Roger Darnell
DWA for ATTIK
+1.828.264.8898

Allison Takahashi
Scion Public Relations
310.468.5315

For Immediate Release

SAN FRANCISCO – (Nov. 11, 2003) – Global creative agency ATTIK (www.attik.com) today provided production details on its Scion "Transformer" spot - one of three :60 theatrical commercials conceived by ATTIK.  "Transformer" is currently airing in theaters in the southwest as ATTIK's ongoing Scion campaign begins its trek eastward across the U.S.  Scion is the new car marque from Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., and ATTIK's campaign is designed to capture creative individuals' interpretations of Scion and reinforce its tagline, "what moves you."

Produced by Sydney-based visual effects, animation and design company Ambience Entertainment - and targeted specifically at young males in the U.S. - this 60-second animated spot dramatically fictionalizes the evolution of Scion's first models, the Scion xA and xB, from robot form. 

"In our research, we found automotive marketing to be largely devoid of brands trying to do something different," said ATTIK's group creative director Simon Needham, who is also creative director on the Scion account.  "By addressing lifestyle issues rather than focusing purely on the products, we feel our campaign's spots are unique enough to resonate with our audience."

Ambience's project director Rob Dupear sought to package the action, speed, attitude and look of the gaming world in the spot to capture the hearts and minds of the target audience, while also striving to avoid a 3D look.  "I wanted a very raw, organic look, where randomness and unpredictability were key themes in the visual style," Dupear explained. 

The director began his conceptualization with the robot itself; every single element of the robot was defined, designed and laid out in multiple views so that they could be accurately modeled by the Ambience 3D team.  The team performed their work on a brand new Quantel gQ video design system as well as a number of Maya and Digital Fusion workstations.

Morten Rowley, Ambience's lead designer, explained how his team's efforts ensured the smooth transformation from robot to Scion:  "The shape of the robot's head matches the bonnet of the xA... the arms match the mud guards, and of course, the metallic colors and textures of the robot are taken straight from the cars themselves."

Rowley and his team also applied a painstaking design process to the lab environment from which the robot explosively escapes.  "Technically speaking," Rowley added, "I had a very clear idea of the motion the explosion would take, so I created the lab as a rough in 3D and animated each shard as they would be in the final scene."

After visualizing the robot and the virtual environments, the Ambience team shot live-action motion-control footage of the two Scion models on Super 35mm.  The film was scanned and imported into the gQ as uncompressed 10-bit DPX files.  Effects shots were loaded into gQ as uncompressed 2K files to allow for frame repositioning.  Connected by a gigabit network, Ambience used the gQ as a hub for their 3D and design workstations; files were transferred as 10-bit DPX files to allow all final compositing and grading to be completed on the gQ.

The finished project was recorded out to film as both 2.35:1 Cinemascope and 1.85:1 flat releases; also, a 1080/24P version was output to HDCAM, an NTSC version was output to D1 using the gQ's realtime 3:2 pull down, and a PAL DigiBeta master was produced for each company's showreels.

In addition to Simon Needham, ATTIK's project team included account director/executive producer Kevin George, producer Jonelle Mullings and associate producer Brian Welsh.
Complete production credits are available upon request.

ATTIK serves as agency of record for Scion, where their studied targeting of Generation Y and their intense non-traditional marketing initiatives are helping to dramatically roll-out the new vehicles in California and across the U.S.

About ATTIK
ATTIK (www.attik.com) is a global creative agency committed to designing extraordinary creative experiences that inspire consumers through compelling communications.  ATTIK's strategic planning, design, advertising, production, client service and young-adult research expertise have driven success across an array of consumer product and service categories.  ATTIK articulates corporate brand strategy, designs creative solutions for advertising, below-the-line and online media, ensuring target audiences are vitally connected to every facet of its clients' brands.  For inquiries, please call Ric Peralta (Ric@attik.com) at +1-415-284-2600.

About Scion
Scion is the new car marque from Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.  Scion's mission is to satisfy trendsetting youthful buyers through distinctive products and an innovative, consumer-driven process.  Scion's first two vehicles, the xA and xB, like the brand, are aspirational, provocative and authentic and arrived in 105 California dealerships on June 9, 2003.  Scion will respond to an emerging culture of new car buyers with unique products, targeted marketing and a dedicated sales process.  For more information, visit www.scion.com.

Scion Transformer Still #6
(Image courtesy of ATTIK)
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or Click HERE for 300dpi version.

Scion Transformer Still #7
(Image courtesy of ATTIK)
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or Click HERE for 300dpi version.

Scion Transformer Still #8
(Image courtesy of ATTIK)
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or Click HERE for 300dpi version.

Scion Transformer Still #9
(Image courtesy of ATTIK)
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or Click HERE for 300dpi version.

Scion Transformer Still #10
(Image courtesy of ATTIK)
Click on thumbnail for larger 72dpi image
or Click HERE for 300dpi version.