A mesh of animated illustrations and sketches with live-action still images creates a sort of leap-off-the-drawing-board feel to this Toyota Prius spot, providing viewers with the creative spirit behind the genesis of the hybrid vehicle.
Conceived by Mexico City agency Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, “Impossible” is largely black and white, with elements recalling architectural blueprints and the photography of Eadweard Muybridge. The theme of evolution is prevalent throughout the commercial, beginning with the animation of an early creation myth of a tortoise that carries the earth and sky on its back. This scene dissolves into a live rendering of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man–the classic drawing of a man with arms and legs akimbo in a circle, which illustrates the proportion of the human form. The man leaps off his circle and morphs into a bird taking flight, recalling Da Vinci’s bird-like flying machines. Blueprints of early automobiles transform into the Prius, which emits colorful flowers instead of smog.
London-based John Robertson (a.k.a. Flea Circus–part of the talent roster at Curious Pictures, New York) directed “Impossible.” For the spot, he melded live-action still images (captured by Mexico City house Cuatro y Medio and directed by Norman Christianson), with drawings and scans composited in After Effects.
“After the ‘live’ sequences were assembled from stills shot in Mexico, we used individual frame hard copy printouts registered to animation pegs to create the drawings,” explained Robertson. “These were then assembled as animated clips and comped back over the live sequences.”
The car in the final section was built and animated in 3D Studio Max. “The vehicle transition sequence was animated by using layers of hand animated morphs and transitions comped together,” added Robertson.
Robertson’s support team at animation house Curious included head of production Meridith Brown, executive producer Mary Knox and producer Mike Turoff. At Cuatro y Medio, the executive producer/producer was Ramiro Cruz.
Luis Ribo was the creative director for Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi. Agency producer was Euridice Casasola.
Craig Henighan Sounds Off On “Deadpool & Wolverine”
Hollywood lore has it that character actor Edmund Gwenn--while on his deathbed--quipped, “Dying is easy, comedy is hard.”
The second part of that darkly witty utterance remains all too true today as Craig Henighan--a Best Achievement in Sound Mixing Oscar nominee in 2019 for Roma--can attest in that he had to grapple with the sonic of being comic for this year’s box office hit, Deadpool & Wolverine (20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios).
The degree of inherent difficulty was ramped up even further because Deadpool & Wolverine had to seamlessly bring together high action-adventure exploits with moments and dialogue that tickled the funny bone. There’s a mesh of humorous banter--a staple of the franchise--along with major spectacle replete with explosions, fights, an impactful score and off-the-wall musical numbers.
Henighan explained that among the prime challenges for him from a sound perspective was having to make sure every joke landed within the construct of a superhero film. The tendency for a tentpole movie of this variety, he noted, is to gravitate towards big, loud audio spanning music, dialogue and sound effects. But the unique comedic element of Deadpool & Wolverine necessitated that re-recording mixer and supervising sound editor Henighan strike a delicate balance. “You need to get out of the way for the comedy,” he related. The jokes in a superhero film become “a real dance” as Henighan had to establish a rhythm that did justice to both the comedy and the action as the narrative moves back and forth between them--and sometimes the funny and the high energy, high decibel superhero dynamic unfold simultaneously in a scene or sequence. The “sonic fabric” has to... Read More