Co-directing the 2024 Continente Christmas campaign alongside the Nebula Studios team required integrating Portugal’s legacy mascot, Popota, into a hybrid live-action and CG universe.
My priority was driving the narrative pacing and ensuring a seamless transition between a physical set and four distinct 3D biomes inspired by classic tabletop and video games.
Operating as both Director and 3D Lead allowed me to eliminate the friction between creative intent and the final output. By managing the Layout, Lookdev, Rendering, and Compositing pipelines, I ensured the digital environments and materials matched the physical props perfectly. Controlling the technical execution directly meant I could protect the story and visual continuity from the initial animatic through to the final grade.
To expand the narrative scope and balance the screen time, we introduced three supporting characters to interact with Popota: P!nk (an aerial warrior), Reddie (an agile dog), and Poppy (a clumsy foil).
From a directing standpoint, defining the distinct personalities and physical acting of these characters was crucial. I oversaw the character animation to ensure the performances hit the right comedic and emotional beats, driving the story forward across the different game worlds while keeping the brand’s target audience engaged.
At its heart, this story relies on the timeless bond between a daughter and her father playing together after unwrapping their presents.
My goal on set was to capture the authenticity of that interaction. We framed the live-action sequences in a warm, late-afternoon living room to anchor the digital fantasy in a grounded, relatable reality.
The film serves as a reminder that play has no age limit, and that the true focus of the campaign is the joy found in that human connection, rather than just the toys themselves.
In addition to the main tv ad, we had to produce additional stuff such as campaign Keyvisuals, bumper ads, teasers, etc. Here are a few.
