Our first quarterly Top Ten Visual Effects and Animation Chart kicks off the new year, topped by a Kia Super Bowl commercial in which rocker Steven Tyler travels through time back to his youthful prime. The vehicle to yesteryear is a Kia Stinger which Tyler accelerates backwards on an old abandoned racetrack. Nicolai Fuglsig of MJZ directed "Feel Something Again" in which Tyler's rock hit "Dream On" can be heard playing during his backwards journey. Visual effects house was The Mill L.A. for agency David&Goliath.
Check out the full lineup of the best VFX and animation fare that the Q1 of 2018 has to offer.
See the story behind our number pick spot here.
1: MJZ’s Nicolai Fuglsig Helps Steven Tyler “Feel Something Again” In Kia Super Bowl Spot From David&Goliath
Client Kia Agency David&Goliath, Los Angeles David Angelo, founder/chairman; Bobby Pearce, chief creative officer; Gustavo Sarkis, executive creative director; Basil Cowieson, James Cohen, John O’Hea, Courtney Pulver, creative directors; Mark Monteiro, Steven Tyler, copywriters; Paul Albanese, director of broadcast production; Curt O’Brien, executive broadcast producer; Peter Bassett, director of digital production; Justine Kleeman, digital sr. producer; Cara Nieto, sr. art producer; Wells Davis, chief strategy officer. Production MJZ Nicolai Fuglsig, director; Alwin Kuchler, DP; Christopher Glass, production designer; Emma Wilcockson, exec producer; Karen O’Brien, producer. Editorial Exile Grant Surmi, editor; Dusten Zimmerman, assistant editor; CL Weaver, exec producer; Brittany Carson, producer. VFX Pete King, exec producer; Hillary Thomas, producer; Vanessa Yee, production coordinator; Robert Sethi, shoot supervisor/creative director/art director; Tim Rudgard, shoot supervisor/2D lead artist; Jason Monroe, shoot supervisor/3D lead artist; Steve Cokonis, 2D lead artist; Daniel Thuresson, Lisa Ryan, Jeannie “Remedy” Huynh, Benoit Mannequin, Lior Weiss, Jason Bergman, Ed Black, Ashley Forbito, Chris Hunsberger, Kai Chun Tsai, Krysten Richardson, Glyn Tebbutt, Daniel Lang, Elliot Brennan, Ian Blewitt, Adrian White, Adam Lambert, Matt Dobrez, Stefan Smith, Tom Van Dop, Yukiko Ishiwata, 2D artists; Chris Bayol, Cory Cosper, Nole Murphy, Omar Taher, Brian Lee, Benjamin Chan, Danny Garcia, Freddy Parra, Jae Jun Yi, James Robinson, Jinguang Huang, Alice Panek, Elizabeth Hammer, Jeremy Ramirez, Steven Olson, Dan Warom, Michael Lori, Ed Laag, 3D artists; Rasha Shalaby, Andy Wheater, Marissa Krupen, matte painting; Jacob Bregman, animation; Adam Scott, colorist; Thatcher Peterson, EP, color; Liza Kerlin, sr. color producer. (Toolbox: Flame, Nuke Maya) Music/Sound Design Human Mike Jurasits, creative director/sound designer; Matthew O’Malley, James Leibow, Jon Hubbell, Tom Keery, Andy Bloch, composers/arrangers; Jonathan Sanford, exec producer. Audio Post Margarita Mix, Santa Monica Nathan Dubin, sound engineer; Whitney Warren, exec producer. Licensed Music “Dream On” by Steven Tyler
2: Top Spot of the Week: Director Daniel Kleinman, Framestore Team On Santander’s “Piggy” For Arnold Worldwide
Client Santander Agency Arnold Worldwide James Bray, executive creative director/copywriter; Sam Mullins, creative director, art; Justin Galvin, creative director, copy; Spring Clinton, Emily LaPierre, producers. VFX Framestore, London Helen Hughes, EP, head of advertising; Josh King, sr. VFX producer; Lara Marshall, line producer; Alex Thomas, on set supervisor (L.A.); Tim Jenkinson, VFX supervisor, CG lead; Chris Redding, VFX supervisor, compositing lead; Osman Gani, animation supervisor; Grant Walker, head of CG; Nikola Yordanov, David Lochhead, concept artists; Paola Santoro, lead modeler; Joel Best, Omar Jason, modeling; Judit Somogyvari, texturing; Andy Butler, rigging; Steffan Perry, colorist; Ross Burgess, creative director, animation; James Brown, Felice Minieri, animators; Gabriela Ruch Salmeron, groom; Rafael Rey Camacho, FX, lighting; Mathias Cadyck, Sebastian Mayer, lighting; Sam Meisels, Mike Simons, Kane Herd, Pawasut Chatmaleerat, Pedro Sabrosa, compositors; Hasan Khan, Jonathan Williams, paint & roto. (Toolbox: ZBrush, Maya, Mari, Maya, Houdini, Nuke, Photoshop, Baselight) Production Rattling Stick Daniel Kleinman, director; Joe Biggins, Jeff Shupe, exec producers; Johnnie Frankel, producer; Jack Fitch, first assistant director; Toby Irwin, DP. Editorial Whitehouse Post Rick Lawley, editor; Jennifer Mersis, producer. Sound Design 740 Sound Design Chris Pinkston, lead sound designer; Josh Reinhardt, sound designer; Scott Ganary, exec producer. Music “Home” written by Simon Steadman and Charlton Pettus; Future Perfect, vocal arrangement. Audio Post Soundtrack Boston Mike Secher, audio engineer
3: The Best Work You May Never See: Smith & Foulkes Direct McVitie’s “Crane” For Grey London
Client McVitie’s Agency Grey London Nick Rowland, Lex Down, creative directors; Thomas Worthington, Greg Ormrod, copywriters/art directors; Marcus Eley, James Plaxton, producers; Beth Sykes, creative producer. Production Nexus Studios, London Smith & Foulkes, director; Chris O’Reilly, Tracey Cooper, exec producers; Maiwenn Le Borgne, Derek Walsh, production managers; Callum Strachan, art director; Florian Casper, CG supervisor; Dominic Griffiths, animator; Cecille Carre, Joao Pedro Sustelo, designers; David Slade, editor. (Toolbox: Maya, Houdini, Carbon Cloth, Yeti Fur, modo, Photoshop, Nuke, After Effects, Premiere). Music Soundtree Peter Raeburn, composer
4: The Best Work You May Never See: Lobo Casts Light of “Sunshine” On Abuse In Animated Short For Day One, BBDO NY
Client Day One Agency BBDO NY Bianca Guimarães, Danilo Boer, Marcos Kotlhar, creatives Production Lobo, New York and Sao Paulo, Brazil Guilherme Marcondes, director; Aron Matschulat Aguiar, producer, editor; Luis Ribeiro, Alberto Lopes, Loic François Marie Dubois, exec producers; Felipe Jornada, art director; João Lavieri, Felipe Jornada, Rômulo de Oliveira, Wilson Panassi, concept artists; Antonio Soares Neto, Vinicius Barros, storyboard; Olavo Chagas, CG director; Milton Dias, Frederico Martins, Diego Esteves, Eiti Sato, Daniel Adami, Felipe Bassi, Leo Rezende, Marcel Fukuwara, modeling; Flavio Castello, lead rigging; Alexandre Marassá, Felipe Gimenes, rigging; Leonardo Cadaval, animation supervisor/animator; Marcio Nicolosi, lead animator; Lucas Peres, previsualization; Andrea Delfino, Janaina Bonacelli, Bruno Carias, Bruno Hamzagic, Daniel Alvite, Daniel Bahia, Daniel Vasconcellos, Jorge Zagatto, Marcelo Zanin, Raphael Vinicius, Seixas Silva, Renato Sena, Rodrigo Souza, Ronaldo Brito, Ste Kajimoto, Thiago Martins, Victor Fernandes, animators; Olavo Chagas, Milton Dias, Diego Esteves, Rafael Migliorini, lookdev & render; Bruno Ferrari, lead compositor; Lucas Stringhetti, VFX; Chan Tong, VFX 2D. (Toolbox: Photoshop, Maya, Vray, Nuke, Premiere, Flash, Houdini) Color Company 3 Leticia Blanco, colorist. Music “Walking On Sunshine”
5: Top Spot of the Week: Renault’s “The Postman” Makes Romance Electric
Client Renault Agency Publicis Conseil (The Loft), Paris Marcelo Vergara, executive creative director; Yeves-Eric Deboey, Mathieu Degryse, creative directors; Raphael Porcheron, copywriter; Anthony Maztrone Thiebaux; Neil Tamzali, strategy; Nathalie Bousquet, production coordinator. Production WIZZ, Paris AKAMA, director; Amanda Stubbs, producer. VFX/Animation Nki, Paris Wacyl Djender, CG supervisor; Emilie Nicodex, postproduction director (Toolbox: 3DSMax, VRay, Ornatrix, Nuke) Sound Track: “Love’Z at first sight” Sixieme Son, composer/publisher. Hugo Leteixier, Ianis Mauraisin, Eric Caissey, Delphine Guerin, Timothee Suillaud, team.
6: Sehsucht, Berlin Agency antoni Team On “Stronger Than Time” For Mercedes-Benz
Client Daimler AG/Merdedes-Benz Agency antoni, Berlin Martin Pross, Tillman Gosner, creative directors; Alexander Holtz, creative director/copywriter; Matthias Bauer, art director; Mark Rota, producer. Production and VFX Sehsucht, Hamburg Ole Peters, director; Jan Tiller, exec producer; Tanya Curnow, Stephan Reinsch, producers; Bernd Wondollek, DP; Axel Brötje, Julius Brockelmann, Caroline Goehner, design; Daniel Jahnel, Timo von Wittken, Juan Pablo Brockhaus, 3D lead; Sebastian Welti, Jannes Kreyenberg, Max Zachner, Thure Koch, Ben Watts, Florian Breg, Raphael Vincente, Alexander Siquans, Hannes Gerl, Christoph Gaudl, 3D; Maurice Jochen, Ivan Vasiljevic, additional assets; Florian Zachau, compositing lead; Jona Maluck, Alexander von der Lippe, Patrick Altmeier, Christian Reimann, compositing; Mitra Navab-Pour, motion design; Artur Jagodda, Sabine Panek, editors. (Toolbox: Houdini, Maya, Arnold, Redshift, ZBrush, Yeti, Mari, Nuke, Resolve) Production Services, Spain Myway Production Tina Dobslaw, Rita Gil Music & Sound Design Yessian Music, Hamburg, Germany Brian Yessian, chief creative officer; Zacharias Adrian, composer; Ingmar Rehberg, EP/managing director; Michael Yessian, production head; Uli Witt, Lukas Lehmann, producers; Max Fritz, Michel Riecken, Robin Großkopf, sound designers Audio Post Yessian, Hamburg Max Fritz, mixer Voiceover Recording Loft Studios Berlin
7: McCann NY, Director Noam Murro, MPC Take Us To “Small Town” For New York Lottery
Client New York Lottery Agency McCann New York Eric Silver, North American chief creative officer; Sean Bryan, Tom Murphy, chief creative officers, NY; Mat Bisher, Dan Donovan, executive creative directors; Jason Ashlock, Dominick Baccollo, creative directors; Johan Leandersson, sr. art director; Andy Sciamanna, sr. copywriter; Nathy Aviram, chief production officer; Chance Bassett, VP, sr. producer; Eric David Johnson, SVP, executive music producer; Dan Gross, music producer; Courtney Snead, project manager; Laura Frank, VP, strategy director. Production Biscuit Filmworks Noam Murro, director; Jeff McDougall, exec producer; Charlotte Woodhead, producer. Editorial Work Editorial Neil Smith, editor; Theo Mercado, assistant editor; Erica Thompson, exec producer; Christopher Delarenal, producer. VFX/Animation MPC NY Camila De Biaggi, managing director; Elissa Norman, sr. producer; Alvin Cruz, creative director/VFX supervisor; Marcus Wood, 2D/3D lead; Renato Carone, Michael Glen, Steinar Nedrebø, Amit Shukla, Manu PS, Joslin Job Mathew, Sriram P, Suhas Bjat, R Vignesh, Priyanka Day, 2D team; Suhas Bhat, Sindhuja B, Sravan Kumar, Sreenivasa Aditya Yanamalachintala, Elangovan Ganeshan, 3D team (Toolbox: Flame, Nuke, Maya) Telecine Company 3 Tom Poole, colorist. Music Future Perfect Victor Magro, composer; John Connolly, producer. Audio Mix Heard City Phil Loeb, mixer.
8: Top Spot of the Week: Megaforce Directs “Nothing Beats a Londoner” for Nike, W+K London
Client Nike Agency Wieden+Kennedy London Paddy Treacy, Mark Shanley, creative directors; Tom Corcoran, Tom Bender, creatives; Tony Davidson, Iain Tait, executive creative directors; James Guy, head of production/executive producer; Michelle Brough, TV producer; Rose Fairley, TV production assistant. Production Riff Raff Megaforce, director; Matthew Fone, exec producer; Nick Goldsmith, line producer; Nicolas Loir, DP. Editorial Final Cut Joe Guest, editor. VFX Time Based Arts, London Sheldon Gardner, Francois, Roisin, VFX supervisors; Michael Aveling, Jamie Crofts, Thiago Dantas, Al Ford, Stephen Grasso, Matt Jackson, Adam Paterson, Ben Stonehouse, Luke Todd, Leo Weston, Flame; Aitor Arroyo, Ralph Briscoe, Linda Cieniawska, Matt Shires, Bernardo Varela, Leandro Vazquez, Grant White, Nuke; Ben Cantor, Dan Davie, Oscar Gonzalez Diez, Federico Guzzardo, Tom Hall, Dave Loh, Sam Osborne, Nigel Timms, Federico Vanone, Chris Wood, CGI; Jess Gorick, Stephen Ross, motion graphics; Sylvie Minois, matte painting; Simone Grattarola, color grade; James Allen, Tom Johnson, color grade; Chris Aliano, producer. (Toolbox: Flame, Flame Assist, Flare, Nuke, Maya, XSI, Houdini, ZBrush, Arnold, Resolve) Sound 750MPH Sam Ashwell, sound designer; Mary-Ann D’Cruz, producer. Music Mr. Papa John Connon, music supervisor
9: Top Spot of the Week: Proximity Barcelona Dispels Gender Stereotyping In Audi Spain’s Short Film “Ever After”
Client Audi Spain Agency Proxmity Barcelona Eva Santos, global chief creative officer; Carles Alcon, creative director; Anna Soler Chopo, creative supervisor; Bruno Spagnuolo, Juan Cantero, Sonia Fernandez, art directors; Edu Escudero, copywriter; Patricia Urgoiti, strategic planner;; Maria Soler Chopo, production director. Animation post23 Creative Animation Studio, Barcelona Jordi Garcia, animation director; Bor Arroyo, art director-animation; Angee Marcazzan, sr. producer. (Toolbox: Maya, ZBrush, Marvelous Designer, Speedtree, Substance Painter, Houdini, Nuke X, Nuke Studio) Production Sr. Alce Fernando Trullols, live-action director. Musical Direction and Sound Making Music In Silence Jesus Diaz, composer
10: Under Armour’s “Ice Man”
Client Under Armour Megan Oepen, co-director/EP, head of content house Visual Effects Zoic Studios, Culver City, Calif. Chris Jones, executive creative director; Ian Unterreiner, EP/head of production; Jeff Blodgett, EP; Derek Johnson, producer; Kevin Montenegro, coordinator; Julien Brami, VFX supervisor; Tim Hanson, CG supervisor; Mike Degtjarewsky, 2D supervisor; An Dang, Flame assist (Toolbox: Maya, ZBrush, Vray, Mantra, Houdini, Nuke, Flame) Production BODEGA Haley Geffen, co-director; Clint Goldman, exec producer; Grayson Bithell, Jordan Tarazi, producers Editorial Northern Lights Chris Carson, editor; Robin Hall, exec producer; Terry-Anne Alexander, producer. Audio SuperExploder Jody Nazzaro, sr. sound designer/mixer; Meredith Nazzaro, sr. producer.