Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/54443
Test Spots and New Zealand. They're currently delivering a fully-3D finished com- mercial for Unilever, which will air in Indonesia and Vietnam. The London and Chicago studios use motion capture to collect data Pipe Dreams (Chicago office): Animatics for Mars bars and Bold 2 in 1 fabric softener. Dreams 3D and its high-scoring test spots. "We kept breaking test results with the research firms," says Attew. "FCB/Chicago noticed the scores and wondered what we were doing differently." So Pipe Dreams 3D exported 3D cine- matics to the Windy City, sending artists back and forth to work. By September 2008 the company was generating enough busi- ness in Chicago to justify opening Pipe Dreams 3D there. Today, the offices do test spots for Mars confectionery and pet foods as well as S.C. Johnson and Unilever brands and Anheuser- Busch in the US. Their reach is global, with agency clients based in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Singapore. Chicago-based production manager Rick Livingston reports that when some US agen- cies were reluctant to try 3D cinematics Pipe Dreams devised a 2D "Toons" style of ani- matics that quickly caught on with them. "Some clients want highly-polished ani- matics that go into research, get high scores and give them a path to follow for the full-up spot," says Attew, describing those who opt for 3D cinematics. "Others want a looser creative style which, after research, still gives them the freedom to play with things. That's where Toons-style animatics or (photogra- phy-based) photomatics come in. Our ser- vices fit all those approaches." Last year Pipe Dreams 3D began creating full-up commercials for clients. "They asked, 'If we gave you more time and money, could you produce this for TV?'" Attew recalls. "It has worked quite well, and is a good value for clients." The company crafted CG and live-action combo spots (Vacation and One Step) for S.C. Johnson's Scrubbing Bubbles, which aired in the US and Canada, and their Toilet Duck product, which was broadcast in Germany, France, Eastern Europe, Australia 32 Post • February 2012 for 3D character animation and Autodesk 3DS Max and the Adobe suite for modeling, animation and compositing; Adobe Premiere meets in-house editorial needs. The studios can share files and collaborate on spots or work separately. "The use of motion capture is a huge benefit to both studios as it cuts down the animation timeline while also raising the qual- ity bar on the final product," notes Livingston. "What used to take weeks for animation now only takes days." Attew sees test spots in continual evolu- tion. "You'll see the expensive techniques of feature films used more and more," he pre- dicts. "We're looking at facial animation, for example. You'll see a lot more tricks from the film world available to us." THE SPOT FARM Business at New Paltz, NY's The Spot Farm (www.thespotfarm.com) is divided into test spots and Web content. The com- pany has a two-decade track record of creating test commercials and works with agencies in New York City, New Jersey, Chicago and Boston, which are pleasantly sur- prised by the low overhead and cost savings offered by The Spot Farm's upstate location. Test spots at The Spot Farm are almost exclusively live-action- based with 3D, including demo segments, integrated. "The Canon 5D has been a god- send to the industry," says Stephen Laughlin, who is partnered with wife Denise Edkins in The Spot Farm; he serves as the company's commercial director and has hundreds of spots to his credit. "The HDSLRs give you a broadcast-quality prod- uct while saving you money." www.postmagazine.com The Spot Farm has its own greenscreen studio, although Laughlin shoots in Manhat- tan about half the time. The company casts its spots as well, mostly with SAG members. Teams of artists use Adobe Photoshop and After Effects, Apple's Final Cut suite of prod- ucts, and Autodesk 3DS Max and Maya for 2D and 3D animation, compositing and edit- ing. The Spot Farm frequently partners with Peter Darmi of nearby Cloudcap Audio Post. By shooting live-action test spots Laugh- lin captures the essence of a full-up spot in ways that may elude other animatics tech- niques. "A lot of agencies want the real emotion of real actors, and that's pretty hard to beat unless you have a movie bud- get for 3D animation," he says. "Our spots look like what you'll see on TV — they're not cartoons. Some of our clients tell us that our spots have produced the highest test scores they've ever had. We've seen full-up versions that are nearly identical to the live-action test spots we've done." The way Laughlin shoots, live-action- based spots offer just as much flexibility for agency and client revisions as other animatic styles. "As a director I always insist on shooting stuff that's not on the board — whatever I think might come in handy: dif- Spot Farm shoots their live-action test spots, like this one called Apartment, using the Canon 5D. ferent camera angles, a number of different takes of each scene so you have choices of acting and facial expressions." One of the biggest selling points for live-