Mcgarrybowen concepted the campaign. Identity Director Javier Blanco made the spots. That just left Absolute Lead VFX Artist Nathan Kane with the minor task of making the entire galaxy come alive behind the imaginations of a group of 10-year-olds. And did he ever. In a - surprise - colorful four-spot campaign for Crayola, Kane crafted the essential effects to help bring four new products to life.
Press Release from Absolute
Mcgarrybowen concepted the campaign. Identity Director Javier Blanco made the spots. That just left Absolute Lead VFX Artist Nathan Kane with the minor task of making the entire galaxy come alive behind the imaginations of a group of 10-year-olds. And did he ever. In a - surprise - colorful four-spot campaign for Crayola, Kane crafted the essential effects to help bring four new products to life.
Kane enhanced multiple shots in Galaxy, which introduces Crayola's Glow Explosion Sand with a group of awestruck kids creating all manner of star-themed designs in a dark room. Kane added the glowing-galaxy effect, color corrected all the sand shots, and handled rig removal and cleanup where needed. He also composited shots of the talent with light interaction on their faces to create the authentic glow spill onto the kids and contact points.
Metallic Pop and Lock featured a trio of kids dressing up in shiny outfits composed of Crayola's Metallic Wonder Paper and markers. Kane handled color correction and cleanup, in addition to crafting the end pack shot from artwork and adding a metallic reflection effect to create the reflective pack and logo look.
Perhaps the greatest challenge came in Symphony, a busy spot featuring an army of children firing Crayola's Washable Colored Bubbles at one another. "The CG bubbles and the workflow of these elements presented an interesting challenge," noted Kane. "We had to use a combination of Realflow simulation and Maya created in particle bubbles in order to achieve the look of the bubble gun and wand-generated bubbles. We did two or three weeks of R&D working closely with the agency to achieve the final look." Absolute also handled color correction, cleanup and compositing on the spot.
Kane and company used a mix of Flame, Combustion, Smoke, Nuke, Maya and Realflow to create the campaign, which also included color correction, artwork creation, cleanup, and tracking and compositing for Dancing in the Dark, a spot introducing Crayola's Glow-in-the-Dark Chalk.
Credits:Client: CrayolaSpot Title(s): Galaxy :15 (featured), Metallic Pop and Lock :30 (featured), Symphony :30 (featured), Dancing in the Dark :30Air Date: April 2011
Agency: mcgarrybowenECD: Tom PrattAD: Marshall PeschellCopy: Matt HermanProducer: Melissa Tifrere
Prod Co: IdentityDirector: Javier BlancoEP: Joe MasiProducer: Alana Hall
Editorial Co: Bikini EditorialEditor: Avi OronEP: Gina Pagano
Post/Effects Co: Absolute PostLead VFX/Inferno Artist: Nathan KaneVFX Artist(s):James "Krispy" Cornwell, JD Yepes, Warren Paleos, Krissy Nordella, Betty CameronDesigner/Animator(s): Jep Hill, Marcelo Cermak;, Young-Hsee Lee, Orges KokoshariEP: Sally HeathProducer: Nirad "Bugs" Russell
Telecine Co: Nice ShoesColorist: Chris RyanProducer: Pat Portela
Shoot Location: Buenos Aires
About Absolute:Founded in 2004 by David Smith, one of the world's leading Flame artists, Absolute is a high-end VFX studio working within the commercial, emerging media, music video, and film communities. With offices in New York and London, Absolute over the years has collected numerous industry accolades including two BTAA awards, a D&AD pencil, a Cannes Lion, an APA Collection Diamond, three Andy wins and an MTV video statue. The New York office opened in 2007, helmed by CD Dirk Greene, to further facilitate Absolute's international client roster with a growing Flame and CG service.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
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