Recess AI
Launch assets for Recess's limited-edition Peppermint Bark 'Tini, with generative AI building the environments and After Effects making them brand-safe.
Client Context
Recess makes calming functional beverages with a playful, premium brand. The Peppermint Bark 'Tini was a limited-edition holiday flavor that needed launch assets reading as seasonal indulgence without the generic holiday clichés.
The engagement ran brief, concepts, feedback rounds and delivery across platform formats. Generative AI built the environments and scene compositions; After Effects handled the compositing, motion design and refinement that made them brand-safe.
Process
01 - Brief & Concept Development
Mood boards and visual frameworks from the Recess brief, blending chocolate and peppermint textures with the brand's look. The rule set: surreal, indulgent product environments with the can always the hero.
02 - Generative AI Production
Runway, Flux, Kling and Stable Diffusion generated chocolate environments, melting textures, confetti scenes and reveal compositions, dozens of outputs per concept with prompts tuned to the Recess look. Exploration that would take weeks in 3D or stock took days.
03 - After Effects Compositing
The best generations went into After Effects: product photography layered in, motion design, color grading, timing and brand consistency across every frame. Client feedback rounds shaped the final direction.
04 - Multi-Platform Delivery
Looping GIFs and video clips for Instagram Stories, feed posts, Reels and paid social, each exported in multiple aspect ratios and compression profiles to platform spec.
Final Deliverables
Behind the Build
Two deliverables, from raw generation to brand-accurate composite.
Sweet Treat - The Indulgence Composite
“Choco” is the most composited piece in the set: a generative base plate, a corrected hero can and several isolated animation passes layered and timed in After Effects.
The base generation nails the mood, candy cane, dark and white chocolate, the seasonal palette, but the label is warped lettering that would never pass brand review. The fix: production artwork mapped onto the can, conformed to its curvature and lighting, plate cleaned up around it.
Gen - Base Plate
Edit - Label CompedTwo more concept stills presented with the lead, a bed-of-bark hero on a red field and a balance shot, so the client had staging options before committing to motion.
Concept B
Concept CBase plate, hero can and motion elements layered in After Effects with matched grade, masking and timing.
Individual elements animated in isolation so each can be art-directed, retimed and masked before going back into the master composite.
The Reveal - Blending-Mode Can Swap
AI renders convincing lighting and form but not legible packaging. The base generation gave a blank white can with accurate highlights and shadows, so the lighting stayed and the artwork was comped on top.
FinalThe Technique
A full-resolution can render sits over the blank generation in Multiply / Overlay rather than Normal, so the artwork takes the luminance beneath it and the generation's highlights, falloff and contact shadows read through the design. A roto mask tracked to the can's geometry keeps the label wrapped to the form across the whole move.
Production Pipeline
AI Generation Layer
Generative models handled environments, textures and initial scene composition. Every generation is raw material for post-production, not a final output.
Traditional Post-Production
After Effects for compositing, motion design, color correction and output. Photoshop for asset prep and retouching. Media Encoder for platform export profiles.
In the Wild
The final assets on Recess's Instagram: feed posts and Reels for the Peppermint Bark 'Tini launch.
