Giving Thanks During a Pandemic

An internal project for Neighbor Animation, I pitched and concepted this spot, and took the lead on the majority of its production.

Giving thanks for the people you care about was hard during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and so I wanted a spot that could spark a joy for the connections we could still foster during this time, even if it was just across a backyard fence. I thought the visual of turkeys with masks was comical, and the fact they are neighbors also connects to the studio’s name.

I wanted there to be a strong emphasis on a fall color pallette and a playful, rounded shape language.

After spending time developing the look of the spot, and creating turnarounds and technical illustrations for characters, the neighborly turkeys were modelled, textured, and rigged by me, as was the environment. I layed out the shots, blocked the animation, and did most of the finished animation with the exclusion of some FX work such as the leaf physics.

Programs: Procreate, Photoshop, Maya, Substance Painter, VRay, After Effects, Premiere