 |
 |
 |
 |
CGSociety CGFilm
Nice work from Brickyard FX brings the rain when it is needed most.
19 October 2006
Artist owned and-operated VFX studio Brickyard VFX has wrapped a :30 Ad for Timberland via Arnold Worldwide, Boston. The spot, beautifully shot and directed by Tim and Jeff Cronenweth
on a sunny day was turned into a stormy afternoon with the help of Brickyard's talented effects and CGI teams. Broadcast and cinema versions of the commercial are showing across the US from October 24th.
The opening shot is a wide cinematic view of a lone man walking across the top of a hill into the face of a rapidly advancing thunderstorm. As the storm and man meet, both stop their advance as if in a standoff. He reaches out his hand to touch the raindrops then zips up his Timberland coat, looks down at his Timberland boots and pulls on his hood. Then with a subtle smirk, he resumes his walk into the storm with a confident stride.
"This spot was a real leap of faith. Shooting on a bright sunny day when we knew that the final spot would have to appear as if it were shot in a heavy rainstorm. Having Jeff on set was totally reassuring, I trust him wholeheartedly," said Colin Jeffery, Creative Director and Art Director, Arnold Worldwide. "Working with Brickyard is always a great collaboration, we have worked with them on many occasions, they are as passionate about the creative as we are, and always add their magic touch."
 |
Before
|
 |
| After |
Knowing that the rain would be added later in post, a rain rig on set was used to capture plates that could be used both for reference and composites. However the opening and closing shots were so wide that all of the rainfall had to be created in CG. Geoff McAuliffe was on set as visual effects supervisor and worked with Brickyard VFX CGI team Robin Hobart and Yafei Wu to design the computer generated rain and mist. They worked together with the client and editor Andre Betz of Bug Editorial to time and art direct the movement of the rain and define how far it would come down the hill in the foreground as the storm advances forward.
 |
Before
|
 |
| After |
"This spot was a lot of fun to work on because it posed the challenge of creating something out of nothing and maintaining a consistent believable look across several very wide shots," explained McAuliffe, "The Cronenweths always shoot great looking footage and it was a lot of fun to work with them again."
Additional effects included adding soft movement to the tree that appears in frame to be affected by the downpour, adding interactive raindrops into the close-up shots of the hand and boot and compositing in rain clouds, sourced via stock footage provider Prairie Pictures in Texas. The client and Arnold were so pleased with the spot that Brickyard is also working extended effects for a soon-to-be-released :60 second version of the clip.
 |
Before
|
 |
| After |
| |
Credits: |
|
| |
Client: |
Timberland |
| |
Agency: |
Arnold Worldwide - Boston |
| |
Chief Creative Officer: |
Pete Favat |
| |
CD/Copywriter: |
Chris Carl |
| |
CD/Art Director: |
Colin Jeffery, John Kieselhorst |
| |
Agency Producer: |
Carron Pedonti |
| |
Production Company: |
Untitled - Santa Monica |
| |
Director: |
Tim Cronenweth, Jeff Cronenweth |
| |
Director of Photography: |
Jeff Cronenweth |
| |
Executive Producer: |
Jim Evans |
| |
Line Producer: |
Ken Rosen |
| |
Editorial Company: |
Bug Editorial |
| |
Editor: |
Andre Betz |
| |
VFX: Brickyard VFX: |
Boston/Santa Monica |
| |
VFX Artist: |
Geoff McAuliffe |
| |
VFX Producer: |
Kirsten Andersen |
| |
Sound Design: |
740 Sound Design - Santa Monica |
| |
Sound Designer: |
Mike Secher |
| |
Recording Studio: |
Soundtrack Recording- Boston |
| |
Recording Engineer: |
Mike Secher |
| |
Editorial Producer: |
Jane Weintrub |
Related links:
Brickyard VFX |
|
|
| |
|
|
