Now in its sixth year, AWN's Hot Spots Showcase continues to highlight the best in commercials from the past year. This annual collection of innovative, hilarious and breath-taking work represents the best productions being done by many of the leading commercial houses around the globe. No need to skip past these spots, they're the best of the best.

Lexus Pop-Up

a52
"a52 was immensely important in conveying the 'reality' of a giant pop-up book. We wanted the spot to feel as real as possible. What we found in the course of production was that building a pop-up book over 20 feet tall to accommodate a full-sized Lexus was physically impossible. To be more exact, the book could have been built that large, but the weight of the pop-up extensions would have been too great, and turning the pages on a book that large at a rate that could accommodate a 30-second spot was problematic.

"As a result, production built a giant, full-sized book frame for green screen, with tabs and wheels that could be manipulated by actual stage hands. And the actual pop-up book with moving parts was a mere six feet high, which was then married to the green screen frame at a52. The guys at a52 put complete heart and soul into making the effect as lifelike as humanly possible. As with all intricate effects jobs, passion is the driving force that usually propels the end result beyond merely convincing to something quite amazing." -- Jon Pearce, creative director, Team One.

Techniques
First, Stylewar and director of photography Toby Irwin filmed the background actors operating the 30-foot book frame on a greenscreen. Next, they shot each page of the miniature pop-up book opening and closing, as well as the animated movements within the pages. Using the movements of the actors for timing, Ortego re-timed the live-action of each page to match each other and the actors' movements. Flame and Smoke were used to rotoscope out the different pop-up pieces, which were then composited together in Flame. For the city scene, a52's CGI artists recreated every visual element in Maya -- using high-resolution stills from the shoot as textures -- and tracked them to the live-action for final compositing in Flame. For every action of the book, a52's artists either recreated or re-timed them to ensure a seamless feel to the storytelling. Live-action passes taken of the hero Lexus to capture reflections and shadows were also combined in Flame, and virtual holes were created for the pop-up book's pages -- also in Maya -- where the Lexus appears. Additional touches by a52's artists include Maya-created tabs and wheels for the book, the book's shadow, the page edges and thickness, and the entire cover page and binding. Final Flame flourishes included reflecting the book in the floor, as well as color-grading and addition of logo and titles. Smoke was used to assemble the final versions for lay-off.

Credits for Lexus Pop-Up
Visual Effects/Animation Company: a52
Producer: Sarah Haynes
VFX Supervisor: Patrick Murphy
Lead Flame Artist: Raul Ortego
VFX Artists: Kirk Balden, Tim Bird, Mike Bliss, Brandon Jolley CGI Lead Artist: Dan Gutierrez
CGI Artists: Kevin Clarke, Chris Janney, Kirk Shintani
Additional Finishing: Ben Looram, Company 3
Advertising Agency: Team One
Creative Directors: Jon Pearce, Gavin Lester
Art Director: Kevin R. Smith
Copywriter: Dave Horton
Agency Executive Producer: Jack Epsteen
Agency Producer: Jennifer Weinberg
Live-Action Director: Oskar Holmedal/Stylewar, Smuggler
Live-Action Director of Photography: Toby Irwin
Editor: David Henegar, Butcher
Music & Sound Design: Robot Repair
Final Mix: Bob Gremore, Juice

Kia Expectations

Asylum VFX
Santa Monica-based Asylum VFX and renowned director Gerard De Thame of H.S.I. bring us this :60 spot entitled Expectations for Kia Motors via David & Goliath. The spot exhibits cliched metaphors of luxury car commercials that aim to highlight such things as precision, horsepower, and state-of-the-art sound system. An SUV treks through a barren desert region, is serenaded by an orchestra, and awaits its owner outside a ritzy mansion. As the spot comes to an end, we are shown the one thing we least expect in a luxury car commercial, the 2009 Kia Borrego, "a new kind of luxury SUV" at an affordable price.

Credits for Kia Motors Expectations
Post/Effects: Asylum VFX
VFX Supervisor: Paul O'Shea
Inferno Artists: Miles Essmiller, Sean Devereaux, Joey Brattesani, Rob Trent
EP: Michael Pardee
Producer: Mark Kurtz
Bidding Producer: Michael Hanley
Associate Producer: Ryan Meredith
Agency: David & Goliath
Chairman, CCO: David Angelo
ECD: Colin Jeffery
Art Directors: David Cuccinello, Todd Parker
Copywriters: Sean Vij, Tim White
Senior Producer: Paul Albanese
Production Company: H.S.I
Director: Gerard De Thame
EP: Maddi Carlton
Producer: Fabyan Daw
Editorial: Rock Paper Scissors
Editor: Adam Pertofsky
EP: Crissy DeSimone
Producer: Vicki Tripp