Nice Shoes was producing a VFX-heavy job for men’s clothing store DXL and wanted to capture as many practical elements and textures as possible. Trouble was, shooting in a real store presented too many limitations. So the solution was to build one on a stage.
Production design worked closely with corporate and store outfitters in 4 states to design the set – and source the right fixtures and decor. The construction team fabricated elements that could not be readily sourced. A full semi-trailer of merchandise was shipped cross country from DXL’s main distribution center.
Nice Shoes created a full pre-viz that was used as the road map for shooting. Once the store was fully built and dressed, it was time to take it apart in a huge stop motion shoot, removing small stacks of clothes and individual elements piece by piece. Moving elements from the pre-viz were either puppeteered or flown out of position. Post production utilized these elements and others to create the final CG-driven spot.