Tetley Herbals ‘Me Moment'.

Following the shoot, LEAP’s digital team worked with the live-action assets to create the digital marketing campaign. Using hand-coded animation techniques, LEAP’s designers developed HTML5 banner ads which would maximise the campaign’s reach across a wide range of sites.

Within a few days of filming, LEAP’s integrated advertising production teams completed and delivered the three creative routes for social media platforms, digital displays and press publications.