Thirty crew, 12 weeks, six sets, plus hundreds of 3D-printed and hand-painted miniature characters culminate in director Yves Geleyn‘s intricate new stop-motion Happy Meal clip shot on Hornet’s stage in Brooklyn for McDonalds thru Leo Burnett UK.

Hornet director Yves Geleyn: “McDonald’s wanted to communicate how they’re always working to make a Happy Meal better, which can be told quite functionally, but we wanted to tell the story with some charm.

“It’s filmed almost entirely using stop motion, which I love. A lot of miniature work is now done with CGI. Stop motion possesses an authenticity, a human touch, that adds so much to a story. It allows you to create something whimsical that is grounded in something authentic.

Behind the Scenes:

Finished spot:

Agency: Leo Burnett UK
Agency Producer: Bruce Macrae
Agency Creative Directors: Rik Brown and Jon Fox
Agency Creatives: Matt Collier and Wayne Robinson

Director: Yves Geleyn
Hornet Inc.
Executive Producer: Hana Shimizu
Head of Production: Greg Bedard
Producer: Marty Geren
Live Action Producer: Joel Kretschman
Director of Photography: Toby Howell
Supervising Technical Director: Sang Bae
Editor: Stephanie Andreou
Production Coodinator: Erika Bettencourt
Technical Director: Juan Carlos Cuadra
Storyboard Artists: Carlos Ancalmo, Yves Geleyn
Designers: Yves Geleyn, Anna Bron
Compositors: John Mattiuzzi, John Harrison, Kit Lam, XiaoXiao Tang, Ted Wiggin, Craig Nowicki
Lead CG: Juan Carlos Cuadra, Dan Fine
Modeling: Dave Soto, Kintan Chauhan, Juan Carlos Cuadra
Texturing: Juan Carlos Cuadra, Dan Fine, Susie Hong
Rigging: Lee Wolland, Michael Altman
Lighting & Rendering: Juan Carlos Cuadra, Dan Fine, Susie Hong
CG Animators: Bill Burg, Nick Johanides, Andrew Boccio
Pre-Viz: Bill Burg, Nick Johanides, Andrew Boccio
CG Layout Artist: Nick Johanides, Bill Burg
Matte Painter: Patrick O’Keefe
2d Animators: Tavet Gilson, Nivedita Sekar
Motion Control Operator: Anthony Jacques
Gaffer: Michael Yetter
Electric: Chris Clarke, Casey Wooden
Key Grip: Jeremy Rodriquez
Grip: Rick Morrison
Stop Motion Animators: Pete List, Matt Christensen, Maxwell Sorensen
Art Director: Elise Ferguson
Fabricators: Tim McDonalds, Peter Erickson, Matt Christensen, Hillary Barton, Matt McGlade, Ben Kress, Kelsey Knight Mohr, Nellie Davis, Ester Kislin, Casey Follen, Connie Chan, Kerry Coutu, Alex Russi, Royal Jarmon
Interns: Kelsey Brewer, Madow Tsai

Music & Sound Design: Ant Food
VO Artist: Philip Glenister