Santa Monica visual effects boutique a52 is very proud to detail its contributions to a new broadcast spot from Minneapolis-based advertising agency Fallon for Travelers Insurance and director Frank Budgen, which also features the talents of acclaimed cinematographer Ellen Kuras. Entitled “Drifters,” the new :60 spot reunited Budgen with Rock Paper Scissors editor Angus Wall and a52 visual effects supervisor Pat Murphy, with whom he has collaborated on several occasions, including the Monster.com “Slots” ad honored in the 2008 AICP Show, which also won Gold at the 2008 New York Festivals Awards.
Set to Langhorne Slim’s sentimental musical track “Worries,” “Drifters” showcases spectacular cinematography of poignant, everyday urban scenes of people, businesses and automobiles. As the camera travels across the first scenes, scores of tiny red Travelers umbrellas appear in the sky. Scene after scene, the umbrellas increase in numbers, alternately appearing as shadows, and covering roofs of homes and cars, as an announcer advises, “When it comes to protecting the things you care about, leave nothing to chance. Travelers, insurance for auto, home and business.” The spot can be seen at http://www.a52.com/index.php?f=deta&n=290.
“Beginning with the shoot and continuing throughout the entire process, Scott, Kate and I were fortunate to have such a talented and committed group of people working on the spot,” said Fallon‘s creative director/copywriter Ryan Peck.
a52‘s team was led by Murphy, producer Jenny Bright and CG supervisor Kirk Shintani, each of whom worked very closely with Angus Wall and his colleagues at Rock Paper Scissors. To address the agency’s creative brief from Peck, creative director/art director Scott O’Leary and executive producer Kate Talbott, Mr. Budgen planned to capture all the umbrellas in-camera, just as they were meant to appear within each of the finished scenes. Toward that end, special mobile rigs capable of suspending a dozen or more umbrellas were built and used on each location over the five-day shoot in and around Los Angeles, where Budgen and Kuras filmed on Fuji F-64D and Reala 500D stocks using the ARRIFLEX 235 camera package.
As a result of the diligent production approach, Wall was able to assemble the scenes featuring practical umbrellas right away upon receiving the transfers of the live-action footage. By viewing the offline edit, Murphy was then able to assess which of the practical umbrellas appeared natural, and began coordinating efforts with the CG team to create umbrellas that could be layered in organically. Final CG sequences created by Shintani, Andy Hall, Paulo de Almada, Joe Chiechi, Adam Newman, Ian Ruhfass and Terry Shigemitsu in Autodesk Maya were composited into many scenes by Murphy and 2D VFX artist Stefan Gaillot, while 2D artist Mike Bliss removed mobile rigs and suspension wires from the live-action plates.
“Integrating the CG umbrellas into our pan and tilt plates, to make them match the practical umbrellas, presented us with some challenges, as there was a very limited field of sharp focus in the live-action plates,” Murphy said. Using Autodesk Flame‘s toolset, a52‘s VFX artists were able to address those visual challenges.
As the project neared completion, Fallon‘s Scott O’Leary came and sat in with Wall, who handled final color-correction, and Murphy and Gaillot, to finesse the look. “It was really great to have the extra time with the project, and to have Scott here to work with us,” Murphy confirmed.
For Gorgeous Enterprises, Cassie Hulen was the executive producer, Alicia Richards was the line producer, and Judy Vermeulen was the production manager. The team from Rock Paper Scissors included executive producers Linda Carlson and Carol Lynn Weaver, producer Kim Colen, and assistant editor Grant Surmi. a52‘s executive producer is Jennifer Sofio Hall, and the final mix for “Drifters” was engineered by Jeff Fuller of Eleven Sound.
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 artists, visual effects boutique 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 12 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 310.586.0650 or visit www.a52.com.
