Concept and creative process
The song ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’ was the theme for the 1997 BBC One Christmas campaign, and designers Sarah Dewis and Ahmet Ahmet devised scenarios for each individual sting. This is their version of ‘Eight Maids A-Milking’. They shot the sting live action against green screen with an artiste wearing a milkchurn headpiece with rigid hair plaits. A specially designed rigid costume was shot separately and composited in the edit with the live elements. The filming was on 35mm in a large studio with a beauty pass of the background cyclorama and soft lighting effects. Post-production was by Jon Hollis at Smoke and Mirrors.
Producer - Penny Verbe.
Directors - Sarah Dewis and Ahmet Ahmet.
Winners of a Broadcast Designers Association Award 1998.
The 12 Days of Christmas - Eight Maids A-Milking storyboards
The 12 Days of Christmas - Eight Maids storyboard
The 12 Days of Christmas - Eight Maids storyboard