Santa Monica-based R!OT, a digital production studio, recently finished the visual effects for a commercial promoting Tennessee's Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Digital artist Verdi Sevenhuysen helped turn Malibu Beach into the shores of Omaha Beach during D-Day. Sevenhuysen used Discreet Inferno system to alter the live-action footage to match the European topography. He also placed a series of steel tank traps onto the sandy shore. "It was a very close collaboration between director Karsten and I," said Sevenhuysen. "They didn't have the budget to shoot in France, but it didn't matter. We were able to make the hills disappear. No one will ever know it was shot in Malibu." With scenes ranging from a Civil War site to a sports stadium, the spot ends in a quiet suburban neighborhood with the voice over "these are even more important battlefields, where we [Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center] are helping people all over claim victories over cancer." Sevenhuysen also made the football stadium appear larger by duplicating and flipping a portion of the stadium top to make it bowl shaped. The commercial was produced for Birmingham, Alabama-based ad agency Lewis Communications.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
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