Only at de Bijenkorf

Nothing compares to the moment all the lights in the Bijenkorf are completely shut off and the calmness and silence fill the floors. It's a moment that actually never happens, to be precise. But for the new brand campaign "Alleen bij de Bijenkorf" the fabulous department store is shown in a new light.
"Being in the Bijenkorf at night is a very unique feeling and a special experience" explains the director. "This extraordinary moment is the guiding line throughout the story. The little bird starts exploring the department store and begins to feel more unique with every step. We worked closely with the agency to bring this emotion to every aspect of the film, from animation, and color grading to the music."
To visualize the story of a little bird that goes on a midnight stroll through De Bijenkorf en discovers his inner beauty we created a full CG bird and peacock. During the shoot, a stand-in (taxidermy) bird was used as a reference and the necessary light information and set details were captured. Both characters were keyframe animated and stylised slightly in their design to create a more appealing look. They also have subtle humanly traits, like the blinking of the eyes and little smiles in their beaks. The small bird has 7873 feathers covering his body, 108 of them are in his tail and wings. These feathers are controlled by 500 bones with 126 controls.
The feathers of the peacock are based on feathers flown in from Paris, which are analyzed piece for piece and recreated in every detail. The peacock has 9 different kinds of feathers, with a total of 33712 covering his body and only 165 of them are in his tail. These feathers are controlled by 1400 bones with 80 controls.