STORIES Sketch to screen: the making of our holiday film

You’ve seen our merry holiday film. You’ve met our delightful cast of TAG Heuer elves. Now it’s time to go backstage and discover how the magicians at Parallel Studio brought this wonderful piece to life. From sketch to screen, witness the making of our animated TAG Heuer holiday film.

It all starts with pencil and paper. The pre-production process involves research, scripting, concept art, character development, storyboards, and animatics. The artists use sketches to flesh out this glitzy world of Hollywood, the characters within it, and the scenes that play out, from start to finish. The storyboards use all of these elements to tell the story in an animatic. Every scene, every movement, every minor detail is fleshed out during this stage. From the little things, like the movement of the camera, to the majestic sets, like the TAG Heuer Monaco clock tower, everything is scrutinized and carefully thought through in pre-production. Once the animatic and the characters are locked, it’s time for the next stage.

The production process involves 3D modeling, rigging, texturing, set design, lighting, and a whole lot more. Much like watchmaking, crafting a film like this is a collective effort. A creative and technological feat. Every stage has a specialist working hand in hand with animators to bring different parts of the film to fruition. You can see in the side-by-side comparison that the animatic drives the production process. The scenes are rendered to perfection using high-end software. When the filmmakers are satisfied with the final scenes, the film goes into post-production.

In post-production, the editors use their expert eyes to trim the film to perfection. Sound designers mix and carefully balance sound effects and the music. The coloring artists grade the scenes, making sure the hues are as rich and vibrant. When the filmmakers are happy with the final product, the film is rendered and exported, ready to be shared with the world.

There is a certain magic to filmmaking and this TAG Heuer holiday film is an ode to that process. And…that’s a wrap. Great job, crew!