A fake news report shows Snuffy the Seal being returned to the ocean, only to be eaten by a shark infront of a crowd of stunned onlookers on a pier.

The Shark Week promo needed to feel natural and authentic to work. Visual effects were key in achieving this goal.

The newsroom shots were filmed at a working newsroom, KTLA. The background was then painted out to show specifically where we were, but still provided the authenticity needed.

Hiring a Hollywood master puppet maker, the life size Snuffy model was reproduced to the exact detail for the 'sling' shot. The head and tail were replaced with a real seal that was shot on green screen. This was done using a combination of Nuke and After Effects software. The shot’s timing was slightly off and corrected through effects to lift the sling higher. The real seal was again composited in.

Having a limited number of extras for the aerial crowd, the groups were duplicated to fill out the background. This aerial shot was created with a Go Pro and a remote control drone.

The hero shark, a 4 foot mechanical puppet, was shot in a pool against green screen at quarter scale for forced perspective. To replicate a shark breaching water, a large barrel was dropped off the pier to create the splash. Water cannons in the tank supplemented the splashes and were shot to scale.

The man stepping in front of camera was composited with 3 different shots merged together. This allowed for not showing the bite and hiding the cut. When he stepped away, a different pier shot was used with the shredded sling, and poor Snuffy was gone.