Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/8034
n n n n Broadcast ites were done in Te Foundry’s Nuke. Lead Flame artist Tibault Debaveye notes that it was tricky to find the proper look. “We had to be careful not to go too dark,” he says. “We wanted it moody, but we also had to con- sider the final color look. In terms of integrat- ing CG and live action, we went back and forth with making sure the colors and lighting direc- tions matched perfectly, and that we were catch- ing shadows from the live-action elements.” In the end, however, the most demanding aspect of the spot was the one most often cited by VFX/animation houses working on Super Bowl commercials: the schedule. “Logistic issues arise from that,” says Roy. “We worked long hours every day and, on the last day, put in 22 hours. Getting everyone on the same page in three weeks is a big job.” SQUIRREL • HONDA Director: Andy Hall Agency: RPA Production company: Elastic CG company: A52 To promote the new Honda Cross Tour, agency RPA worked closely with Elastic, which does conceptual and directing work, and visual effects firm A52—two divisions of the same company. “We have a long-stand- ing relationship with RPA,” explains Andy Hall, who was both director and head of CG on “Squirrel.” “Tey approached us for the launch of the new Honda Cross Tour, with the idea of going back to the fundamentals of design and aesthetics.” A four-spot package—the final one of which was “Squirrel” for the Super Bowl—en- sued. Te design of the spot, which integrates animation and live action, is hard to miss: a low-polygon animation style heavily influ- enced from the design aesthetic of the 1960s. “Saul Bass was someone they referenced,” says Hall, referring to the legendary graphic designer/filmmaker. “We took the visual cue from that, and then emphasized it to be more contemporary.” “Squirrel” reveals the capacious storage of the Honda Cross Tour via a squirrel that hides a pineapple, trophy, bowling ball, barbell, and armchair. “It’s about finding the ultimate place to put stuff … and that’s the car,” says Hall. Some of the footage was already in the can when it came time to producing the Super Sunday spot. “We did two shoot-arounds of the car,” says Hall, “one early in the process, and then they decided to use another color of car for the ending, so we shot that in Decem- ber.” All the live-action footage (which focused 26 March 2010 The CG in “Squirrel” reflects Saul Bass’s animation style from the 1960s, with its low-polygon look, only in this case, it was crafted using state-of-the-art 3D tools, including Maya. on the vehicle) was filmed in 35mm at South Bay Studios near Los Angeles. Hall’s background is in animation, so the process, for him, felt natural. “I storyboarded the whole thing in Adobe’s Photoshop and cut a rough animatic in Adobe’s After Effects based on the live action,” he says. “Tat be- came the footprint for timing and a cue for the camera angles I wanted to capture.” Once the animatic was in place, Hall points out, he started blocking out the shots and establishing the interactions in the six shots. “We did several frames up-front for the agen- cy so they could share them with their client, for their comfort level,” he says. “And there’s that comedic element they wanted to intro- duce as the objects become more and more ridiculous.” Another striking aspect of the animation is its color palette. “Tat was established from the first spot of the package,” says Hall. “Tey wanted a distinct, vibrant look, and that’s fol- lowed through to the last spot, with consisten- cy among all four. Te last one, “Squirrel,” is focused on hues of oranges and reds, but aes- thetically, they all complement one another.” Although it had a simplistic 2D look, the animation was 3D, created entirely in Auto- desk Maya. Compositing, however, was done in Te Foundry’s Nuke. “Obviously, we use [Autodesk’s] Flame,” says Hall, “but it made more sense to use Nuke so we could work in floating point. Tat enabled us to push the minutiae between color ranges more easily. Also, we could tweak and adjust the light in Nuke, rather than going back and relighting in Maya.” Te animation itself went very smoothly, notes Hall. “We’re always trying to push the performance of the character, and there’s an arc in the piece,” he says. “Te performance is based on the objects the squirrel is interact- ing with, and it becomes more extreme; so, it starts quiet and builds towards the end. It was a matter of finding that arc.” Tough the client’s aesthetic touchstone was Saul Bass, Hall found his own inspiration during the creation of the spot. “It was kind of referencing Chuck Jones in terms of the sim- plicity and the performance,” he says. “You’re not dealing with any dialog. It’s a low-res char- acter captured by strong poses.”