ELEVATION, a new spot for General Motors out of Deutsch, Los Angeles, serves as an excellent example of how a television commercial can convey a complex brand message using great visuals alone. While the voiceover in elevation conveys basic information regarding GMs new 100,000-mile warranty program, the spot says so much more.
Using beautiful scenes shot by director Phil Joanou, out of MJZ, Los Angeles, and visual effects created by Digital Domain, the ad subtly conveys a bigger message about how GM is raising the bar and backing their cars like no other manufacturer.
The :60 spot is a tour through three bumper-to-bumper traffic jams in Miami, New York and San Francisco. We see different drivers fed up with the honking and the din of city traffic. Exasperated and growing increasingly impatient, one driver in a Cadillac Escalade presses his finger against the touch-screen on his dash and initiates the song Get What You Need by the pop band Jet. From there the scene changes radically.
Right away the driver senses something unusual as his Escalade slowly lifts off the ground. He looks around and the same is happening to many of the cars around himbut only GM cars. One of the unlucky non-GM drivers leans his head out of the window for a better view of the phenomenon unfolding around him and we see the rising cars reflected in his windshield. A Corvette rises above New Yorks Fifth Ave. Across the Golden Gate Bridge Chevy trucks, Saabs and Hummers hover over the roadway. More GM cars float above the waterways near Miami. In all the cities, the eight different GM brands of cars are levitating 30 feet above the street. A New York driver rises eye-to-eye with executives staring dumbfounded out of their office window.
One driver tests the accelerator and rolls forward slightly. He then confidently gives the car gas. Seconds later, he and his fellow GM drivers are speeding to their destinations. A gorgeous overhead shot of New York City blocks closes out the spot with flying cars crisscrossing through intersections.
This is an important spot for GM, which is launching its company-wide coverage program, said Ed Ulbrich, Digital Domains svp/gm and exec producer for ELEVATION. But they needed it in a matter of weeks, not the customary months it typically takes to do a spot at this level.
Ulbrich and Digital Domains visual effects supervisor Brad Parker worked with the client to streamline the operation. We needed to hit deadlines perfectly if this spot was going to deliver on time, said Parker. In preliminary meetings, we werent sure it was even possible to produce a spot this good in such a short period but we found a way.
While Phil [Joanou] cast, scouted, assembled crews and shot scenes, we gathered all the GM cars as digital models, explained Ulbrich. These photoreal models were later animated into Phils scenes. Afterwards we applied our Global Illumination software to light the cars to match the live action in the scene. It wasnt simply a matter of working fast. To get this project in on time meant all the artists had to coordinate their efforts perfectly.
Parker is looking forward to getting back on a regular schedule but took away something valuable from the experience: While three weeks is not the ideal timeframe for delivering a high profile and high quality spot, he said, it is good to know we can do it if we have to.
Digital Domain credits include:
* Senior VP/ Exec Producer: Ed Ulbrich* Exec Producer: Karen Anderson* Visual Effects Supervisor: Brad Parker* Visual Effects Supervisor: Jay Barton* Visual Effects Producer: Chris Fieldhouse* Visual Effects Coordinator: Alex Thiesen* CG Supervisor: Richard Morton* Flame Compositor: Dave Stern* Flame Compositor: Paul Kirsch* Flame Compositor: Caitlin Content* Flame Compositor: Chris Howard* Nuke Compositor: Rafael Colon* Nuke Compositor: Rachel Keyte* Nuke Compositor: Martin Hall* Nuke Compositor: Heather Hoyland* Digital Artist: David Chan* Digital Artist: Erin Clark * Digital Artist: Brandon Davis * Digital Artist: Jeff Dierstein* Digital Artist: Jim Gaczkowski * Digital Artist: Toby Gaines * Digital Artist: Errol Lanier* Digital Artist: John Niehuss* Digital Artist: Patrick Perez * Digital Artist: Anthony Ramirez * Digital Artist: Neil Taneja* Matte Painter: Daniel Thron* Roto: Laura Wilcox* Roto: Cliff Welsh* Roto: Eddie Gutierrez* Roto: Zack Sherman* Tracker: Scott Edelstein * Tracker: Marco Maldonado* Tracker: Tom Schultz
Digital Domain (www.digitaldomain.com) was acquired in May 2006 by an affiliate of Wyndcrest Holdings Llc., an investment group whose principals in addition to Stork and Textor are director Michael Bay, NFL football great Dan Marino and Jonathan Teaford. Wyndcrest Holdings is a Florida-based private investment and acquisition firm focused on technology-related opportunities in entertainment, telecommunications and the Internet.
Founded in 1993, Digital Domain is an award-winning full-service digital studio and production company that creates special visual effects and other visual imagery for feature films, commercials and music videos. Pioneers in digital effects, Digital Domain's business units have been recognized with awards from the top industry organizations. In its 13-year history, Digital Domain has won five Academy Awards: two for Best Visual Effects (TITANIC, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME); and three for Scientific and Technical Achievement for its proprietary imaging software. The company has also been nominated for three other Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects (APOLLO 13, TRUE LIES, I, ROBOT). In addition, its excellence in digital imagery and animation has earned Digital Domain multiple British Academy (BAFTA) Awards, and Prix Arts Electronica and Prix Pixel INA awards.
Digital Domain's Commercials division provides digital imagery and animation for television commercials, working with the top commercial directors. Serving Fortune 100 companies, the division has built a reputation as an innovator and industry leader in television commercial production and is the largest and most-awarded creator of digital imagery in its field. To date, it has been awarded 34 Clio Awards, 22 AICP awards, 8 Cannes Lion Awards and numerous other advertising honors. The Commercials division has also produced multiple music videos working with artists that include The Rolling Stones, Faith Hill, Creed, Janet Jackson, Busta Rhymes, Bjork, Celine Dion, Michael Jackson and Nine Inch Nails, and has earned Grammy and MTV "Music Video of the Year" Awards.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
