.COMPLETE
CREDITS HERE.
Scene 1 from Bud Light "Snowed In"
Image courtesy of a52.
Click on thumbnail for 72dpi image.
300 dpi version here.
Scene 2 from Bud Light "Snowed In"
Image courtesy of a52.
Click on thumbnail for 72dpi image.
300 dpi version here.
Scene 3 from Bud Light "Snowed In"
Image courtesy of a52.
Click on thumbnail for 72dpi image.
300 dpi version here.
Scene 4 from Bud Light "Snowed In"
Image courtesy of a52.
Click on thumbnail for 72dpi image.
300 dpi version here.
|
For
Immediate Release
REAL
PETS RESCUE SNOW-BOUND SHOPKEEPER IN
DDB CHICAGO’S BUD LIGHT “SNOWED IN”
BROADCAST SPOT FROM DIRECTOR PHIL JOANOU
HOLLYWOOD
— Throughout the recent holiday season, television viewers across the U.S.
saw an unlikely team effort during commercial breaks, when two mice, two
lizards, two prairie dogs, two ferrets, a cat and a poodle formed a sled
team to whisk a snowed-in pet shop worker to the safety of home… and the
joy of Bud Light. Directed by MJZ’s Phil Joanou for DDB Chicago,
the spot entitled “Snowed In” employed real animal actors, as well as some
considerable creative visual effects and CGI work from the artists at a52
in Los Angeles.
“a52
was instrumental in making this spot happen,” Joanou began. “The
job presented some real challenges, in that I didn't want to do any of
the animals in CG. That meant we had to track and composite all the
different critters in all their various shapes and sizes into the snow
and make it feel like they were running at the same speed while pulling
a dog sled. Not an easy task. But with careful collaboration
and planning, we were able to make it work with minimal manipulation of
the real animals. I could not be happier with the results.”
With
a crew that included director of photography Jeff Cutter and a52’s on-set
VFX supervisors Tim Bird and Chris Janney, Joanou prepared for two days
of shooting at LA’s Universal Studios. All the live-action plates
with the sled and the principal character were shot on day one on the Universal
backlot, where half of the street was dressed with prop snow and a rig
was used to tow the sled. The animals were all shot running on a
treadmill in front of a blue screen on day two, with the camera’s angle,
height, lens, lighting and other characteristics matching those specifications
from the prior day's shoot.
When
the filming was complete, Whitehouse editor Livio Sanchez provided a52’s
team with the footage from each animal’s best performance, and the creative
compositing began. “The biggest challenge was making all these animals
of different sizes and locomotion characteristics appear to move along
at the same speed,” Bird said. A combination of varying playback
speeds for some of the animals and the artistic use of foreground elements
delivered the desired results.
a52’s
CG team used Maya to create each animal’s sled harness – as well as enormous
amounts of turbulent atmospheric snow. The CG snow was combined with
a digital matte painting and some additional 2D snow elements for the wide
shot of the sled moving through the storm.
“The
little prairie dog at the end of the spot was also achieved without any
CG,” Joanou added. “We were able to get the little guy to stand on
his hind legs in one piece of film and then got him to reach out for a
treat in another piece. a52 seamlessly integrated the two shots to
make it look like the animal was raising its hand on cue. It looked
both real and funny, without any CG enhancement. Once again, a52
delivered spectacularly."
DDB
Chicago’s project credits include creative directors Dan Fietsam and Mark
Gross, copywriter Jason Gorman, art director Kraig Krueger and producer
Brian Smego. MJZ’s line producer was Paul Manix. a52’s team
included executive producer Mark Tobin, producer Scott Boyajan, Inferno
artists Tim Bird, Justin Blaustein and Alicia Aguilera and 3D artists Chris
Janney and Vania Alban-Zapata. Company 3’s Stefan Sonnenfeld handled
telecine, original music and sound design credits go to the team at Elias
Arts in Santa Monica, and the final mix was engineered by Chicago Recording
Company’s Dave Gerbosi.
About
a52
Established
in 1997 as a home for the very latest high-end photo-real visual effects
technologies and the industry’s most innovative and talented graphic design
artists, visual effects company a52 creates award-winning imagery for the
world’s most visually ambitious commercial and television projects.
Having relocated to Santa Monica in 2007, the company’s work has earned
AICP Show recognition for 11 consecutive years along with recent “Outstanding
Commercial” Emmy, Andy, BDA, Belding, Clio, British Design and Art Direction,
International Monitor, International Automotive Advertising, London International
Advertising, One Show and PROMAX awards. For more information, please
call 1.310.586.0650 or visit www.a52.com.
# #
#
|
QuickTime for
Bud Light "Snowed In" :30
Problems? Email
|
