Together with R/GA New York, this film from Director Peter Sluszka, shows that a bad fridge makes for badly behaved food, specifically a gang of rotten veg who wreak terror on a house. Toilets gleefully overflow, files on a computer are emphatically erased, and a lawnmower is resourcefully chucked out a second story window, before we see the group pause, look longingly at two much more moral tomatoes in a neighboring fridge, and consider what they’ve done.
The result is a resolution that is both emphatic and effective. “The original idea was great fun,” says Peter, “and it’s important to let loose those destructive impulses once in a while. But how do you shape that funny idea into a story without devolving into slapstick chaos? That was important for us, especially in a shorter format, where you need to find ways of making characters relatable efficiently, strange as that character may be.”
For Peter, the dynamism that live action provided was essential. “While much of the process in creating the spot was carefully planned, as is the case with any production, we still placed value on spontaneity,” says Peter. “When creating the puppets, for instance, we dried out actual food with the puppet builders to see what would happen, before casting them – a blemish became an eye, a crease became a mouth.” The same approach, he says, was taken with puppeteers. Extroverts and actors in their own right, their accidents and embellishments could be inserted into the final edit. “It makes the characters more human,” says Peter. “When I watch the spot myself, there’s something quite amazing about the tomato. He’s the ring leader, but when he looks down at the other tomatoes I can feel that real pang of remorse.
PRODUCTION CO: Hornet
Director: Peter Sluszka
Executive Producer: Hana Shimizu
Head of Production: Sang Jin Bae
Producer: Cathy Kwan
Development Producer: Kristin Labriola
Director of Photography: Martin Matiasek
Editor: Anita Chao
LIVE ACTION: Savage
Executive Producer: Klara Kralickova
Live Action Producer: David Promberger
Production Manager: Martin Mikula
Production Coordinator: Klára Bártová
Director of Photography: Martin Matiasek
Director of Photography (Product Demo): Jiri Malek
1st AD: Pavel Svatoň
Script Supervisor: Adela Kroupova
Motion Control Operator: Anthony Jacques
Motion Control Tech Asst: Thomas Hubener
Asst Camera: Hynek Pantucek, Jan Dvořák
Focus Puller: Libor Bruha, Tomas Muntzperger
Art Director: Henrich Boraros
Asst Art Director: Barbara Bencova
Head Model Artist: Martin Pec
Model Makers: Martin Bobek, Alena Hajkova, Marek Hoffmann, Jan Jirovec, Tomas Prochazka, Štěpán Tesar
Senior Puppeteer: Radek Beran
Master Puppeteers: Lenka Krupanska, Rene Krupansky, Dalibor Kubecka
Prop Master: Jan Kužel
Prop Master Asst: Karej Jinda
Food Stylist: Marek Vsetecka
Construction Stby: Vit Petrasek
SFX Coordinator: Roman Tudzarov
Gaffer: Vasek Kovarik
Key Grip: Beda Hermanek
DIT: Jan Tomasek
Video Operator: Michal Tomasek
Offline On-Set Editor: Petr Stanek
Behind the Scenes: Diana Karská
Catering:Toma Havranek
Production Runners: Vaclav Hodan, Vladan Suchánek
Agency Chaperone: Veronika Sedláková
POST PRODUCTION
Lead Compositor: Peter Fink
Compositors: Ethan Clarke, Peter Fink, Casey Follen, John Harrison, John Mattiuzzi, Ali Kocar, Cyprian Saldon, Xiaoxiao Tang
Storyboard Artist: Carlos Ancalmo, David Zung
Character Designer: Clayton Stillwell
Demo Graphic Designers: Mercy Lomelin, Claire Kho, Felipe Posada
Demo Graphics Animator: David Jouppi
Roto Artists:Anna Hieronymus, Filaments Visual Effects
Music: Butter
SFX & Audio Mix: Sonic Union
AGENCY: R/GA
Group Account Director: Simon Ludowyke
Account Director: Elizabeth Bourke
Executive Producer: Seth Solomon
Account Manager: Sam Farnham
ECD: Chris Northam
ECD: Eric Jannon
Creative Director: Martin Insua
Creative Director: Ezequiel Soules
Sr Art Director: Bruno Lulglio
Copywriter: Ivan Guerra
Executive Production Director: Kat Friis
Executive Producer: Kim Edwards
CLIENT: Samsung
Director, Marketing Group Leader: Jinny Jung
Director, IMC Part Leader: David Youn
Senior Manager, REF IMC: Angela Shin
Manager, REF IMC: Najung Lee
Manager, Marketing Group: Justin S Lee
Assistant Manager, Marketing Group: Christine Kim