We love the holidays for many reasons, one of which is the annual ANDERSON holiday video. Naturally, 2020 forced us to think a little differently this year. After hours and hours of planning, candy-eating, and eggnog-spiking (all virtually, of course), our team landed on a challenging yet super fun way of pulling this off. We came up with a concept that speaks to the year as a whole…something everyone could relate to…and of course, something with our furry friends.

If you haven’t seen the video yet, grab a cup of cheer and take a look.

Wondering how we wrangled all of those dogs (and a cat)? Here’s a behind-the-scenes peek at the making of this year’s ANDERSON holiday video.

The Idea

First, the entire ANDERSON team met via Zoom, festive drinks in hand, to conjure up some thoughts. In past years, our pets have had some fun cameos, but in 2020 we decided it was time for them to take center stage. Once we settled on the concept, our awesome copywriter, Jenny (pictured below with her assistant), wrote the script that gave each pet their own unique voice. But how were we going to pull off the production? For that, the team brainstormed logistics and drew up a list of detailed filming instructions. One script and lengthy shot list later, we were ready for production.

If you think filming yourself pretending to be on a Zoom call sounds awkward, it is. And it’s even more awkward for the editor to watch everyone’s submissions (shoutout to Justin). If you think it’s difficult to get your pet to pretend like they’re on a Zoom call, IT IS! After countless treats, bribes, and infinite takes of each animal, we had something to work with. Maybe. As they say in showbiz, “We’ll fix it in post.”

Post-Production/Graphics

After gathering everyone’s audio and video submissions, the editing process began. (Note: Listening to your coworkers’ pet voices is a painful and difficult process.) A rough cut was put together to get a feel for timing and story beats. Then the fake Zoom call was assembled in After Effects, adding in details like pet name tags. At this point, we layered in music, sound effects, titles, and a dash of movie magic VFX to finalize the illusion. From there, the edit was refined and tweaked a bit more, and FINALLY the whole team reviewed and approved it. (Pop the champagne.)

Once everything was visually in place, our amazing graphic designer, Allie, put the finishing touch on everything with festive ending graphics. And there you have it! The 2020 ANDERSON holiday video in all its furry glory. Hope you have as much fun watching it as we did making it.

And if you haven’t seen some of our past videos, check them out here: https://vimeo.com/showcase/47354251