Visual effects and animation company, Quiet Man, goes boating in their latest spot for Visa via BBDO. A preview of the upcoming holiday season, the spot started airing Nov. 1.
Set in a bustling and brightly lit toyshop with holiday music drifting out of the speakers, a man purchases a toy boat with his Visa card. After a quick swipe and a swoop of the electronic pen, the toys begin to shake, and a loud rumbling ensues. While other customers look on, the cashier and the man exchange glances as the toy boat grows to gargantuan proportions, destroying and knocking over the other toys in the store. At this point, a voiceover announces a contest that will award 50,000 people in Visas 1.5 million dollar holiday giveaway.
The previs for the spot involved roughly building the boat and the room in 3D. At the set, Quiet Man brought their roughs and transposed those elements with the footage shot on set on their computer to create a mock-up of the scene.
The hardest part of this job was finishing the look of the boat, which was very reflective, said Amy Taylor, exec director/partner at Quiet Man. It reflected everything in the store, which had Christmas lights and numerous toys. We actually shot our own reflections with our digital cameras, which was basically the reverse of what the director was shooting.
Back at the Quiet Man labs, the boat was completed in 3D. The artists then animated the growing boat and input all the reflections, including those of the toys being knocked over.
Despite the heavy coordination required for the spot, Quiet Man completed the spot and even completed a title sequence for the end.
Tools used included: SOFTIMAGE|XSI, Photoshop, Inferno, digital cameras, Mac, PC.
New York-based Quiet Man (www.quietman.com) is known for the high level of aesthetic and technical finesse they bring to its seamless vfx work. Founded by Johnnie Semerad and Taylor, the award-winning company has created some of the most memorable spots with Joe Pytka for clients such as HBO, Fox, Pepsi and GE.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
