Supermarket chain, Tienda Inglesa’s Christmas film by Uruguay production company, Olga Lee, and Publicis Impetu is different. Yes, the short film, Invisible, a classic feel good story of a “bad seed” learning about goodness. This is not different. Yes, it’s animated. Many Christmasstories are. But its images are 100% generated using AI.
The project marks the beginning of a new phase for Olga Lee, combining cutting-edge technology with narrative sensitivity and a deeply cinematic perspective, using AI to enhance the narrative without overshadowing it. “The focus is on how we use this tool to elevate stories, to do what we couldn’t do before,” the team at Olga Lee explained.
Oliver Lee Garland, the film’s director and the founder of Olga Lee, stated, “I’m not a director who comes from post-production. I’m mainly a director of actors and narrative pieces, both comedic and emotional. For me, this is a new world. AI makes the animation process more like a shooting process. You ask for a framing, an acting choice, and it returns something unexpected. Then you refine versions, adjust nuances, repeat the take. That interplay between the intentional and the surprising is the same one you get on a real set.”
Despite appearances, the work was profoundly artisanal. The project required over two months of dedication from a team of prompters, post-producers, editors, colourists, and a meticulous sound design department. The music revolves around an emotional song by Franny Glass, which gives the piece its heart.
The process began with an idea from the agency Publicis Ímpetu, and the first step was to develop a script that could sustain a cohesive cinematic narrative. Then came the design of characters and settings, finding the balance between realism and animation. Afterwards, a hybrid storyboard, mixing hand-drawn sketches with AI-generated frames, shaped the final structure. In parallel, the team scouted real locations in Montevideo, following a traditional scouting process that was later translated into AI. The final stage, the most intense, was animating every shot. “Shaping each moment, shot by shot, was almost like sculpting,” Garland noted. “This project reminded me that being a director depends on how one sees and listens to what does not yet exist.”
Credits
Client: Tienda Inglesa
Client Lead: Pablo Rego
Productor Company: Olga Lee
Director: Oliver Lee Garland
AI Artists: Guido Lafigliola, Iván Tereschuk, Sabrina Korn, Julieta Wagner
Animation Direction: Oliver Lee Garland & Guillermo Trochón
Storyboard Artist: Diego Barreto
Executive Production & Coordination: Rodrigo Troche
Editing: Imanol Castro
Post-production: Héctor Napoli, Totó Valente
Colour Grading: Fernando Drömer
Production Assistant: Alessio Beretta
Sound Design & Dolby 5.1 Post: La Mayor
Sound Engineer: Joaquín Moreira
Original Song: El amor anda suelto – Franny Glass (additional vocals: Lucía Lucía)
Voices: Nacho Cabrera, Ornella Cattaneo
Additional Voices: Romina Peluffo, Rocío Velasco, Charly Huart, Fede Buisan, Joaquín Moreira, and Oliver Lee Garland
Agency: Publicis Ímpetu
Publicis Groupe Director: Mario Taglioretti
Executive Creative Director: Juan Roldós
Creative Directors: Rocío Velasco, Santiago Varese
Copywriter: Natalia Azambullo
Art Direction: Juan Pablo Avegno, Santiago Varese
Production: Charly Huart
Account Director: Marcelo Castellanos
Account Executive: Valeria Romano
Community Manager: Federica Casañas
PR: Clara Caponi, Clara Sosa Días
