Target - Back to School Music Teacher - (2012) :30 (USA)

VFX studio a52 teamed up with longtime partner Wieden+Kennedy and Director Andreas Nilsson on three TV spots as part of a Back To School campaign for Target. VFX Supervisor Jesse Monsour led the a52 team on the effort, tapping the studio's extensive brand knowledge from several past Target campaigns to inform the work, which included extensive stop motion animation.

Each spot features a teacher's amusing performance about Target's back-to-school offerings as a52's effects crawl seamlessly over the screen. A music teacher lets loose with a song about backpacks and denim as jeans and bags meld into the classroom's backdrop. An English teacher rocks out with her students about notebooks and pencils on a glimmering, confetti-laced stage covered with instruments made of school supplies. A science teacher raps about hair gel and binders in a magic lab filled with colorful chemical explosions and pencil trees emerging from pots.

The studio worked closely with the agency throughout the production process, continuously generating ideas and tweaking concepts as the shoot progressed. For example, in "Music Teacher," what was originally envisioned as jeans erupting in a sort of kaleidoscopic montage became a comped-up version of denim cascading down the wall using stop motion effects.

"We can adapt to the needs of any project," stated a52 EP Jennifer Sofio Hall. "Jesse and the rest of our crew did a great job producing top-quality work that flawlessly complements Furlined's live-action production."

Client: Target
Spot Titles: "English Teacher" :30 Broadcast + Cinema, "Science Teacher" :30 Broadcast, "Music Teacher" :30 Broadcast
Release Date: July 13, 2012

Advertising Agency: Wieden + Kennedy
Creative Director(s): Guy Seese, Julia Leach
Art Director: Patty Fogarty
Copywriter: Dan Kroeger
Product Specialist: Katie Reardon
Business Manager: Teresa Lutz
Account Executive: Kara York
Account Supervisor: Adam Craw
Broadcast Producer: Hayley Goggin
Art Producer: Eugenie Frerichs

Production Company: Furlined
Director: Andreas Nilsson
President: Diane McCarter
Executive Producer: Eriks Krumins
Head of Production: Merilee Newman
Line Producer: Pete Vitale

VFX Studio: a52
VFX Supervisor: Jesse Monsour
Lead CG Artist: Kirk Shintani
CG Artist: Christopher Janney, Joe Chiechi
Executive Producer: Jennifer Sofio Hall
Producer: Meredith Tomasulo, Heather Johan

Editorial Company: Joint Editorial
Editor: Katie Turinski
Assistant Editor: Steve Sprinkel
Producer: Lisa Ashe
Executive Producer: Patty Brebner