Caboom puppeteers Damian Farrell & Colin Purves collaborated with Irish director and animator Johnny Kelly to create a spot for AIB. Produced by Andrew Freedman at Antidote for Rothco and filmed by DOP Matt Fox, the commercial follows the journey of a ruby suitcase aka ‘Casey’ who decides to travel the world. The commercial celebrates “the power of doing” by illustrating, through an object people could easily identify with, the excitement of following your dreams.

Puppeteering inanimate objects is always an interesting challenge; it is not just about how the object is rigged for animation but how it conveys a real sense of emotion and character for any given moment in a film. Working closely with Johnny and production designer Joe Fallover, a number of identical suitcases were constructed specifically tailored to the requirements of each shot. The puppeteers, often filmed in camera, were digitally removed by Allen Sillery at Screen Scene; a technique that has become easier with the advancements in painting, tracking, scanning, set extension and set replacement. Damian Farrell says that ‘Practical puppetry has a unique quality that is different from CG animation. There is tactile sensibility to puppetry that the human brain really connects with; we know someone is moving the object under the camera but our imagination allows us to suspend our disbelief and enjoy the trick of watching a real suitcase come to life’.

Production credits:

Advertising Agency: Rothco (part of Accenture Interactive), Ireland
Head of Production: Margaret Levingstone
Executive Producer: Jessica Derby
Agency Producer: Jen Wu
Executive Creative Director: Alan Kelly
Creative Director: Stephen Rogers
Senior Copywriter: James Pash
Senior Finished Artist: Mickey Hughes
Business Director: Jimi McGrath
Senior Account Director: Emily Lyons
Account Manager: Amy Harrington
Account Executive: Dairiona Ryan
Director of Strategy: Patrick Ronaldson
Strategy: Tara Finnegan
Production Company: Antidote
Director: Johnny Kelly
Producer: Andrew Freedman
Director of Photography: Matt Fox
Production Designer: Joe Fallover
Puppeteers: Damian Farrell, Colin Purves
Post House: Screen Scene
Editor: Jake Walshe
Post Production Supervisor: Anne Marie Downs
VFX Supervisor: Allen Sillery
Music: Woodwork Music
Composer: Philip Kay
Sound Design: Factory
Colourist: Gary Curran / Outer Limits