Alter Ego Stitches RBC's Crochet to Life

For RBC and Battery’s latest spot “Crochet”, directed by Mark Zibert of Scouts Honour, an ordinary living room transforms into a world where creativity spreads across every surface, eventually overtaking an entire neighbourhood. A woman quietly crocheting at home sets off a chain reaction as furniture, clothing, and household objects become wrapped in handcrafted yarn.

Creating that illusion fell to the Alter Ego VFX team, working under one of its tightest deadlines yet: just nine days from final edit to delivery. The challenge wasn’t simply applying crochet textures to objects, but preserving the behaviour of each original material while making it feel convincingly handmade. If viewers stop to wonder how a shot was achieved, the illusion has already failed.

Video player powered by Simian

Working closely with Battery, Mark Zibert and editor Chris Chang at Nimiopere, the team obsessed over the details: yarn fibres catching light naturally, imperfections that felt handcrafted rather than digital, and shadows settling realistically into woven patterns. Because the spot relies on fabric transformations rather than flashy effects, compositing carried much of the load. One shot alone integrated more than 50 crochet elements into the live-action footage without disrupting the original cinematography.

The compressed schedule required artists to work simultaneously on look development, animation, compositing, and finishing to all work in parallel, with shots moving through multiple rounds of review.

Lead Colourist Eric Whipp says the final grade was critical to selling the effect: “The success of this spot came down to consistency. Every crochet element needed to feel like it belonged in the original photography. Our job in colour was to unify the practical and digital worlds so completely that the audience never questions what they’re seeing.”

For Alter Ego, Crochet is a reminder that the most effective visual effects are often the ones audiences never notice. Beneath its playful yarn-covered world lies an extraordinary amount of craftsmanship, delivered under intense deadlines and with meticulous attention to detail.

CREDITS