Behind The Scenes with Ikea: Beds

The statement ‘there’s no place like home’ is tested to the max in an out-of-this-world spot for Ikea which aired earlier this month. Beds, from Mother with production from MJZ and post from MPC, is directed by Juan Cabral and shows a young woman falling through the sky onto different floating beds of all shapes and sizes before settling down for a blissful night’s sleep in her own bedroom.

Following shots’ story on the spot last week, MPC has released an exclusive behind-the scenes-video (above) and photos showing the amazing work that went into producing the magical film.

We also caught up with 2D creative director Bill McNamara and producer Stephen Johnson to find out more.

What appealed to you about working on this film?

BM: Juan’s treatment was an inspiring read. Capturing the essence of dreams in a way that will appeal universally is a huge challenge, but Juan had a clear vision from the outset.

SJ: The ambition of the idea and the way Juan elevated the concept put it out of reach of normal advertising and made it something very different and special.

How long did the film take to make and where was it shot?

BM: The shoot took place over three days in Johannesburg. The final film was delivered 16 days after the shoot, with a team of 15 talented VFX artists.

What were the biggest challenges in the creative and VFX process?

BM: There were many VFX techniques used, from matte painting to creating CG beds to more traditional compositing and removing the rigs, wires and cranes.

One of the biggest challenges was to take all of these techniques and blend them into one beautifully crafted film – it was a really great opportunity to use all of our VFX skills to make one stunning piece.

SJ: How to realise the shoot in camera as much as possible and achieve Juan’s vision was the challenge. This was an extremely ambitious shoot and we reached all the safety/practical limitations very quickly. We worked closely with MPC who helped fill in where the practical was left behind.

You had three companies working closely together on this film (MPC, MJZ and Mother). How did that work out?

BM: We worked closely sharing early ideas with Juan, MJZ and Mother, helping to set looks for each scene. These were the key frames that we then could expand upon. Because the VFX schedule was so tight there was a lot of trust from Mother to allow us to move quite quickly.

Can you talk me through the way the spot was shot and how the effect of falling through the sky/floating beds was created?

BM: Juan and MJZ used a variety of techniques. In one scene the actress was hung in the air with a crane, and shot against blue sky jumping off the edge of the bed. The staircase of beds were shot at ground level, and back at MPC they were animated and separated, adding movement and a floating effect so they looked right in place up in the clouds.

There was not a single cloud in the sky during the main shoot, so we had to populate every scene with realistic clouds that matched throughout.

The courageous actress was shot attached to an 80 foot crane and even performed her own skydive. To ensure this looked realistic we painted out her parachute and harness and changed her wardrobe to match the other shots.

In the scene where the girl starts to float and fall through the city, she was again suspended by rigs and wires. The actress and some of the beds were placed with a crane on the roof of a building, framing the city beautifully in the background. We added some CG beds in the city and above the traffic and removed all the rigs and wires in the scene.

SJ: The main unit was shot in three days, with an additional skydiving unit and aerial shoot for cloud footage. Each shot was done for real and MPC removed rigging and wires and replaced skies. The first day we shot in the countryside at a place that gave us a clear horizon, mostly against sky. Day two was in downtown Johannesburg where we had a 68 metre crane, the girl and the camera on a cable rig falling against a skyscraper. We also did an airbag drop against another building. Day three had a ground unit filming more elements against sky, like the traveller system, the boy and the dog. Then we moved inside the studio for the apartment scene. In each location we suspended beds where the actress interacted with them and where not just against sky.

What made Cabral the right director for the project?

BM: Juan was a great choice as director for this project because he has a passion for creating original, beautiful images. He is a pleasure to work with and the end results are always stunning, fresh and very creative.

What feeling do you want viewers to come away with after watching the film?

BM: I think it is an evocative piece that will make viewers engage with the brand.

Do you have any favourite moments from working on this film?

BM: For me the highlight was seeing the film come together in such a short time. It was a great achievement to see my fellow artists bring together a piece of such quality and creative excellence with such a tight turn around.

SJ: Achieving the huge stunts we performed on the top of skyscrapers, dangling from cranes. Everywhere we went there would be a crowd of locals gathered watching what we were doing.