Ronen Sharabani of Rhino FX choreographed the nine vehicles during post production for these GM spots. Courtesy of Rhino FX.

Dances with XUVs
Probably the most extreme example of invisible effects in any Super Bowl spot was the GMC Synchronization spot (aired during the pre-game show), in which the various features of nine XUVs are demonstrated by drivers who open and shut doors, hatches and sliding panels. Performed in an almost dance-like robotic style, such choreography in the pre-CGI era would have necessitated hundreds of takes. But Ronen Sharabani, lead Inferno artist at Rhino FX, was able to create the precisely timed sequences entirely in post.

“During the shoot we didn’t have nine cars and we didn’t have nine drivers — we had only three cars and drivers. And few of the shots used all three cars in one layer — we often used just one. You can see it the last shot, when nine cars come out of the parking lot, but we used only one car and one driver and we shot nine different layers.”

For the choreographed sequence when the drivers demonstrate the XUVs’ features, Sharabani shifted the timing of many shots. “We played with shots of people opening and closing the doors. In the original takes, the drivers made their moves at the same time. We changed their timing. In certain places I had to create slow motion on a driver, or actually change the movement to work with the music. We measured the timing of everyone, so at an exact frame all the doors are closed, or at an exact frame only the first row are opening and then the second row pauses a few frames and then they open. We tried to work with the music.”

Numerous touches were added to increase the atmosphere. “The director and the agency wanted to have an atmospheric feel to it, so we shot separate layers of smoke just as an element and then we applied it onto the final composition. It’s very subtle — it’s not like you see smoke running and moving, but just a misty fog giving an mysterious feel to the whole thing.”