Spontaneous Combustion Xeroxes A Storm Of Innovation

files/pictures/picture-35.jpgNew York-based digital studio Spontaneous Combustion has created a 3D sequence for the seven and a half-minute Xerox promo entitled, "A Storm of Innovation." The sequence was created for Philadelphia-based interactive event and communications agency PGI, Inc. The promo debuted at drupa 2000, the world’s largest full service trade show and exhibition, on May 31, 2000 in Düsseldorf, Germany. The film was projected on nine screens in a round theater. "Opening in the midst of a thunderstorm, the viewer shoots through clouds, and makes a sudden descent. As a method of grounding the audience, and to provide the feeling of actually being in a vehicle, the viewers are dropped into a spaceship which serves as the means of transport and the ride zooms through what feels like an infinite high-tech tunnel," explained Spontaneous’ head of CGI Sam DeWitt. The 3D ride is designed to tell the history of printing through the ages. Spontaneous 3D animator Brian Austin said, "One of the technical challenges we faced was providing the editors with five separate loopable elements, making sure that the beginning and end points of each matched perfectly. We created a straight pass, a right turn and a left turn, an upturn and a down turn and all the beginning and end points had to match so that the elements could be cut, pasted and assembled in any combination." Tony Robins was the creative director, Austin and Max Erich were the 3D animators and Simone Pillinger was the senior producer.