Client: Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission
Agency: Cappelli Miles
Role: Creative Director
Date: Fall 2022
THE PITCH
Crabs. A huge delicacy for some, a terrifying creature for others. How would I go about making something like a Dungeness Crab palatable for everyone? Simple. Make a crab and a fisherman a comedy duo. I was inspired by Apple’s old “I’m a Mac. I’m a PC” commercials of the early 2000s. I wanted to bring back the same dynamic with the “And I’m a Crab” spots, portraying an Oregon Commercial Fisherman up against a silly, dynamic, and ever-entertaining crab. The Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission loved this creative, and gave me the go-ahead to start production. Hold on to your crab legs, this is going to get fun!
PRE-PRODUCTION
Three 30s spots featuring a comedy duo. That sounds like fun! Only thing is… we’re going to need a crab. For production, I turned to my old friends at Chicago-based Demo Duck to handle the video production side of things after our amazing collaboration on A Magical Place. Demo Duck came to the table with some amazing ideas to further refine and polish the spots, so after working through the scripts to compress them down to the funniest and most memorable lines possible, it was time to storyboard and proceed into the animatic.
The animatic for the “Youth” spot
The Fisherman
Choosing our fisherman character was incredibly important. He had to be what I called “respectfully stereotypical” - representing well the men and women who have dedicated their lives to sustainably fishing Oregon’s beautiful coasts, while also being easily identifiable as a ‘fisherman’ to all audiences. After doing a casting call, we found Benjamin Baylon, a comedic theater actor out of Chicago, who ended up being the perfect Fisherman.
Smart, collected, the voice of reason… our fisherman needed to reliably counter the antics of our crab.
The Crab
Instead of using a live crab (impossible to predict) or a CG crab (wouldn’t look authentic), the team at Demo Duck came up with the idea to design and fabricate a 3D-printed crab puppet with articulating arms that could be positioned by a stop-motion animator. This solution would prove to be the best decision, as it gave us huge flexibility to position the crab in a live environment with lighting matching the fisherman.
The 3D model designed after carefully measuring and taking photos of a real Oregon Dungeness Crab.
The first assembly of the 3D printed crab before painting
The final crab after being painted to look like a real Oregon Dungeness Crab. It looks pretty much like the real thing!
PRODUCTION
Production in Chicago begins! The incredible team at Demo Duck came together to blend live-action with stop-motion animation over the course of a two-day shoot. Although the spots utilized a simple blue backdrop and minimal props, there were still technical considerations that had to be solved. Every detail needed to be perfect!
A video of the initial onsite crab animation test. He moves!
The crab in his three different setups, along with his various supporting props and regalia.