Client: Miller Brewing Co.
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather
Product: Miller Lite
Titles: Radiohead, Eye Rub, an Thanks Bob
Edit: Mackenzie Cutler
CGI: AFCG, Inc.
Date: 2000

AFCG's role in this project was to help the agency decide on an appropriate Miller Lite "bug" that would be keyed over the lower right hand corner of three commercials that were being edited at MacKenzie Cutler.

AFCG was asked to present three versions of the "bug"... a full label, a bottle neck label, and a bottle cap. The agency would then choose which version they wanted us to generate final animations or still frames for.

We created three low-res test composites to give the agency a rough example of what each "bug" would look like over the live footage.

The agency decided to go with the bottle cap "bug". We rendered up a full-res version with mattes and provided three more test composites of the "bug" over a color corrected still frame of the film footage.

As an alternate version to the bottle cap end-tags, the agency explored using two quick cuts to a full frame graphic of the Miller Lite logo. We created two still frames for their testing.

Just when we thought the project was finished... it was decided that the bottle cap would look better if it was angled up and into frame, instead of down and out of frame. We agreed with this, and happily created the new "bug".

And, as happens with any project when there's suddenly additional time in the schedule, we created a couple of animated test versions of the cap looking like it was being twisted off the bottle top.

Then a new problem arose... with the new angle the serated back edge of the bottle cap was out of TV Title Safety and may not have been visible on some home television sets. We were asked to generate a new version of the bottle cap where it was angled down and into frame. This way the serated top edge of the bottle cap would remain visible within Title Safety.

We got ambitious and added "icy cool moisture" droplets to the surface of the bottle cap. Made us thirsty.

There was yet another problem. At the new angle the "Lite" logotype no longer looked italisized... a big "no-no". So after kicking around several possible solutions we settled on changing the angle of the bottle cap back up and into frame, AND distorting the surface data of the cap by pushing up the serated edge so it remained visible behind the front face of the cap. Technically incorrect... but visually ok.

We also made a last effort at "icy cool moisture" droplets.

We finally finished the project.

Special thanks to Ian at MacKenzie Cutler, and to Joe and Brendan at Ogilvy.