A jazz musician blows a note, the horn extends and his body language projects the coolness of the moment. A man and woman sit listening. He pulls out a package of Dentyne Fire and pops a piece into his mouth. Suddenly the club, the music and the mood transition from Cool Blue Jazz to Red Hot Salsa. The transformation is subtle. The crowd is not shocked or surprised. In fact, perhaps this happens every time they chew Dentyne Fire. Director Bob Giraldi of Case Giraldi Films teamed-up with rhinofx sr inferno artist/partner Vico Sharabani to create this moment for Bates USA, NY and Dentyne Fire. RED WORLD (:30) (:15), airs nationally beginning Sept. 1, 2003.
Cinematographer Joaquin Baca-Asay also helped to create the dramatic transformation. Sharabani - who was on the set supervising the shoot for the visual effects production explained: "Blending effects, colors and textures, the changes appear as if they are coming from within the banquet, within the walls, within the clothing The transitions take place in three categories: props, people and architecture and it's important that the filmed colors interact with the digitally enhanced colors. The manipulations are not forced; they blend with the live environment. From a technical point of view, the individual shots required shooting lots of green screen elements. We essentially utilized 2D morphing techniques to create the transitions. We hate the term 'morph' because we think of a morph as a huge physical effect rather than an invisible transition. Morphing is the technical requirement and software necessary to design these transitions. It does not mean obvious before and after effects. Morphs are also invisible transition between shots bridging the moments together to create seamlessness."
Every element that changed physical shape needed to be shot twice, utilizing tracking marks on set to assist in matching camera movement in post-production. Sharabani worked closely with Baca-Asay, who shot with Kodak's new 5218, a 500 ASA stock. He used it, he said, "because it has a tighter grain and nicer color palette."
"It was an interesting job than entailed lighting the same environment for two completely different moods," added Baca-Asay. "We made creative choices and lighting choices. We discussed how to make the light change in the glasses on the table and they looked realistic even in the rough stages. There were flashing lights in the wall and we had to match all the shots for visual reference before morphing the two scenes."
Additional credits for rhinofx include: Rick Wagonheim (exec director vp/partner); Yfat Neev (exec producer); Joe Barrascano (digital artist); Ji Yoon (particle animator); and John Budion (inferno artist).
rhinofx (www.rhinofx.tv/), located in New York City, is a Multi-Video Group/Gravity Co.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
