YellowStudio

Apple
Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special

2020
Digital, Music, Television
Los Angeles, California

The physical and digital were seamlessly blended together in spectacular Christmas landscapes that served as the setting for Apple’s first ever holiday special.

For Santa’s snow-dusted village, we created our own mind-bending genre of elfin architecture that mixed crooked Tudor frameworks with decorative Art Nouveau elements.

Mariah’s custom sleigh was inspired by a vintage Alfa Romeo and emblazoned with MC insignia.

Hosted by Mariah Carey and a cast of celebrity guests, the Christmas Special took the form of a 45-minute film that was set in New York and the North Pole. To bring the story to life, we created a series of festive environments designed to stir feelings of comfort, warmth and nostalgia. 

Working to a tight timeline, the eight sets were partly built on site and then layered with augmented reality to create impossible fairytale scenes inspired by the special’s soundtrack.