For “Race,” a new spot promoting Djarum Mezzo via agency Timmerman & Tan/Singapore and produced by Rokkit/London, Sway Studio devised a fully immersive, completely digital environment that is surreal and dreamy ‘ yet photorealistic. The spot has been nominated for a Visual Effects Society Award in category of Outstanding Compositing in a Broadcast Program, Commercial, or Music Video
The campaign was directed by Joseph Kosinski (www.josephkosinski.com), who sought to create a landscape that the spot’s characters could inhabit. “This whole notion of putting live action in digital environments is something I’ve been pursuing for a few years,” Kosinski said, “and this is by far the most sophisticated example.” Kosinski believed that very few companies could achieve the results he envisioned. “I’d worked with SWAY before, and was confident they could pull it off. I was also excited to discover that VFX Supervisor Rob Nederhorst had joined SWAY because I was familiar with his work in feature films and music videos.”
“Race” depicts a race through the plaza. The protagonists sprint toward an infinity-edge pool, from which one man leaps into the air and over a cloud-filled mountainous landscape. A rope comes into view and he grabs it ‘ the rope has been extended from the MEZZO blimp, high up in the air.
The client initially wanted a more abstract and surreal white minimalist environment. Kosinski and SWAY pushed for a more realistic concept, while using all CG environs. “The jump off the edge could not be accomplished practically,” Kosinski explained. “The camera moves through the leap with the actor, and (DP) Claudio Miranda was the perfect guy to work on this as he had to match some very specific lighting schemes.” Kosinski considers the Mezzo campaign a test bed for future projects, and a proof of concept that this can be done.
Nederhorst balanced a full plate on the project, from previsualization with the director, to on-set supervision, research and development management, lighting pipeline development, and colorist duties.
The imaginary complex was inspired by the monumental works of architects such as Richard Meier, Vladmir Djurovic and Louis Kahn, who designed monumental mountain top plazas.” The structure of the complex also had to spell out “MEZZO,” offering an additional challenge. Nederhorst and Kosinski scouted locations in Google Earth and on site, shooting panoramic images that would serve as models for the environment. On a scout in Malibu, they drove up to the highest elevation reachable without a 4-wheel drive vehicle. The mountain was spectacular, but not exactly what the spot called for. “I really wanted the valley to be filled with clouds so you’d see just the peak poking through,” the director said. “The digital version of the landscapes looked and worked much better than the actual places.”
The actors’ ability to interact with the CG environment was critical, and the spots are imbued with touches to drive that idea home. For example, when an actor nearly stumbles beside a lounge, he pushes on the cushions, leaving an impression on the material. Shadows, reflections on furniture, ground, and water, even leaves blowing as people push past them, all conspire to complete the effect. “These are subtle elements, but if they’re not there your eye will catch it,” Kosinski explained. “I feel that the completed spots exceed our expectations,” said Nederhorst.
“The world is bigger and the architecture is more refined and stylized.” He described Kosinski as “a dedicated director, who deals extraordinarily well with complex visual effects work.” Nederhorst commented that SWAY’s decision to eliminate the Telecine step at the beginning of the project provided significantly more detail for the talent and allowed artists to work with the full color gamut just as they would have with film.
“Because we worked in a manner that treated everything as photographic elements, it allowed us to really push the grade to wherever we wanted after we completed the bulk of the visual effects.” Nederhorst explained that this level of flexibility is not possible with a traditional commercial pipeline where Telecine is employed after film is shot. “You lose color information and loads of resolution. I wanted to focus on the quality of the image, and we decided early on to control every aspect of this job, including the parts that the vfx companies normally don’t handle. I guess you can say I am a bit of a control freak,” he quipped.
Nederhorst added that having real architects design and create this environment was also a big plus: “They knew where to put all the needed cut lines and the details.” For the director, the project’s success came down to finding good artists: “SWAY had a really top notch team that allowed us to pull this off, and I can’t praise them enough.”
Credits
Agency: Timmerman &Tan/Singapore
Creative Director: Michael Tan
Agency Producer: Serene Chiu
Production Company: Rokkit/ London
Director: Joseph Kosinski
DP: Claudio Miranda
EP: Dan Dickenson
Producer: Luke Jacobs
Editor: Joseph Kosinski
Rotoscope: Nicole Yoblonski, Toshihiro Sakamaki, Lee Croft, Lucinda Chee
Tracking: Danny Zobrist, Jay Frankenberger
Post/Effects: SWAY Studio
EP: Shira Boardman
Creative Director: Mark Glaser
VFX Supervisor: Robert G. Nederhorst
VFX Producer: Matt Winkel
Composition Supervisor: Marc Rienzo
Compositors: Sean Devereaux, Jay Frankenberger, Feliciano di Giorgio, Maciek Sokalski, Lou Pecora
Architectural Designers: Kevin Cimini, Oliver Zeller
Terragen Development: Matt Fairclough
Texture Lead: Rob Meyers
FX Lead: Greg Tsalidas
CG Supervisor: Aaron Powell
VFX Coordinator: Hannah Yates
Storyboard Artist: Nathan Boldman
Production Coordinator: Joyce Pan
Production Assistant: Daughn Ward
Sound Design: Machinehead
Sound Designer: Nobody & Chris Mann
Music Supervisor: Jason Bentley
Audio Post: Machinehead
Composers: Chris Mann, Elvin Estela