Visual Effects for Hallmark's Chicago Bears Holiday Movie
Winterizing Chicago in post for Hallmark's Chicago Bears holiday movie. I finished more than 125 shots, turning a summer shoot into a snowy December with skyline extensions, day-to-night conversions and clean-up.
Technologies
Project Timeline
Sep 1, 2026
First plates turned over
Sep 21, 2026
Last plate batch
Oct 17, 2026
Premiered on Hallmark Channel
Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story premiered on Hallmark Channel on October 17, 2026.
It's the latest Holiday Touchdown movie from Hallmark, NFL Films and Skydance Sports, and this time it's all about the Chicago Bears. The story takes place in a snowy Chicago December. The cameras rolled in the summer.
I came on in post through Synthetic Cinema International to close that gap.
Every shot had to read as a Chicago winter: snow on the ledges, bare trees, and a cold sky. It also had to cut seamlessly against scenes that didn't need any effects work. And the actors were usually in the middle of it, walking past windows, holding pennants and standing in front of the very backgrounds that had to change. The performances couldn't be touched.
Plate
Final
Winterized exteriors with snow on ledges, awnings and branches, bare trees and overcast winter skies
Extended the Chicago skyline behind street corners and swapped a suite's daylight windows for the city at night
Rebuilt the Chicago Tribune facade as the film's fictional Chicago Herald tower
Replaced and patched signage, from Ticketmaster branding at the Halas statue to newspaper and laptop inserts
Rotoscoped actors, hair and props so the world could change behind them
Generated winter passes with AI video-to-video tools using the real plate as the source, then finished every shot in After Effects
125+
Shots Finished
20+
Scenes
Hallmark Channel
Network
Oct 17, 2026
Premiere
Most of the work was seasonal. The goal was a version of Chicago that people actually walk through in December, with gray slush at the curb, snow caught on window ledges and trees with nothing left on them.
Plate
Final
Plate
Final
Plate
Final
Paul Melluzzo is a creative director and technologist, and the founder of Omnislash Visual. His work brings together visual storytelling, design, and software development - from films and animation to apps and creative tools.
