Summary
In BBDO NY and Director Markus Walter's new epic spot for Gillette, muscle-bound Egyptian men haul stones uphill to build the Pyramids, the Wright brothers take their first flight, explorers battle the stormy seas in search of undiscovered lands and man takes his first tentative steps on the moon. Talk about some sweaty situations!
Shot in Prague over the course of four days, the Wright
brothers' flying scene was first on the schedule. Production was
meticulously choreographed-perfect location, era-authentic
costumes, 35mm film and an official Wright brothers' plane replica.
Since less-than-optimal wind conditions hindered the crew from
getting the plane in the air, wheels were attached and later
removed in post.
On Day Two of the shoot came the man on the moon scene. According
to Shoot Supervisor and Lead 2D Artist Danny Morris, "This was a
complete 2D approach. We had to shoot the spaceman with no glass in
his visor as the whole set would be reflected over his face. The
moon environment was then constructed in Flame and reflected in his
visor in post. For the top shot, a CG lunar lander was added. All
shots required moon texture painting, shadow rebuilding and some
flares added to give the whole section a nice feel."
The Pyramids scene was next on the docket. Shoot Supervisor and
Lead 3D Artist Chris Bernier mocked up CG camera moves and pyramid
placement so the crew could visualize what CG pyramids would look
like in the background. Not having to shoot real pyramids
ultimately freed up time to shoot people to composite into the wide
shot. The CG pyramids were composited on a desert sky with
atmosphere such as dust added in flame. A lot of texture work was
done on the pyramids in Flame to make them look photo-real. The
people in the scene are a mixture of CG Massive people and actors
shot on that day.
The last day of shooting was dedicated to the explorers' scene.
The crew used a model ship for the wide shots and created a CG
ocean. The ocean was then composited with many layers to create the
feeling of a vast, menacing sea. Stormy skies, lightening and
rain were added using Flame. The 3D team made flags for the ship
and created realistic water interaction. Morris notes, "The
trickiest part of the comp was making the boat visible without
compromising the realistic look of the shot."
The color that gives each sequence its authentic, time-weathered
look was done by Senior Colorist Fergus McCall.
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