Super Bowl 2015 | Kia: “The Perfect Getaway Vehicle”


SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL
ROLE: Senior Flame Artist / VFX Compositor
VENDER: The Mill
AGENCY: David & Goliath
PRODUCTION CO: MJZ
DIRECTOR: Mathis Van Heijningen

Pierce Brosnan relives his 007 glory days in this clever twist of a snow-driven adventure. I handled all the indoor office window comps and Brosnan beauty work. I also worked on an owl blink, some car beauty, snow clean-up, and a nitpicky smoothing fix on his down coat towards the end of the spot. I probably did a few other odds and ends. But the distance of time has fogged the memory somewhat.

Full Credits

Miller Lite: “Liquid”

Miller Lite: “Liquid: Storm”

Miller Lite: “Liquid: Snowflake”

COMMERCIAL
ROLE: Senior Flame Artist / VFX Compositor
VENDER: The Mill
AGENCY: TBWA\Chiat\Day
DIRECTOR: Ivan Bird

These Miller Lite “Liquid” spots are an experiment in physical beer manipulation. Shot in-camera in plexiglass cloud tanks, these tempestuous whirls of hops and ale are intended to mimic natural liquid forms, like watery rolls and curling waves. These two spots are part of a larger collection, each with its own theme and narration.

Workwise, it’s all fairly straightforward, but also in need of some 2D comp help. Much of the footage was shot on greenscreen, which keyed adequately enough. However, some of the grander shots, like the curling wave did require roto, making for a challenging experience all its own.

There’s also a fair bit of clean-up, removing residue and dust from the tanks, as well as imperfections in the beer itself. On that latter point, it’s safe to say that most of the clean-up was subjective, based primarily on taste (no pun intended). So sometimes, I wasn’t entirely sure if I was cleaning dust, unwanted bubbles, or some foam-froth-based thing.

There’s also some endcard product beauty. I handled that, as well as most of the beer clean-up and one of the curling wave shots, represented in the “Storm” spot.

H&R Block: “Get Your Billions Back America”

H&R Block: “Get Your Billions Back America: Air Drop”

H&R Block: “Get Your Billions Back America: Toe Drop”

COMMERCIAL
ROLE: Senior Flame Artist / VFX Compositor
VENDOR: The Mill
AGENCY: Fallon
DIRECTOR: Randy Krallman

I love idea of money pallets being dropped out of the back of cargo planes. It seems so outrageous. But that’s exactly what these H&R spots did, practically and in-camera.

Well … it wasn’t actual money. But they were actual lifesize props, complete with parachutes. And they were pushed out the back of an actual cargo plane, somewhere in the California desert.

The fact that the primary element in these spots was captured practically put a huge smile on my face. It always wins the believability-test, in my opinion. But of course, that didn’t mean there wasn’t plenty of work to dofor America to “Get Back It’s Billions.”

There was only plane, shot many times from many perspectives. So the aerial fleet had to be assembled from multiple takes. Also, the earthbound landscape needed to reflect homes, communities, and cities, and not a rural empty desert. No point of dumping money in the middle of nowhere. So matte paintings were tracked into these downward looking perspectives.

There was an occasional CG plane added to accommodate certain interior-looking-out views, as well as some CG parachutes, already expanded and descending. But all the pallets leaving the planes were real.

Interior shots required some work on the money pallets themselves, concerning the overall scale and amount of the money stack. Also, the lit-up “Billions” sign needed to be added.

I handled all the exterior fleet shots, including plane duplication, environment clean-up and matte painting additions. I also added a few CG planes and parachutes for a couple interior shots.