Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/541232
www.postmagazine.com 38 POST JULY 2015 POSTINGS HOT AIR BALLOON PARIS — The backdrop of the Iguazu Falls on the Brazil and Argentina border sets the scene for a frenetic explosion of colors and sound in the new spot for Perrier. Hot Air Balloon was directed by duo Fleur & Manu and features 42 VFX shots by MPC's (moving-picture.com) newly-opened Paris studio. The spot includes a party of CG hot-air balloons racing through the sky, and an opening scene based on stills of a natural well in Yucatan, Mexico, with CG and animated digital matte paintings (DMPs) bringing the sequence to life. A balloon bursting through water was one of the most challenging shots, requiring Houdini liquid specialists. Actors and extras were suspended close to the ground in baskets and natural lighting gave the perfect reference to the VFX team for integrating the protagonists with CG elements and shot/DMP backgrounds. VFX supervisor and creative director of MPC Paris Franck Lambertz and 3D supervisor Fa- bian Frank led teams to create over 50 variations of CG hot air balloons and re-build the 3D baskets with a toolset that included Houdini, Arnold, Photoshop, Mari, ZBrush, Mudbox, Nuke Studio, Nuke and Maya. HOT WHEELS DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES & NEW YORK — Part of the fun kids have with Mattel's Hot Wheels cars is the ability to create insane racetrack designs that are limited only by the imagination. Visual effects/animation studio Clock- work VFX (www.clockworkvfx.com) tapped into that cool factor in a new animation sequence that sets the tone for a new campaign for the classic toy brand, created in-house by Mattel, directed by James Wahlberg of LA's The Calvary, and posted at Santa Monica's Silo Films. Through a mix of ZBrush and Maya for modeling; Maya for rigging and animation; Lightwave for texturing, lighting and rendering; and Nuke for com- positing, Clockwork VFX and creative director Jason Tomlins created a CG intro and four animated transitions that open each of four :30 spots in the new campaign: Monster Jam, Splash Lab, Spiral Stack and Super Speed Blastway. Each features a different Hot Wheels play-set and all begin with a shot of a 3D animated Hot Wheels logo hovering over a Hot Wheels world. LUCKY TO BE ME NEW YORK — Northern Lights (www.nledit.com) editor Josh Towvim re- cently teamed with director Mark Rosenberg to deliver a dose of unsolicited song and dance to the streets of New York City in the new video Lucky to Be Me, from the 2015 Tony Award nominated Broadway revival of On The Town. The spot ran digitally to promote the play in conjunction with its 2015 Tony nominations. The video takes the upbeat number from the musical, and Tony-nominee star Tony Yazbeck, to such iconic New York City spots as Grand Central Sta- tion, the High Line, Central Park and Times Square, encountering dance part- ners along the way to redefine the 'flash mob' trend with Broadway charm. The video was shot entirely on an iPhone 6 with a 3-Axis gimbal stabiliz- er. Towvim, who edited the piece on Avid Media Composer, worked closely with Rosenberg to weave the interactions into the video, rather than cutting together a more straightforward performance piece. THE JINX NEW YORK — Andrew Jarecki's documentary series The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst explores the murky world of a real estate magnate suspected of three murders. Post finishing for the series, airing in six parts on HBO, was completed at Technicolor-PostWorks New York (www.technicol orpwny.com). Sean R. Smith served as finishing editor and colorist, working in collaboration with Jarecki, writer/producer/director of photography Marc Smerling and post supervisor Susan Lazarus. The complicated tale is the product of an equally complex production that included interviews with Durst and others connected to his life, meticulously researched reenactments, crime scene photos, news footage and other new and archival material. The myriad of source material presented a significant challenge for the post team. Interviews with Durst spanned 10 years and were captured with a variety of HD cameras; reenactments were recorded in HD with the Canon C300, and in 2K with Arri Alexa cameras. Archival media ranged from standard definition news footage to 35mm black & white crime-scene photos. The source material was converted to HD resolution using a vari- ety of tools, including Digital Vision Nucoda, Teranex and Autodesk Flame. The final look was refined through grading in Digital Vision's Nucoda.