SPY POST'S DESIGN & VFX ILLUMINATE NEW
SCION xA IN NEW "PHANTOM" SPOT FROM ATTIK



San Francisco, CA – (Nov. 1, 2005) – Leading postproduction company Spy Post was recently contracted by global creative agency ATTIK to contribute their design and VFX talents to a new spot for the 2006 Scion xA. Directed by ATTIK’s co-founder and Scion account creative director Simon Needham, the spot entitled “Phantom” provides a visually compelling look at the xA, integrating a highly stylized fusion of live-action and visual effects. Spy Post coordinated visual effects from Gun Shop – which created some of the 3D animation effects – and their lead visual effects supervisor, Alaina Goetz. The spot debuted on October 31, 2005.

Cut by Mad River Post’s Bob Jenkins to a custom track created by Tony Shimkin at Face The Music, the spot incorporates an impressive array of lighting and particle line effects to accentuate the contours and features of the xA. The opening xA logo animation transitions into one of the car’s spinning wheels. Flashing strobe lights and jump cuts then highlight the car’s exterior styling from various angles filmed in-studio, followed by a driving sequence of the xA cruising through a tunnel. A close-up of the Scion badge on the front grille spins and morphs into the steering wheel, segueing into interior shots of the dash – including the stereo with changing lights and the iPOD plug-in feature – as well as its unique, customizable shift **** and race-inspired sport pedals. The final part of the spot employs rapid transition effects, which highlight exterior design features of the xA along with driving footage. As it comes to rest in the studio with flares and lights that flash in sync with the music, the spot ends with the animated Scion logo and the tagline, “what moves you.”

Goetz, who also served as the spot’s lead compositor and designer for Spy Post, worked closely with Needham to execute his ideas. Goetz conducted extensive research on lighting effects using various sparks in Flame to create artificial lens flares, as well as custom designed 3D particle line animation to match references supplied by the director.

“Without the hard work and attention to detail that Spy Post committed to this project, as well as the creative talents that Alaina brought to the table, we wouldn't have achieved such a high quality end result,” Needham commented.

“The challenge with this project was to create a unique look that hadn’t been done before,” explained Goetz. “We needed to make the car animate and behave in a different way, which is why we used the pops and flashes. We used a variety of techniques to execute the lighting and flares so it was important for the graphic elements to be integrated into the live-action footage.”

Goetz provided on-set VFX supervision for the three-day shoot in Vancouver, which involved two DPs working simultaneously with three cameras. On location, a sawed-off car was filmed for interior shots and then matched into the footage as a composite. A Russian Arm rig was used for the live-action shoot in the tunnel and several lighting rigs were utilized in the studio.

The xA opening logo animation and the sequence of the camera moving around the gearshift were designed and animated in 3D in Maya using a pre-existing 3D model of the gearshift. For the particle line effects that track with the car, a 3D model of the xA was used to match the position and perspective of the lines that were composited into the scene in Flame. Flame was also used for lighting enhancement, cleanup, rig removal and stabilization of the live-action car footage shot in the tunnel.

The compositing work was done in tandem with telecine at Spy Post with colorist Chris Martin, which enabled the director and the client to easily transfer individual shots in different ways throughout the course of the project. It also gave the client the ability to grab different color and lighting passes instantaneously for compositing.

Along with :30 and :20 versions of the finished spot for broadcast, Spy Post also finished a :60 version for cinematic release, which is due out by year’s end.

“I’ve worked with Attik before so we had already established a good working relationship,” concludes Goetz. “Simon was very hands-on in the process and we expanded upon the concept as we moved along the process. We utilized numerous visual references and bounced ideas off of each other. The creative process was extremely open and enjoyable.”

Client: Scion
Model: xA

Spot Title/Airdate: “Phantom”:30 and :20, Nov. 1, 2005; “Phantom” :60, Dec. 21, 2005

Ad Agency: ATTIK/San Francisco, CA
Creative Director: Simon Needham

Production Company: Millennium Pictures
Director: Simon Needham
DP: Daniel Ardilley
Executive Producer: Jeanne Mattiussi
Line Producer: Tony Mosa

Editorial Company: Mad River Post
Editor: Bob Jenkins

VFX Company: Spy Post/San Francisco, CA
Designer/Lead Compositor: Alaina Goetz
Maya 3D/After Effects Artist: Stacy Nimmo
Producer: Lori Joseph

Postproduction Company: Spy Post/San Francisco, CA
Colorist: Chris Martin
Online Editor: Alaina Goetz

Music Company: Face The Music
Composer: Tony Shimkin
Executive Producer: Mishawn Williams

Sound Design Company: Face The Music
Sound Designer: Michael Schmidt

Audio Post Company: Eleven Sound, Santa Monica
Mixer: Jeff Fuller

 

ooooh i can't wait to see this one, I love the scion commercials, my favorite is the transformer one for the xB and xA.

 

Available online at Scion.com

Click Videos/ Select xA Phantom.=
http://www.scion.com/showroom/xa/gallery/

 

I LOVE the XA, if it was not for the fact that I hate the center mounted gauges so much I would buy one. Man I hate that gauge design!!!

 

Center mounted gauges kick ___.

 

i think the center gauges are pretty cool.

 

I've had an Echo for 6 years and now the 06 xA. I specifically looked for a car with center gauges. I never want my gauges hidden behind the steering wheel again. I have noticed that the xA has far less storage than the Echo, far less, but it handles better and is built better.

 

you get used to the center mount really fast its better overall from a manufacturing point. with the xa its direct center not angled any like the saturn ion redline.

 

You mean ya'll didn't like that old xA commercial with Paul Natividat (spelling?).

lol my favorite parts is when that black dude goes, "AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

its just funny, I'm with yoou on the transformer commercial.

 

i saw the new on tv a few nights ago its ok kind of the like the tc one. when that came out. i think they need to market better with the xa still.

 

I like the ad...props to ATTIK

 

Cool commercial,

and I also like the center mount panel, its unique

 

That's the world famous ..Mike Jett (who...Mike Jett) aka subcode.....

Don't forget about the dancing as well...

The old Scion commercials were fun...It was a pleasure doing the commercials in down town Los Angeles with very little time to do them.

The ones that were supposed to air were filmed during the TORC show in Long Beach CA but never made it with exeption to Teri (who owns an xB) that was used for the Toyota commercial instead along with the billboards where Mike Jett was also used....