The Car People: Character led Television Advert Production
Live action television advert production for Calm Colin and Big Hearted Barry, matched precisely to Finger Industries' pre built animatics.
Matching live action to a pre built animated world
Finger Industries commissioned us to shoot the live action portions of two television adverts for The Car People, combining filmed performance with 3D characters.
Every camera movement, angle and track distance had to match the pre built animatic across a two day shoot with a 17 person crew.
Precise live action production across two adverts
We planned the camera positions and movement with Finger Industries, then delivered the live action material required for Calm Colin and Big Hearted Barry.
The migrated project descriptions record a 12 month national broadcast. The two adverts formed part of a 12 month national campaign, giving the characters a consistent life across broadcast television.
In numbers
Character led television adverts for The Car People
The Car People campaign combined live action production with a 3D animated world. Finger Industries commissioned us to shoot the live action portions of two television adverts featuring Calm Colin and Big Hearted Barry.
The format depended on a close fit between photographed performance, real locations and the character animation. Our role centred on producing the live action material required for that combined campaign style.
A pre built animatic defined each shot
Finger Industries supplied a developed animated plan for the adverts. Camera positions and movement in the live action footage had to align with that pre built animatic.
This made the animatic a practical production document as well as a creative reference. It gave the live unit an exact relationship to the characters and environments that would appear in the finished commercials.
Camera moves matched the animated world
Every camera movement, angle and track distance needed to match the planned animation. Precision at the live action stage protected the composition and timing required by the character led treatment.
We planned those camera decisions with Finger Industries and delivered the footage into the shared campaign workflow. This clear division kept the live action unit focused on accurate performance and camera execution. It also gave the animation team material created to the geometry and movement already agreed in the animatic.
Seventeen crew across a two day shoot
The production brought together a 17 person crew over two shoot days. That scale supported the detailed live action work needed to reproduce the camera plan across the campaign material.
Close coordination mattered because a small change in height, angle or track length could affect how the footage fitted the animated scene. Preparation helped the team maintain that consistency across the two adverts. The crew worked from a shared visual reference, keeping performance, camera and movement aligned with the final composition.
Calm Colin and Big Hearted Barry
Calm Colin appears in the earliest we campaign record, dated 19 August 2016. Big Hearted Barry followed in February 2017, extending the same visual format through another character.
Both finished adverts remain publicly available. Together they show how the live action material sat inside The Car People’s animated campaign world and how a repeatable production method could support a family of commercials.
Twelve months of national broadcast
The campaign ran nationally for 12 months. They provide no audience or response total, so the result is kept to that confirmed transmission period.
The case demonstrates a focused part of television advert production: building precise live action footage for integration with an established animated concept, delivered through close collaboration between specialist teams.
For practical planning advice, read our Design, Do, Build and Deliver process. Explore our Chester Zoo television advert for related production work.
Frequently asked questions
Who commissioned us for The Car People adverts?
Finger Industries commissioned us to shoot the live action portions of two television adverts for The Car People.
What did you produce for the campaign?
We produced the live action footage, matching camera movements, angles and track distances to the pre built animatic.
How large was The Car People shoot?
The production used a 17 person crew across two shoot days.
Which Car People adverts are included?
The case combines the Calm Colin and Big Hearted Barry television adverts.
