Not all visual effects are loud and flashy. Sometimes, the most effective work is the kind you don’t notice. This social media holiday spot featured practical gingerbread cookies without any facial expressions during the shoot. Alternate takes with faces were captured under matching lighting. They were shot as stop-motion on site, but needed some additional work after the shoot, and our job was to bring those cookies to life in post.

We tracked and composited expressive faces onto the cookies. When Santa picks up the cookie on the right, his hand crosses over the face, requiring careful roto work and seamless integration. As the cookie moves, we tracked the face upward to match the motion under Santa’s thumb. It’s the kind of subtle, invisible work that helps the charm land without calling attention to the technique behind it.