Discover Apple’s Festive Puppet-Filled Holiday Ad
▼ Summary
– The author is a senior tech reporter with experience covering gadgets since 2006 and a lifelong passion for electronics.
– Apple’s holiday short film “A Critter Carol” uses practical effects, contrasting with other companies’ generative AI ads.
– The film features a raccoon finding a dropped iPhone 17 Pro and filming animals performing a song, with the hiker later retrieving it via Apple Watch.
– Behind-the-scenes details reveal puppeteers controlled hand-crafted animal puppets, with blue screens and suits for digital effects.
– The entire production was shot using an iPhone 17 Pro, similar to the practical approach used for the Apple TV intro.
Finding the perfect holiday gift often involves choosing technology that feels both personal and magical. This season, Apple continues to embrace practical effects with its new festive short film, “A Critter Carol,” creating a charming world filled with tech-savvy woodland creatures. The approach stands in contrast to other brands that have recently relied on generative AI, sometimes resulting in less polished visuals.
The story begins when a hiker accidentally drops their iPhone 17 Pro in the forest. A curious raccoon discovers the device and, with surprising aptitude, uses it to film an impromptu musical performance. The raccoon is joined by a cast of animal friends, a bear, a wolf, an owl, a deer, a squirrel, and a rabbit, all collaborating on a rendition of the song “Friends” by Flight of the Conchords. The narrative comes full circle when the hiker, using the Find My feature on their Apple Watch, successfully locates and retrieves the lost phone.
Apple has also shared a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the production, revealing the extensive work that went into creating its handmade aesthetic. Similar to the technique used for the new Apple TV intro, which involved filming a physical glass model, this project was a triumph of traditional filmmaking. The forest set was extended digitally in post-production, but the animal stars were not computer-generated. Instead, a team of skilled puppeteers operated a collection of hand-crafted puppets, with different crew members controlling specific body parts to give each creature its lifelike movement. Human performers in blue bodysuits were later digitally removed from the scenes. In a final, self-referential touch, the entire charming short film was captured using the camera on the iPhone 17 Pro.
(Source: The Verge)
