Blur Studio has created computer animation showing Spider-Man pursuing his nemesis the Green Goblin in a wild chase through New York City for a new commercial for Toy Biz. Conceived by New York agency Berenter Greenhouse & Webster, the commercial promotes a new Spider-Man Web Shooter toy and mixes live action sequences with computer animation. The opening shot reveals Spider-Man swinging by a strand of web between the high-rises of a cityscape. In his bedroom, a boy straps on the Web Shooter and turns toward a mirror where he sees, not his own image, but that of Spider-Man, who snares Green Goblin in a web fired from the toy. Blur Studio artists modeled the Spider-Man and Green Goblin characters after their representation in the Sony feature film SPIDER-MAN, which was a challenge since, at the time, reference frames were limited. While Blur was able to obtain photos of the Green Goblin from Sony, no photos were available for the character of Spider-Man. Blur Studio artists found their reference material for Spidey on the Internet. They were able to find photographs, taken surreptitiously during production, of Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man, standing in costume talking with director Sam Raimi. "Our team worked extremely hard to get the details right," explained Blur Studio creative director Tim Miller. "We are comic book fanatics and feel a special obligation to treat these characters with respect. Spider-Man has millions of fans who can instantly tell if something is wrong or out of place." Using 3D Studio Max, Blur's artists also gave particular attention to perfecting the metallic sheen of the Green Goblins body and to the catlike quality of his movement, as well as preparing the environment, a photo-real representation of New York City, with the Chrysler Building visible in the background. Credits for Blur Studio go to: Tim Miller, creative director; Aaron Powell, CG supervisor; Al Shier, producer; Neil Blevins, Sam Gebhardt, Noel McGinn, Kirby Miller and Jeff Weisend, animators. Credits for Berenter Greenhouse & Webster, New York, include Bill Berenter and Marty Greenhouse, creative directors; Heather Eyrich, producer and Julius Weil, art director. The live action was produced by Tag Team, Los Angeles.
