Trevor Robinson of Quiet Storm has directed and produced the new commercial for Schwartz "real paste" sauces. Post-production and the development of a 3D computer-animated character took place at Moving Picture Co. (MPC).
The :30 ad shows a live-action housewife looking for inspiration for dinner. During the course of the evening meal's preparation, the housewife is visited by an ebullient computer-animated chef offering Schwartz real paste as a tastier alternative to her dish.
MPC's team of 3D animators undertook the challenge of creating a flamboyant and eccentric caricature of a French chef. Working closely with Robinson, it was decided that motion-capture could provide the exuberance of performance required.
Lead animator Russell Appleford, said, "We set the character up with a model that was robust enough to handle any motion-capture data selected by Trevor, no matter how extreme." Texturing was carried out by Jaime Fernandez Muro. MPC's custom in-house occlusion plug-in was used to give the commercial realistic lighting and shadows.
The ad began airing in the U.K. and Ireland on Feb. 2, 2004.
Additional MPC credits include:* Post Producer: Sean Costelloe* 3D Artists: Richard Nelson, Jaime Fernandez, Alp Boysan* Inferno Artist: Nigel Mortimer* Telecine: Jean-Clement Soret* Combustion: Darren Christie
Based in Soho, London, Moving Picture Co. (www.moving-picture.com) is one of the leading post-production facilities in the industry. It creates high-end digital vfx and computer animation for the advertising, music, television and feature film industries.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
